I need 36" grow light setup

[Rockporter]

I finally have my insulated and wired 8 x 10 shed here, my husband built the inside for me a couple of years ago. It has it's own breaker panel with 20 amps total. Two 10 amp sides. I have a small A/C with a fan that runs continously when the cooling shuts off, this keeps the air moving in the shed. This used to be my crafting shop but since we moved to a house I thought I would change it's use to the garden. Maybe if I am successful I will sell some seedlings at the farmer's market.

I need to setup some grow lights but really can only fit 36" long on each side(2 sides) of the bench due to the inside frame in the middle of the bench. The bench is 24" deep so I can do alot with the space provided here.

I see the recomendation to have at least 20000 lumens total and am having a difficult time finding a 36" long fixture as well as knowing how wide it is. I would like to use T6 if possible because it can be used in a T8 setup without having to spend the money on the T5 but it has the same lighting as the T5 does and they come in 36" length.

See them here
http://www.naturallighting.com/cart/store.php?crn=591

So, can anyone help me figure out what fixture to buy and how many bulbs it needs to provide the 20000 lumens needed? And are those lumens available in total for 36" setup?

Thank you in advance for your knowledge, I have found this forum to be a nonstop learning curve.

I will add photos of my shed later.

[Rockporter]

Here are the photos of my shed, the bench is being used for closet setups right now but I will get to use it for the garden at some point in time.

[RobinB]

I had the same problem. I bought a wire rack that is 36" wide and couldn't find any fixtures that were that size. I ended up with 24" fluorescent fixtures with individual spots on the ends. It's not pretty, but it works.

[Doug9345]

There are 36" fixture for T-12s but the tubes themselves are expensive with limited options for bulbs. You are better off going for standard 4' lights and grafting 6" wire shelves to the ends of the ones you have.

[Crandrew]

Have you ever thought about running HPS and/or MH? for that size and your lumen requirements in order to fruit i would go for the efficiency of HPS personally.
I have grown and fruited using a 4 tube 36 in T5 setup and it was ok, but to really get the plant to fruit well the HPS is needed.

[Cole_Robbie]

Just use spiral florescents. They rate them by "watt equivalent" compared to incandescent I think. The 150 or 200 watt equivalent bulb is about $8. A socket to screw it into is about $2. Making your own fixtures is easy and saves a lot of money.

[Rockporter]

Thanks everyone, there are so many choices out there for lighting but I wanted to try to keep the plug situation to a minimum so I chose to go with 36" long light fixtures because that is the only space available, I would need two of them to mount almost side by side on the bench.

I cannot go with 4' because they won't fit under the bench with the middle support legs in the way. I plan on using the bottom bench for the plant trays and to mount the lights to the bench above them.

I also wanted to try using the T6 lights because they heat up less than even the T5's do. I won't be doing too much flowering but want to have the ability just in case flowers start on some seedlings, so I am thinking the T6 will do just fine for that.

I think my biggest confusion other than where to find a 36" T8 fixture is how wide should the fixture be for a 24" deep bench? I want to cover as much plant foilage as possible so should I have a four light system or more/less?

Thanks for all the thoughts and ideas, I am currently letting them swim around my head.

[Rockporter]

Okay, so this is what I was thinking on doing but I don't really know what I am doing and want to be safe moving forward.

Can I use a Troffer Retrofit kit? Say like one of these?
http://www.warehouse-lighting.com/wa...ting-kits.aspx

Can I cut down a 2' x 4' one to make it 2' x 3' and still be able to use the new ballast I will need to purchase with the retrofit kit? Or, should I just go with a 2' x 2' retrofit kit? If I did go with this second choice would the resulting light spread enough to cover the full shelf length of about 38" to provide the needed light on all the foilage?

If I could do something like this I would be able to use either the T6 or the T5 bulbs depending on which retrofit kit I purchased.

[Doug9345]

The thing to do is split the problem in two halves. The mechanical and the electrical.

Mechanically you can shorten a T-what ever fixture to 3 foot and reinstall the tombstones - the sockets that the tube plugs into -or install new ones if they are different onto the shortened end. Electrically you need a ballast that goes with the tubes you want to use. I'm not sure about T5s or T6 but t8s use the same sockets that t12s do although they aren't electrically compatible. Plugging a fluorescent tube into a fixture were the ballast wasn't designed for it will result in a shorter llife for the tube, the ballast or both. How spectacularly they fail I don't know. I still believe that 3' fluorescent tubes are an odd size. I'd have the tubes in hand before I did any modifying of a fixture.

I'd do at least four tubes in the two feet.

I have another suggestion. Have you considered going with 2' tubes run front to back instead of side to side.


I would also consider CFL's again.

I'd install 6 of these
http://www.lowes.com/pd_71140-334-60...ets&facetInfo=

mounted on an electrical box of your choice. wire them altogether put one plug on the whole thing and plug it in.

[Rockporter]

Originally Posted by Doug9345

The thing to do is split the problem in two halves. The mechanical and the electrical.

Mechanically you can shorten a T-what ever fixture to 3 foot and reinstall the tombstones - the sockets that the tube plugs into -or install new ones if they are different onto the shortened end. Electrically you need a ballast that goes with the tubes you want to use. I'm not sure about T5s or T6 but t8s use the same sockets that t12s do although they aren't electrically compatible. Plugging a fluorescent tube into a fixture were the ballast wasn't designed for it will result in a shorter llife for the tube, the ballast or both. How spectacularly they fail I don't know. I still believe that 3' fluorescent tubes are an odd size. I'd have the tubes in hand before I did any modifying of a fixture.

I'd do at least four tubes in the two feet.

I have another suggestion. Have you considered going with 2' tubes run front to back instead of side to side.


I would also consider CFL's again.

I'd install 6 of these
http://www.lowes.com/pd_71140-334-60...ets&facetInfo=

mounted on an electrical box of your choice. wire them altogether put one plug on the whole thing and plug it in.

Great info and I am understanding a bit more but wanted to let you know the T6 bulbs are basically the same as T5 but were designed to be used in a T8 fixture without having to change the ballast. T6 are available in the 36" setup so I might do what you said about making the size I want and using the ballast and bulbs I want.

I also found this and wonder if it would work by allowing enough light to cover the full 24" bench if I use just one down the middle of the bench. It will fit between the legs and I could use two side by side to cover the whole bench length of 8 feet. My concern is not having the light cover the whole bench when the light is directed upon the grow tray and I am starting seeds.

These T5 fixtures provide the 20,000 Lumens I am looking for and I can choose to switch the type of light used from blue to red depending on the growing stage.

http://www.warehouse-lighting.com/pr..._515P_d_2S_d_O


And then there is this one I am thinking about the 2' with 4 lamps size.
http://www.ebay.com/itm/ws/eBayISAPI...t_12497wt_1112

[Doug9345]

I don't know what your budget is but here is a 3' one.
http://www.horticulturesource.com/gr...badd4a36154535

Will the 2' one work, maybe. I'd put it so the tubes ran front to back and I think you are going to find that the plants on the ends of the self aren't going to grow as well.

[Rockporter]

So it looks like the 36" isn't going to work so I have to decide on what T5 light fixtures. I know I want the T5 so I just need to make a good decision on which one is best. Below are my choices.

A. 2' four lamp 20,000 lumens-HTG Supply 2 Foot 4 Lamp PL-55 Tek Lamp
http://www.htgsupply.com/Product-HTG...5-Tek-Lamp.asp

or

B. 4' four lamp 20,000 lumens
http://www.littlegreenhouse.com/accessory/lights2.shtml
Scroll down to the Ultragrow 44-this is the one I am thinking about getting.


So my thought is that the 2' four lamp 20,000 lumens would put out more light in the long run than the 4' four lamp 20,000 lumens.

Am I correct in this thought or would the matter of lumens not be any different regarding the length of the bulbs?

I hope I just made sense to you all and thanks in advance for your thoughts on grow lighting.

Thanks for your input.

[Crandrew]

Originally Posted by Rockporter

So it looks like the 36" isn't going to work so I have to decide on what T5 light fixtures. I know I want the T5 so I just need to make a good decision on which one is best. Below are my choices.

A. 2' four lamp 20,000 lumens-HTG Supply 2 Foot 4 Lamp PL-55 Tek Lamp
https://www.htgsupply.com/Basket.asp

or

B. 4' four lamp 20,000 lumens
http://www.littlegreenhouse.com/accessory/lights2.shtml
Scroll down to the Ultragrow 44-this is the one I am thinking about getting.


So my thought is that the 2' four lamp 20,000 lumens would put out more light in the long run than the 4' four lamp 20,000 lumens.

Am I correct in this thought or would the matter of lumens not be any different regarding the length of the bulbs?

I hope I just made sense to you all and thanks in advance for your thoughts on grow lighting.

Thanks for your input.

This is what I have been using for the last 2 years with excellent results
http://www.amazon.com/Hydrofarm-FLP2...+t5+grow+light
It is made by a reputable company, includes bulbs, has an outlet on the housing so you can daisy chain as many setups as you like to it. So you could expand to another 2ft 4 bulb or 4ft 4 bulb setup if you like later on.

The HTG setup is the same as I listed above but in the HO version pretty much. I would go for that model personally. The HO will make a difference for fruiting.

[Rockporter]

Originally Posted by Crandrew

This is what I have been using for the last 2 years with excellent results
http://www.amazon.com/Hydrofarm-FLP2...+t5+grow+light
It is made by a reputable company, includes bulbs, has an outlet on the housing so you can daisy chain as many setups as you like to it. So you could expand to another 2ft 4 bulb or 4ft 4 bulb setup if you like later on.

The HTG setup is the same as I listed above but in the HO version pretty much. I would go for that model personally. The HO will make a difference for fruiting.

Yeah, I fixed the link. OK, so the size of the HTG 2' four lamp version is actually 24" x 24" so I would get more coverage on the plants, correct?

The 4' four lamp version is 47" long but is only 10'' wide so I don't see that light covering the entire 24" shelf.

Each version provides 20,000 lumens which makes me think the 2' four lamp version would actually provide a good bit of light on the actual 36" wide shelf that is 24" deep.


Decision made is to order the 2' four lamp version----I called HTG and spoke to a rep and he told me the lamp will provide enough light for the entire 39" wide by 24" deep bench. Whew, I am happy I don't have to go with a bunch of different kinds of lamps. Easy, is what I like, he he.

Thanks Candrew.

[Crandrew]

Yes based on your deep bench I would do the 2ft 4tube wide. Those are indeed easy and very low heat and power drain.

When you want to get serious we'll start looking at digital 1000w HPS ballasts and bulbs with inline fans.
Im getting hot just talking about it.