cfl's are pointless

[Uk1]

okkkkkk ive tryed growing with cfl's all the time & just thought id say for all those using them just hurry & get something better , ive been trying to grow for too long with them now pretty much all my grows have been a waste of time , just my opinion .... if you wanna go off your own accord & keep using them GL , think im gonna chuck mine outside now & after that just stop growing altogether :spit:

 

[Gargmel]

I beg to differ, CFL's are useless for flowering true, but nothing beats keeping internodes close together during veg stage. Don't give up so easy, just get yourself a 250w HPS for flowering next time

 

[Runbyhemp]

Sorry to hear that Uk1. As Gargmel said, they are useless for flowering. I have 4 x 125 watt 6500k envirolites and they are absolutley brilliant.

Maybe the ones that you are using aren't up to scratch or perhaps some other factor is causing problems for you. Good advice from Gargmel. Keep trying and get yourself a HPS for flowering. Peace

 

[bombbudpuffa]

Are they the right spectrum? I have seen 4200k bulbs and imo this spectrum is crappy. Make sure you've got the 6500k and you should have some beautiful growth. These were both grown using cfls. The 1st one is AfhanixPurple Widow and the 2nd is blue mystic.

 

[maineharvest]

i have one plant budding with cfls and it looks awesome. I dont know what you are doing wrong cause im getting some good looking buds. Obviously it would do better under an hps but the cfls are still working. Sorry it didnt work out for you.

 

[booradley]

In all fairness, he didn't say they were useless... he said they are pointless. And he's got a point. A new 150 watt CFL and reflector costs pretty close to the same as a 150 watt self-contained HPS. The heat from the CFL is only slightly less than the HPS. But the results are so much better! This is from personal experience.

 

[Runbyhemp]

There is plenty of point to CFL. I can get my envirolites to within an inch of my plants. I wouldn't put any HPS within a foot at least

From my personal experience CFL produces shorter denser plants.

I'm sure others will agree Check my journal ... Peace

 

[booradley]

actually, with my 150 HPS, I can get the plants pretty much right up to the glass of the fixture.

well, I have been growing for some time (off and on) using only CFLs. Now I have a t-5 for veg and a HPSand another t-5 for flowering and have been much happier with the results. So far that is. Haven't had a harvest yet, but at this stage in my grow with an HPS v. CFLs, I am seeing much beter results with only a slight increase in heat.

 

[bombbudpuffa]

Well, I just switched from a 70w hps and cfls to str8 cfls and i'm seeing better growth. I noticed the plants got more vertical under the hps than when I use just fluoros. Daylights are the perfect spec for veg growth(6500k) and promote short thick stalks.

 

[booradley]

Well, Bomb, I still use my t-5 for veg. I only use my hps for bloom. Well, I will use it when I get some veg bulbs for it. Right now I am using it to do one large SOG harvest. Once I finish that in a month or so, I am going to have a veg/clone/mother box using my t-5 and a bloom box with my HPS and a supplemental t-5. 8000 lumens for my veg/mother/clone box and 20,000 lumnes for my bloom box. 3 feet square for both.

 

[Capone]

i have one plant budding with cfls and it looks awesome. I dont know what you are doing wrong cause im getting some good looking buds. it would do better under an hps but the cfls are still working. Sorry it didnt work out for you.

I have a flowering plant using 4 cfl's...ive b=never used a hps light, Obviously it works better but in a compact space with limited room they go to work..about the flowering period will it not grow big buds at all or????:woohoo:

 

[booradley]

Using CFLs I was able to harvest about 1/4 a month on a SOG. Course, I am a bit of a lazy grower and didn't spend a lot of time babying my girls so maybe a more attentive grower can do much better with CFLs than I did. Haven't had a harvest with my HPS yet, but I can see a remarkable difference with the HPS v. CFL in two weeks (like the colas are easily half again as large, some twice as large as under CFLs after the same time). I can only imagine how big a difference 6 weeks will make!

BTW, my grow space is about 3 square feet.

 

[maineharvest]

good job uk1 you really know how stir up contraversy. cfls vs hps!!!!!!!! They are both good in their own seperate ways and for different kinds of grows. THEY ARE NOT POINTLESS.

 

[Uk1]

lol , its my opinion dont like it? dont read it...

 

[TheStickyIcky]

You can grow entirely with CFLS efficiently. If you have enough CFL's and are still having problems, it is probably something else. I'm flowering with CFL's quite nicely right now.

 

[BSki8950]

i grew a nice AK-48 with CFL's .... granted the yield was not huge but the bud was intense and overall it wasnt a bad looking plant..

 

[Mutt]

I am a firm believer in Flos in veg than using an HPS. I noticed my female ratio drops with HPS for veg from seeds.
I also think for people without much space CFL's are a must due to the heat HPS's generate.
Granted HPS is the best for flower, but if it means having 100F grow area than by all means use flos. So there is a point. Less heat for more confined areas.
Another reason besides spectrum for veg. My mother/clone area never needs much room. 2'x2'x2' box with (4) 42 watt pig tails and I get nice bushy moms and maintain a perfect temp.

Just in my experience, I'm sure others have had other experiences.

 

[booradley]

My set up is a plastic grow cab in a closet with sliding doors. I was so worried about the heat generated by an HPS I was afraid to use one. But I went out and bought my 150 watt compact HPS, figuring I could always return it if it turned out to be too hot. Well, I plugged it in hanging from a hook in my kitchen first to see just how it got. No part of it got so hot that I couldn't touch it. Even after two hours I could touch the glass without it burning so much I had to remove my fingers. Now with a very simple vent system my cab is much cooler with my HPS than with the same wattage of CFLs with just vent holes cut in my box. I'm even venting into a space smaller than my grow cab and it never gets hot. Doesn't even get warm! in fact, when I opened my grow cab this morning after being on all night, I was met with a nice cool breeze!

Even with CFLs if you don't have any ventelation, watt for watt, it will get almost as hot. And if you have even the most basic of vents with a fan (not a passive one like I had before) you can put the same wattage HPS as you have of CFLs. At least in my experience. The self contained ones like the floralux systems run cool enough that I think jsut about anyone could use one with only minimal of venting. In fact, I can grow right up to the glass (but not touching it) without it getting hot enough to burn my ladies.

 

[maineharvest]

In fact, I can grow right up to the glass (but not touching it) without it getting hot enough to burn my ladies.

Does that glass panel make a difference in the amount of heat that comes off the bulb and hits the plants? Cause my light didnt come with glass and if it will help make my closet a little cooler ill buy the sheet of glass.

 

[booradley]

Does that glass panel make a difference in the amount of heat that comes off the bulb and hits the plants? Cause my light didnt come with glass and if it will help make my closet a little cooler ill buy the sheet of glass.

HUGE difference! Without the glass heat is radiating from the bulb in all directions. With the glass it all is forced up and out of my box. You probably need special glass, but I don't know for certain.