Err cant think of a short title..

[Bob2]

so my friend is half way through a grow (600w hps) and there going Great!! so thinking ahead to the next grow for him and speed things up a little was thinking of advising him to get a 250w (hps or cfl??) just to start the new seedling off for about 3 weeks while the ones in the tent finish off. ideally save on electric costs where possible but still want to get best results..is it a good idea or are there better ways ??

[Cisco]

A few plants ? 125w CFL

[Boner]

After using cfl's to do exactly what you want I'd avoid them, the T5 fluorescents are the next route I'm taking, if you do go down the cfl route get the biggest one available, I think they're 200watts.

[Cal X]

so my friend is half way through a grow (600w hps) and there going Great!! so thinking ahead to the next grow for him and speed things up a little was thinking of advising him to get a 250w (hps or cfl??) just to start the new seedling off for about 3 weeks while the ones in the tent finish off. ideally save on electric costs where possible but still want to get best results..is it a good idea or are there better ways ??

A 250 w cfl or a t-5 floro would work fine for vegging. Just make sure that the light is isolated from his current grow during the dark cycle! Using an hps bulb would drain a lot more electricity then cfl's! Also, if he's only half way through the current grow, it will probably take longer then 3 weeks.

[Boner]

Using an hps bulb would drain a lot more electricity then cfl's!

Wouldn't a 250 watt cfl use as much electricity as a 250 watt hps, afaik the only differance is lumens and heat.

[Cal X]

A 55 w cfl is suppose to produce the same amount of light as a standard 250 w bulb, I should have specified that! I would highly recommend t 5s for vegging, though

[Panog]

Using an hps bulb would drain a lot more electricity then cfl's!

Wouldn't a 250 watt cfl use as much electricity as a 250 watt hps, afaik the only differance is lumens and heat.

I think it doesn't because it's the ballast that uses electricity, and cfl have a digital ballast which uses a lot less electricity. Well I'm not sure but it works that way with guitar amplifier

[Boner]

Using an hps bulb would drain a lot more electricity then cfl's!

Wouldn't a 250 watt cfl use as much electricity as a 250 watt hps, afaik the only differance is lumens and heat.

I think it doesn't because it's the ballast that uses electricity, and cfl have a digital ballast which uses a lot less electricity. Well I'm not sure but it works that way with guitar amplifier

Yeah I can see that, I'll have to inspect my ballast tomorrow.

[USbongLord]

300 watt cfls at the local store

[Uncle Ron]

How many plants are you thinking of starting? If you can get them all within 50sq cm, a lamp between 200W-300W should (read will) be enough, if not slight overkill. If I were doing this, I would use a CFL instead of a Metal Halide because of temperature and burn control (CFL closer to tops of plants). As for 250W CFL vs a 250W HID and which uses more electricity, think about it for a little while longer, it will come to you. For those that missed the boat (maybe me, dunno...), 250W usage is 250W regardless of the type of lamp used (comparing new lamps w/out loss of efficiency over time). When comparing a 250W CFL to a 250W MH, pay particular attention to the light spectrum and intensities. The secret is in the materials used in the lamps.

Happy farming...

[Panog]

A 100w guitar amplifier working with tube uses much more electricity than a 100w working with transistor, wich uses much more electricity than one of the new 100w digital working...

[Boner]

The Lumatek ballasts have a 'Super Lumens' button to give you 10% more lumens, that has to cost more to run than at the standard setting even though you're still using the same bulb.

[Bob2]

should be 4 plants maybe 5, totally forgot about the t5s. cheers for the advice/info

[spidergawd]

Boner wrote

I'll have to inspect my ballast tomorrow.

Is that a euphemism mate

[Bob2]

so been trying to figure out what t5 to get been doing a bit of reading and ive reached the conclusion that i dont know, theres too many bulbs to choose from some with good lumens and some well im not sure been confusing myself a bit. the space will be 1.5 ft x 1 ft (that should be enough for 3 - 4 weeks max grow. i like the sun blaze, but think thats way more than is needed. dont want cheap but aint got loads of money and dont want to buy some ebay reject by accident. so if any of you could point me in the right direction i will be very grateful