3 tier light stand for sale at cost

[tjg911]

i have an extra grow light stand that i built but i don't need now. there's 3 shelves with 2 sets of 4' T8 shop lights per shelf adjustable by jack chain. i have 4 sets of lights so that means you'd need 2 more shop lights to use the 3rd shelf. i am selling this for the cost of the materials no profit is being asked, all i want is to recover the cost to build which was $80. the stand is schedule 40 pvc 3/4" and glued so it can not be taken apart. i am in northwest connecticut. if interested send me a pm.

tom

[dcarch]

Tom,

If you post a picture, you may get more people interested.

dcarch

[tjg911]

edited to make the address a link you can click on vs copy and pasting into your browser.

i don't have a digital camera but i was able to find the exact plans that i used to make both of my stands.

if you go to http://www.tsflowers.com/plantstand.html you'll see a photo and the plans to build this if you are so inclined.

when you look at the plans, keep in mind that the blue vertical pieces must be changed (as i did) from a mere 14" to either 22" or 24" to allow tomato plants to fit under the lights. 14" will only be adequate for the 1st month. at the point when you are about 2 weeks from starting to hardening them off the plants will no longer fit! 14" is WAY TOO SHORT!

this stand is very easy to make and works very well. for anyone not so inclined perhaps you'll be interested in one already made! just a point, if you buy these materials today the stand will cost more. i'm asking for the cost of materials back in 2004, needless to say you can not buy the materials today for the cost i paid and am asking. and of course this applies to people in my area, i'm sure in some states the prices are less than here in WAY TOO EXPENSIVE connecticut, just ask anyone that lives here!

tom

[mayax68]

My husband made me one for my birthday and I'm planning to put in the basement that does not get any direct light. How many hours should I keep the lights on?

Thank you.
Maya.

[feldon30]

16

Preferably, you want one cool white bulb and one daylight bulb per fixture. Lights should be just 1-2 inches above the plants. It is perfectly ok for the plants to touch the lights -- they're not hot. Lights should be on chains that you can raise and lower. Or else use empty CD or DVD cases to raise and lower the seedling trays to get them close to the light.

[mayax68]

The set up is already in place. But how many hours a day should the lights be on? For the rest of the time that the lights are not on, the plants will be in complete darkness. So how many hours is enough?

Thank you.
Maya.

[Worth1]

I used some pulleys rope chains S hooks, screws, 1X4s and cup hooks.
I put one 1X4 on the ceiling and screwed it to the ceiling joists then hung double pulleys from it to a 1X4 frame that the lights hang from.
The loops in the rope allowed my wife to raise the lights if needed and hook them in an S hook.
Amazingly I had all of this stuff around the house to make it from so the cost was rather cheap.
I then put the lights on a heavy duty timer so my wife wouldn’t have to worry about forgetting to turn them on.

The seeds where planted 4 days before I left for Alaska and I came home to some very nice tomato and pepper plants.

A much better experience than last year.

I would like to make a starting frame like the one for sale but that is in the future.
So I used what I had.

Worth

Attachment 40

[mayax68]

BY the way, the cost of the starting frame today was $160 and that was with the 10% discount at Home Depot.

[Tomatovator]

I leave the lights on for 16 hours per day. Works very well for me.

[tjg911]

Originally Posted by feldon30

16

Preferably, you want one cool white bulb and one daylight bulb per fixture. Lights should be just 1-2 inches above the plants. It is perfectly ok for the plants to touch the lights -- they're not hot. Lights should be on chains that you can raise and lower. Or else use empty CD or DVD cases to raise and lower the seedling trays to get them close to the light.

I used 1 cool and 1 warm tube per fixture and my friend used just the cheaper of the 2. the cheaper tube is 99 cents the other is $4.99 - results his grew better! The cool/warm mixture is not superior to the 2 99 cents tubes. At $4.99 for the other I do not think it is worth the cost for 1 fixture much less the 4 I have. Any replacements will be with the 99 cent tubes.
I agree that 1-2 inches above the plants is correct BUT DO NOT allow the leaves touch the tubes because the leaves do burn. Any tomato or any other vegetables I started under the lights do develop burn spots if they touch the tubes for hours. My tubes are 32 watt T8. those tubes are warm and hour after hour they burn the leaf.
The cd cases are a good idea as they are thin. I have dozens of pieces of wood of different thickness and lengths. Some plants are shorter and some taller so having different lengths allows me to put 1 size on that strip of wood and adjust height with other wood. Whatever works.
Tom