Convert fluorescent shop light to grow light?

[The Daring Dufas]

Better yet, an active motor driven cable system to raise and lower the grow light in response to changes in light levels. 8-)

TDD

[TimR]

Why not get more elegant? (elegant in the technical engineering sense)

Set it up with on cantilevered linkage system such that the increasing weight of the plants as they grow lowers them. No power needed, no need for computer control

[Una]

This fixture is quite the PITA. It is really heavy and the ceiling is high. To get it down I need to stand on the counter and to do that I need to clear all the junk off the counter and to do that I need to organize some other area for it and... I still haven't got it down so do not know what kind of ballast it has in there. The noise it makes is so annoying, something must be wrong.

Did I mention the bulbs are F48T12? That's an odd formula, apparently only made by Sylvannia and long discontinued.

Una

[The Daring Dufas]

But that's no fun! I want a Rube Goldberg solution! :-)

TDD

[Jim Elbrecht]

-snip-

Just water very-very carefully.

I pint of water is a pound-- how long does it take for a plant to add on a pound of foliage?

Jim

[TimR]

Probably you know this, but the 48 means 48 watts. (not inches) And the T12 means 12/8 of an inch diameter, or 1.25 inches.

You can get them from Amazon among other places but they're a bit expensive.

[Don Klipstein]

A 70W HPS produces a little less light than a pair of 32W T8 fluorescents or a pair of T12 40W ones.

If you are illuminating a larger area with multiple fixtures, where you don't need the directivity that many HPS fixtures have, go with fluorescent. They cost less, last longer, and in the case of 32W T8 with electronic ballasts, they are more efficient than 70W HPS.

[TimR]

Don, you might have missed the subtext. She's growing those special "aromatic herbs."

Still better to go with fluourescents. Less heat signature when the helicopters fly over.

I have seen ads for LED plant lights for this exact application. They are clearly aimed at that niche market. Seem a bit overhyped to me though.

[Una]

Fuchsia is one of those!?!?! Who'd have guessed. You know this how?

Anyway, I still haven't got the blighted fixture down to disassemble and examine the ballast. It is *heavy* and the tubes project outside the carcass. This may be such a PITA that I should just replace it. Period.

Una

[zimpzampzormp]

Yeah. If they are arrested they must be guilty. Otherwise, why arrest them?

[notbob]

Good seed stock will grow under even the most adverse light conditions.

We grew some.... er... seeds back in '75. A simple 100W incandescent bulb over a single damp paper towel sprout. This in the dead of Winter in chilly Oregon in a barely heated abode in a lil' bedroom closet. Damn plant grew like the dickens and was 10-12" tall in 3-4 wks. We hadda move, so plant never matured, but the harvested foliage was waaay beyond satisfactory. Before you start putting out big $$$, do some basic experimentation. The so called "experts" are usually hardware salesmen.

nb