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Screw-in compact fluorescents

I was looking for a light to supplement the plants in my window, and I ended up getting a 42 watt 2600 lumen "warm white" compact fluorescent.

I had a hard time choosing between this and a 19W "daylight, 6500K) CF, that only had 1100 lumens.  I thought since there is only one light mounted above the window, it would be best to have more power, so the light could actually reach the plants.

Do you think this is accurate?  I tried every store I could think of, and there were no daylight bulbs above 19W, not even for higher than the $10 of this "warm" one.

-Ben
 
Daylight bulbs are not generally found in hardware or big-box stores above 19W, and only Warm Whites are to be found in 42W-for the most part. I'm sure there are exceptions, however. 42W at close range of your plants has to be a bare minimum when considering the benefit to your plants.

Your best bet is to purchase from lighting stores like www.abcbulbs.com www.topbulbs.com or even on Ebay there is someone who sells CFLs in 65W+ in 6500K coloration. The gentleman on Ebay has by far the best deal. He charges $9 per bulb for 85W bulbs.

Here is the Ebay seller I buy my 85W lights from: http://cgi.ebay.com/ws....5958532

Sam
 
Wow, that is an impressive bulb. It has properties similar to the Fluorex light I use on my terrarium, but looks tiny. Will it fit in a normal plant lamp type fixture?

Also, I do not see any specifications as to the color temperature of the bulb. Is it 6500K?

-Ben
 
One of the most surprising things about this particular bulb is that it has a very compact ballast. It has a standard medium base and will even fit into a clamp-type light fixture. Most 85W bulbs are too big to fit into a clamplight.

The bulb coloration is 6400K according to the seller, and the coloration is comparable to my other 6500K bulbs.

Sam
 
Do you know if it is safe to use this 85W CF in a fixture only rated for 65W incandescent? Does it get very hot?

It seems like only topbulb.com (other than ebay) lets you buy a single bulb (not a case).

-Ben
 
Ben,

ABC Bulbs: http://abcbulbs.com/Item.asp?ID=SL85-65K&my_ID=81537&afid=

1 for $25.50

Top Bulbs: http://www.topbulb.com/find....E_49368

1 for $26.95

THe first bulbs I bought were from ABC Bulbs. I liked them just fine, and in fact, I still have one running currently. I liked the bulb I bought from Top Bulb a bit better-smaller ballast, same approximate color temp and strength.

My newest bulb is from Ebay, and while it's definitely not built as well as the other two, the price of it is enough make up the difference at this point. Maybe in a month or two I'll be able to give you a better idea as to the longevity of them. If you asked me today, I'd have to say that I'll stick with these bulbs as long as humanly possible as I can buy 3 of them for the cost of one of the other two brands.

Proceed at your own peril when putting a stronger than rated bulb in a fixture. THe difference between 65W and 85W isn't very much in power. If it was rated for 20W and you were putting an 85W bulb in it, I might be more concerned. IMO, the CFL doesn't get anywhere near as hot as an incandescent bulb, and there shouldn't be any problem doing it, but YMMV.

Sam
 
Thanks for all the help. I'm leaning toward the cheaper bulb too, especially since this is just meant to supplement sunlight.

I originally thought that I could not hope for a bulb as good as the Fluorex (in output, not reliability), but you have definitely changed my mind.

I had never heard of these types of CFs. Are they based on T5 fluorescent technology or something? I don't have much technical knowledge of fluorescents, but it is amazing that it can be as powerful as the enormous 65W Fluorex bulb in such a small form factor.

Thanks again.
-Ben
 
I don't know anything of the technology behind these bulbs, except that the spiraled tube allows for a much greater surface area, and that may be why they appear to be putting out so much light when compared with a straight tube lamp.

These lights(the cheapos), are really very good, and appear to be at least as reliable as I've heard the Fluorex lights as being-not that that's saying much. When you first plug these lights in(the Ebay ones), don't be shocked if the light doesn't appear to fully light up. I've had 2 of them do that, and thankfully it just took a few minutes to reach full brightness and hasn't done it since. I consider it a "burn-in" period.
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Sam
 
  • #10
I'll remember that. I have noticed similar behavior with the Fluorex.

-Ben
 
  • #11
Just as an update, I ordered the bulb GaWd mentioned on eBay, and I plan on putting it in a 100W clamp-on type fixture with a reflector instead of my 65W plant lamp (to be on the safe side).

I'll try to update this again when the bulb arrives. I didn't buy the shipping insurance to help reduce the cost, so hopefully there will be no reckless delivery people...

-Ben
 
  • #12
Won't 2600k be pretty useless as a plant light? You might as well stick an incandescent tungsten light near them!

You need 4500k, or 6500k really.
 
  • #13
Alvin, these are 6400/6500K bulbs.

Ben, don't worry about the insurance. I've ordered 4 of these and all 4 have survived. 2 of the lights I bought I mailed to a friend in Canada in the original packaging and they survived just fine. The seller really packs them very well, you'll see what I mean when you receive them.

Sam
 
  • #14
Alvin, I originally got the 2600 lumen light (I think it was actually around 3000K) because I thought it would be better than an 1100 lumen 6500K bulb after reading some of the posts in the Lighting sticky.  I didn't know that bulbs like the one GaWd recommended were available at such a bargain price.  The only other light I knew of around here was a Fluorex, which was too expensive (up to $40 now) and too big for my situation.

I am still interested in whether quality or quantity of light is more important, since it seems like there are differing views on this.  For example, this page on the CP FAQ does not even mention color temp.

I also remember Capslock mentioning that he was supplementing Nepenthes with a desk lamp, and I would be interested in knowing what kind of bulb that was.

-Ben
 
  • #15
Ben, if I wasn't completely clear about my position before, I'll try to be explicit on my opinion regarding quantity and quality.

I personally feel that in our homes and our own individual microclimates that "quality"-PAR/Color Temp/CRI, Etc.-is less important than "quantity". We've taken plants out of their natural habitats and are cultivating them in environments sometimes completely different than nature intended. While we can certainly try our best to duplicate those conditions, we can't always be right on.

So, I always try to give all of my plants-CPs and otherwise-a 16 hour photoperiod, and I try to use the brightest available compact fluoro bulbs I can. I try to always purchase 6500K(5500K, 6400K are other popular color temps) bulbs when humanly possible. Sometimes that isn't possible and I've had pretty ok luck using much warmer bulb coloration, like the typical 42W bulbs that HD sells.

So my personal guidelines are always to try and use 6500K/Daylight colored lights, and I try for 85W minimum bulb strength. I have ignored the hoodoo and voodoo on the internet about using different colored lights for different purposes and it's always served me well. My orchids and CPs grow and bloom freely year round.

Sam
 
  • #16
Thanks for clarifying that. It sounds like you prefer 6500K over 5500K. What is your reasoning behind that? I have always used 6500K when possible, but I have seen others recommend 5500K.

Anyway, I just received the e-Bay bulb today, and it is a monster. This is definitely the largest CF bulb I have ever seen, and it is designed to fit in a normal light socket! Check out this comparison in size (the eBay picture makes it look like the size of a standard 25W bulb.):

First is 15W CF, then 42W CF, Fluorex 65W and finally Luxlite Grandbulb 85W (the eBay one)
bulbs.jpg


And here is an image of it in my window:
bulb2.jpg


I am amazed at the power of this bulb. It almost makes the Fluorex look dim in comparison. Its light extends to the other side of the street out my window, and makes our porchlights look dim.

The color temperature is very white, more so than the Fluorex. I am amazed at the difference between 6400K and 6500K. I can't wait to see what effect this has on my plants.

Thanks again GaWd.

-Ben
 
  • #17
Hey, I'm glad you received them well and I'm glad you like them!

It's really not all that big of a bulb. I have 2 other 85W bulbs, both from different manufacturers. I believe them to be bigger, both in ballast size as well as tube size.

I wouldn't necessarily say that I prefer 6400/6500K over 5500K as I personally hold the belief that the color matters less than the light output of the particular bulb. I choose to stick with 6500K because I don't think that many manufacturers make too much of a distinction between these two colors in their marketing materials, and both would be considered of a "daylight" spectrum.

If two bulbs from the same manufacturer were made in 5500K and 6500K, I'd still stick with the 6500K bulb because of the color rendering of whiter bulbs. I really dislike "warm" colored white bulbs. I feel that everything I look at is made into a pink shade and it throws my eyes off. I think 6500K light is less colored and more realistic in its rendering.

Wow, do I ever ramble on about lights or what?

Sam
 
  • #18
Hey, I think I'm worse than you, I even posted pictures
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The ballast on this light is amazingly small. It's just the overall size seems large when I am used to the standard 15W ones (other than Fluorex).

I personally do like the more natural and accurate daylight tones, although I know my mom at least greatly prefers the tungsten tones.

This bulb seems even more white than Fluorex, which has a higher 6500K rating. I guess this may mean differing methods of measurement.

I noticed on the Luxlite site that a 150W
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version of this bulb is available. However, I can't find it for sale anywhere. It would cost too much to run for me, but it would definitely be interesting to see, or use as a flashlight. You could really tick your neighbors off with a couple of those outside.
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-Ben
 
  • #19
Where can I get clamp-on light fixtures for compact flourescent?
 
  • #20
You can get the clamp-ons ranging from ~5"-10" diameters from either Home Depot or Lowes for between $5-15 each, depending on size.

As far as compacts go, just my two cents but I have everything from orchids to bonsai, cacti/succulents and almost all genera of CPs thriving under just cool white (of different intensities)--the drosera are dewy, the Neps are pitchering prolifically and with colorful pitchers, the Aldrovanda is making new pinwheels, and the same scenario applies to the VFTs, Sars, Heli's, Darlingtonia, butterworts that are growing under the lights. In fact, I was able to get a Plumeria spp. cutting to root and thrive under a regular 23W cool white compact I bought at home depot for $1.00 that sits ~5" above the plant. The plant is thriving (and plumerias need a LOT of light to grow).

So, bottom line is based on my experience, spectrum matters far less than output. Though clorophyll itself is able to capture light best at certain wavelengths, the shape of its absorbtion vs. wavelength plot is a bell-shaped curve, so it can capture light across a wide berth of wavelenghts. The plant also produces a wide variety of other pigments (yellows, reds, purples, etc.) capable of absorbing light at different wavelengths. All other environmental requirements set aside, this is probably why my plants can thrive under the relatively narrow spectrum offered by cool whites.

Just my two cents.



 
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