floro lumens

[daddyo]

ok, let me see if i got this right.
i got a light meter off Ebay, killer price, anyway,
under 3 T-8 32 watt (total 96 watts)
at a distance of 12 inch from bulbs,
does 5500 +/- lumens sound right?
lux = lumens right?

so at 4 inches i get 12000 lumens?
aaauuurrggghh... this new math....

 

[BBFan]

ok, let me see if i got this right.
i got a light meter off Ebay, killer price, anyway,
under 3 T-8 32 watt (total 96 watts)
at a distance of 12 inch from bulbs,
does 5500 +/- lumens sound right?
lux = lumens right?

so at 4 inches i get 12000 lumens?
aaauuurrggghh... this new math....

Hey Daddyo-
Looks like another rainy day in the Quiet Corner.

You'll probably get closer to 8000 lumens out of those 3 bulbs. That's the output of a T-8 in a 4 ft length. Lux is a different issue though and makes calculating your needs a bit more difficult. Lux is derived from the amount of lumens hitting a specific area, I think it's a square meter. Like I said, calculating that is more work, easier to work with output in lumens.

If you're using 4' bulbs and can squeeze them together side by side, you'll have about 4 square feet of space. So with a total output around 8000 lumens, you'll end up with about 2000 lumens per square foot. Even for vegging that's a little weak and you'd end up with a lot of stretch on your plants. And it would never work for flower IMHO. Light intensity or penetration is the next issue to contend with. At 12", the light intensity from those bulbs would be severly diminished.

I guess it depends what you plan on using those bulbs for.

 

[daddyo]

im just using this fixture.. because its there.
the wife had bought a three tier T8 set up from
gardenersupply.com.
she uses for her spring flowers,
i use it as a starter.
i had gotten killer veg results, but only to a height of about 8". the tier heights are only 13".
i am now trying to clone a couple of these Sweet tooth and AK47s in the rack. so far so go.....
and the spinach likes it as well.