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Question about fluorescents

  • #21
Joe,

Thanks for the overdriving idea -- I am experimenting with the use of this idea today. Earlier this afternoon I moseyed on down to our local "Home Depot" store and purchased some Shop light fixtures for $7.97 each (this is much cheaper even than purchasing replacement ballasts alone). They are pre-assembled and I spent most of the day disassembling every other one and them reassembling each pair into one overdriven dual-lamp unit, rewiring each ballast to overdrive a single lamp. I removed the ballast from one, rewired it to power a single lamp vs. dual lamps and inserted it into a light fixture where I had already rewired the on-board ballast and one lamp.

It is easy to see that the lamps are burning much brighter. I am curious to see how long the lamps last when overdriven like this. I am much more curious to find out how the plants respond to the increase in light.

The fixtures come without lamps. Fortunately I had earlier located a clearance sale on Philips F40T12/Contractors CW/Alto lamps, 30 lamps for $20.00 or about $.67 each. My stockpile of these is quickly diminishing so I am anxiously looking for other sales of similar lamps.
 
  • #22
Pingman,

I have not used them for an extensive period of time yet but I figure however many times you X it, figure about the same in decrease of life.

I'm thinking like: 80wtt on 40wtt bulb cuts the life in half. (6mo.?)
Yes, it is pretty easy to see the difference in light output. So far, I've noticed the plants pick up in growth. My only concern is some of my lights are UVB lights in 9000K (Blue). I am curious as to how the plant will respond to a double in UV over a period of time. Normally they like the UV, at normal output. Oh!

WARNING! OVERDRIVEN FLUOROS WILL BURN PLANTS AND YOU! THEY GET ALOT HOTTER!

Let me know how it goes with your lights.

Take care
Joe
 
  • #23
i overdrive them. works great. the vho ballast runs 440 watts, so i have about 480 watts over  the plants like, 8 inches away. (2 of the lights are 20 watt 18 inch no tubes i stole from some fishtanks in the basement )

i replace every 3 months or so.

they really do get alot hotter. about an inch away the air is approx. 112 degrees F.

where the plants are it's in the mid 80's in winter, lowm 90's in summer. it's lowland so they like it
smile.gif
 
  • #24
So for those of us who use 48" shoplights, because they sit perfectly on two ten gallon aquariums end-to-end...what do you use to overdrive a 40 watt set-up, lol?
Just curious, as I probably won't rewire anything like that, but it is interesting.

Cheers,

Joe
 
  • #25
Joe, check out my last reply to this thread. I only use 48 inch fixtures and lights.
 
  • #26
Following is a photo of some mixed clones of Drosera capensis to illustrate results of overdriving fluorescent lamps:

D_capensis_mixed_group_A.jpg


There have been doing very well, but have grown much more vigorously since I upgraded their lighting to 8 -- 48" cool white lamps, all overdriven to produce as much as 70% more light per bulb. I also recently sprinkled them judiciously with freeze-dried bloodworm powder. Growth has been so vigorous subsequent to this increase of lighting and bloodworm feeding that 11 days later the leaves so fed have been overgrown with new leaves and are difficult to locate.

I really appreciate fluorescent lights -- Seems very easy to provide the plants with very high levels of PAR (photosynthetically active radiation) without harmful levels of heat or incidental radiation.
 
  • #27
Just wondering, how much do fluorescents cost to run per month?

Another question, by how much do electronic ballast boost the power/reduce heat loss of, say, a 2 tube 48" fixture in comparison to a old fashioned iron one? Would it be better to use electronic ballasts or are they not worth it?

Do you guys use normal or electronic ballasts?

Thanks,
Jason
 
  • #28
Joe,
Yeah I blew it. I actually read your description from the list serve earleir in the week and realized I asked a dumb question.
BTW, is that a D. capensis 'alba' in the back left corner or just too far away from under the light?
I love your plants. They are big, gorgeous, and easily accessable(picture poor guy in NE with plastic draping his 10 gallon tanks with the shoplights sitting directly on the tanks).

Cheers,

Joe
 
  • #29
Joe,
Actually it's Drosera capensis 'Albino'. Drosera capensis (Alba) was registered as the cultivar Drosera capensis 'Albino'.

Your, soon to be, basement setup will most likely be very sweet. I once had mine setup in my Grandparents basement in Shadyside, Ohio and it worked very nicely.
 
  • #30
If I made a difference to just one person then it was all worth it.
biggrin.gif


Those look very good. I am working on overdriving CFLs, they are more difficult since they are usually self ballasted.

Jason,
It depends on your local cost per Kwatt hour. Use the ballasts that come as a shop light fixture (2 bulbs, ballast, fixture/reflector) I would not purchase a seperate ballast to do this since the idea is to boost light with a cheap setup. To buy a ballast seperately would cost almost triple what you pay as the package. If you want to buy things just buy a better light.

Joe, Joe, Joe............Who is talking to who? Too many Joes
 
  • #31
[b said:
Quote[/b] (superimposedhope @ Jan. 10 2005,12:31)]It's supposed to be "uo" NOT "ou". Fluorescent-Not Flourescent. That would make it luminating of ground wheat.
Now that's hilarious!

Just wanted to recommend that anyone planning on overdriving bulbs do some reading on aquaria fora where it is discussed more.  Oh yeah, and pay your fire insurance. ;)

The measurements in the reports i read showed a significant increase in light with 2X overdriving, but you're kidding yourself if you think you'll get double the light.  4X is even less of an increase.  In fact the reporter decided to stay with 2X overdriving.

Note also that T12 and T8 lamps are designed to operate most efficiently at a temperature around 75F.  The hotter they get, the less efficiently they work (T5s are designed for higher operating optimum - i think it's 85F).

T8s and T5s also hold their luminosity longer, so while you'd replace T12s (normal fluoros) after 6 months or a year, tops, you can easily wait more than a year with T8s.  My two T8 shoplights are still using two of the original lamps i put in just over two years ago.  The intensity has decreased, but they are still bright enough for the plants with two bulbs that are just one year old.  By rotating in new bulbs you can maximize the life while maintaining the light levels.

Anyway, if you're going for efficiency and low heat production, stick with normally driven fluoros, and just use more of them (or MH, or PC, etc).  Overdriving is only advantageous if you already have multiple shoplights, those lights cover more than the area you need covered, and you want brighter light over the smaller area and don't care so much about the efficiency. You essentially condense the multiple lights into fewer but brighter (but less efficient) lights.

I can't see any point to overdriving for growing most CP, because they grow well with normal output fluoros. My Lowland 55G terrarium usually has two F32T8s (4' normal output T8s), and they are more than enough... and that's without decent reflectors, which i keep planning on making ...you know how it goes. It has actually done ok with just a single lamp for quite a while now because i haven't replaced a lamp that i stole for another location.

Plants that need more light than lowland Neps go on the growshelf with the two T8 shoplights, or in the SE window/outside during the summer. I've grown Drosophyllum this way, Byblis, small Sarrs, highland Neps, etc.
 
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