Lighting Poor Man's Grow Light

[Olden]

Instead of buying a special grow light I came up with the idea to try LED floodlights with bulb splitters for this grow. I have three splitters that can use a total of 19 bulbs. I'm using a combination of 65w and 100w 3000k flood lights with some regular 100w 5000k LED bulbs sprinkled in. I bought the splitters and flood lights on eBay and Amazon for a low price and some 5000k bulbs at Walmart. Total cost was a little over a $100 including another splitter not shown and extra bulbs. What I like is the simplicity; no wiring, no power supply or drivers - if a bulb burns out, I can easily replace it. As the plant's grew, I simply screwed in more bulbs.

Adding it up, I'm putting out about 1620 equivalent watts using less than 275 watts of electricity (according to the specs). They're plenty bright, run very cool and my plants are doing well.

These are three Dinafem Bubba Kush autos and a 00 Seeds Afghan Mass auto at 40 days. Lots of buds are springing to life.

 

[Frenjamin Banklin]

FB

 

[Burn victim]

Instead of buying a special grow light I came up with the idea to try LED lights for this grow using common bulbs with bulb splitters. I have three splitters that can use a total of 19 bulbs. I'm using a combination of 65w and 100w 3000k flood lights with some 100w 5000k bulbs sprinkled in. I bought the splitters and flood lights on eBay for a good price and some 5000k bulbs at Walmart. Total cost was a little over a $100. What I like is the simplicity; no wiring, no power supply or drivers - if a bulb burns out, I can easily replace it. As the plant's grew, I simply screwed in more bulbs.

Adding it up, I'm putting out about 1620 equivalent watts using less than 275 watts of electricity (according to the specs). They're plenty bright, run very cool and my plants are doing well.

These are three Dinafem Bubba Kush autos and a 00 Seeds Afghan Mass auto at 40 days. Lots of buds are springing to life.

View attachment 1067130

View attachment 1067131

Nothing wrong with that , whatever it takes ! Quoting Captain America, yeah I’m a comic book nerd lol! Can you take those diffuser off the heat sinks ( plastic covers ) ? That would focus the light on the canopy better , I think from what I’ve read on here ? Anyhow keep us posted. p.s. pretty sure you can cut the plastic with a dremal or a razor knife .

 

[STILLSMOKIN]

Instead of buying a special grow light I came up with the idea to try LED lights for this grow using common bulbs with bulb splitters. I have three splitters that can use a total of 19 bulbs. I'm using a combination of 65w and 100w 3000k flood lights with some 100w 5000k bulbs sprinkled in. I bought the splitters and flood lights on eBay for a good price and some 5000k bulbs at Walmart. Total cost was a little over a $100. What I like is the simplicity; no wiring, no power supply or drivers - if a bulb burns out, I can easily replace it. As the plant's grew, I simply screwed in more bulbs.

Adding it up, I'm putting out about 1620 equivalent watts using less than 275 watts of electricity (according to the specs). They're plenty bright, run very cool and my plants are doing well.

These are three Dinafem Bubba Kush autos and a 00 Seeds Afghan Mass auto at 40 days. Lots of buds are springing to life.

View attachment 1067130

View attachment 1067131

There's a post on here somewhere of a really nice led setup like yours. The guy took the lenses off though.

 

[STILLSMOKIN]

Still nice though.

 

[Olden]

Nothing wrong with that , whatever it takes ! Quoting Captain America, yeah I’m a comic book nerd lol! Can you take those diffuser off the heat sinks ( plastic covers ) ? That would focus the light on the canopy better

There's a post on here somewhere of a really nice led setup like yours. The guy took the lenses off though.

Thanks guys! I had no idea the lens could be removed, I’ll have to look into that. I like to see what makes things tick anyway, and I have extra bulbs to experiment with.

In any case, I’m pleased with this inexpensive solution. I’m a personal use grower and so far this is working great for me (and my electric bill). I’ll post the final result next month.

 

[sewerdweller]

girls are looking happy in there with the lights
don't forget to keep us updated

 

[Olden]

girls are looking happy in there with the lights
don't forget to keep us updated

Here’s a small update: They’re around day 59 now and still thriving with the floodlights. I’m seeing lots of juicy flowers that are really fattening up. The Afghan Mass has a huge main cola. Only 15-20 days left. Exciting times!

 

[automan2]

As long as weed will grow, cheap works!
When I changed from hps to led, I bought the cheapest 600w led I could find ....just had to prove to myself it would actually grow weed....well it did so I bought another more expensive 600w led and an autocob.
After 3 rotations, I've found that the autocob is great for vegging, but in bloom, the elcheapo led does the best job thickening the buds....so cheap works for me too!

 

[Olden]

In case anyone may be interested, I wanted to give a final report and a couple photos of the end product. The floodlights worked well enough to leave me with more than enough strong medicine. I’m happy with the outcome!

Some of my thoughts on the LED floodlights:

• Bulbs are inexpensive and available everywhere.
  
• My electric bill loves them!
  
• They run cool.
  
• Low maintenance and reliable - if a bulb dies (none of mine did), simply screw in a new one.
  
• No interference to the radio spectrum (RFI) like cheap electronic ballasts can cause (I’m in a radio hobby) by pissing off neighbors and attracting police.
  
• Suitable as standalone for small grows or as supplemental lighting.
  
• Easy construction; minimal skills needed to mount electrical boxes on a board or whatever and wire porcelain ceiling lamp sockets in series. Add a couple of hooks, pulleys, and presto, Bob’s your uncle!

The total dry weight was 324g (11.42 oz) from 3.25 plants (one was born a runt haha)