LED fixture recommendation

[SQWIBB]

Originally Posted by Milan HP

This is a typical spectrum of blupur grow LED lights. It should work fine. There's some green light, too, but the wavelength is much weaker, but IMHHO it's enough. I have always combined blupur grow lights with white LED bulbs 6,500°K.
Milan HP

Good to know, thanks.

[Salaam]

Originally Posted by ClarkB

I'm certainly no authority on the subject, but I can at least share my experience. I started my seeds a bit too early in 2020 and had about 50 tomato plants and a handful of peppers in my living room with a little sunlight and a single 150W Mars Hydro TS1000 grow light (3'x3' recommended coverage) to support them. Most of the tomatoes were in 0.7 gallon pots and were 12"-24" tall with a couple taller cherries in early May when we still had snow coming down here in upstate NY (photo is on May 8). I had the pots all on plastic bin tops and rotated 4 groups of plants on 4 hour intervals during the day giving each one the prime spot for one interval and peripheral light for the other three. I then moved the light over a 5th group for the 8 hour overnight period. There were a couple varieties that didn't thrive, but most did quite well and grew into huge, healthy plants in the garden. I had ripe cherries on 6 varieties before 7/1 after planting out around 5/18. Thinking I'll pony up for a couple more this year to avoid the shuffling. I'm sure there are other similar lights that will give similar or better growth, but I was quite happy with the results under these conditions.

Hi, what do you find the coverage area to be in reality, for vegetative growth only? 3x3?

[Ozark]

We have lots of 4-foot double-bulb flourescent shop lights in and around our home - they're in my wood shop, on the patio, in our recessed kitchen ceiling, and every spring I raise tomato and pepper seedlings under three hanging shop lights, 6 bulbs total, covering an area of 4' x 2'.


I bought a case of 25 LED tube bulbs and I'm replacing all the flourescent bulbs with them. The bulbs I bought are "T8 LED Bulbs, 5000K Daylight, Ballast Bypass Tubes; 14 watt - 1800 lumens - One Sided Direct Wire - 4 Ft." We really like the ones I've installed so far.


I intend to install these in the shop lights I use for seedlings also. Those fixtures are old and I've been putting up with flickering lights, buzzing ballasts, and old bulbs that often burn out. With the LED's I shouldn't have any of those problems.


Possibly 6500K bulbs would have been better than 5000's for seedlings, but I'd like to use the bulbs I bought - after all, I'll be using 6 bulbs for only 8 square feet. Thinking that should work OK, what do you think? Thx.

[ddsack]

I bought a case of 25 LED tube bulbs and I'm replacing all the flourescent bulbs with them. The bulbs I bought are "T8 LED Bulbs, 5000K Daylight, Ballast Bypass Tubes; 14 watt - 1800 lumens - One Sided Direct Wire - 4 Ft." We really like the ones I've installed so far.

I am totally clueless and nervous when it comes to electrical fixtures and possible retrofitting. I don't know what "ballast bypass tubes" are. Do the new bulbs have the same two prongs at each end to slip into the old fixture, or do you have to rewire or have some kind of adapter purchased in order to use the LED tubes in the old fixtures?

[Milan HP]

Originally Posted by Ozark

We have lots of 4-foot double-bulb flourescent shop lights in and around our home - they're in my wood shop, on the patio, in our recessed kitchen ceiling, and every spring I raise tomato and pepper seedlings under three hanging shop lights, 6 bulbs total, covering an area of 4' x 2'.


I bought a case of 25 LED tube bulbs and I'm replacing all the flourescent bulbs with them. The bulbs I bought are "T8 LED Bulbs, 5000K Daylight, Ballast Bypass Tubes; 14 watt - 1800 lumens - One Sided Direct Wire - 4 Ft." We really like the ones I've installed so far.


I intend to install these in the shop lights I use for seedlings also. Those fixtures are old and I've been putting up with flickering lights, buzzing ballasts, and old bulbs that often burn out. With the LED's I shouldn't have any of those problems.


Possibly 6500K bulbs would have been better than 5000's for seedlings, but I'd like to use the bulbs I bought - after all, I'll be using 6 bulbs for only 8 square feet. Thinking that should work OK, what do you think? Thx.

They sound pretty good to me. Their efficiency is quite high and the drawbacks of ballast luminescent tubes can really be annoying. And I am not speaking about the fact that they lose a lot of their intensity with age (up to 40%). If I understand right, you won't have to replace the fixtures.

From the plants' point of view, it's a good idea to have a look at their color spectrum. Not that fluorescent tubes are optimal in that respect. With 5,000°K, I wonder if the LED bulbs radiate enough energy in the blue wavelengths.

Milan HP

[Ozark]

Originally Posted by ddsack

I am totally clueless and nervous when it comes to electrical fixtures and possible retrofitting. I don't know what "ballast bypass tubes" are. Do the new bulbs have the same two prongs at each end to slip into the old fixture, or do you have to rewire or have some kind of adapter purchased in order to use the LED tubes in the old fixtures?

With the new "ballast bypass LED bulbs" each light fixture's wiring is much simplified and the changeover only takes about 10 minutes per fixture. The new bulbs do have the same two prongs at each end. Easy instructions for doing the conversion come with the LED bulbs, and the only tools needed are a screwdriver, wire cutter pliers, and wire nuts.


These LED tube bulbs put out more light while using only about 1/3 as much electricity. They are supposed to last for 50,000 hours, too - and they turn on and off instantly like an incandescent bulb, with no blinking or flickering.

[ddsack]

Thanks, Ozark! This was just what I was wondering about. I suppose I should go on YouTube and see how and if it's something I feel can do. I have this fear of messing with electricity, even with instructions.