Yep, same product.

We may have a similar product, but they're called energy savers.
Could be what I need.

--
Cheers,
Loki [ Brevity is the soul of wit. W.Shakespeare ]

For max growth the tubes should be within inches of the tops of the plants,
I'm not too worried about it since I don't need to mass produce herbs. I'm
going to fix the lights and have an adjustable shelf to raise the plants to
the light, this is easier than dealing with the cords from the lights as you
raise and lower them.

"John Savage" wrote in message
om...
"Phil Williamson" writes:
Now we're talking! I was planning on taking a shelf from the bookcase
and
putting some 30 watt tubes in there. Problem with those things are is
that
the max intensity of the tubes drops off after a few inches away. Sounds
like the CF's are doing the trick nicely for you. Maybe I could some how
rig my shelf so has a few CF bulbs at different heights for each of the
herbs.

If you are going to use ordinary tubular fluro lights, they need to be
adjustable in height so that they can be maintained almost touching the
foliage of the plants. I learnt this from discussions on other newsgroups
and have not tried it myself. I expect similar thing would apply to CFs.

Or you can place the plants on a stand of adjustable height, whichever is
easier to built.
--
John Savage (news address invalid; keep news replies in newsgroup)

Phil Williamson wrote:

I don't even know where my local harzardous waste facility is, they all go
in the garbage. Although efficient they do get really hot, the 25 watt and
above with burn your finger and melt plastic if left on so be careful.
They
are usually available in soft white (more blue color), warm white (terrible
yellow color), and daylight. Use the daylight bulbs for best results on
your plants.

and

You do need to have the cf bulbs kinda close since the light will diffuse
and become lost rather than being concentrated on the plants. They now
have
42watt cf bulbs available, they're massive but pump out tons of light. I
recommend the daylight bulbs for plants tho.


Contact your local dump, or wherever your garbage goes. They should be able
to tell you where you can dispose of CFs and other hazardous waste. Our
local hazardous waste facility is on site at the local dump. These bulbs
contain mercury and should not just be thrown in the garbage.

Yes, the bulbs will get hot, but not as hot as an incandescent with the same
light output. Around here the "daylight" bulbs are quite expensive. (4-5
times the price of a regular CF) My vote goes for the whitest light you can
find within a reasonable price range. I mean, if price were not an issue,
I'd go for metal halides. My plants do great under the lights I have, which
are not rated as "daylight" bulbs, but produce a white light. Plants need
light in the blue spectrum so they are not leggy, and in the red/orange
spectrum to flower, so the whiter the light, the better.

As for how far away to put the bulbs. Mine are not right on top of the
plants (read inches away), however the lights are on a stand lamp pointed
down, directly at the plants. Some plants are within a foot of the light,
others are three feet away. The plants are doing great. Granted, light does
diffuse the farther away it is, that is why I have a stand lamp, and am not
relying on the light in the middle of the ceiling under a cover.

How many hours per day should I leave the lights on?

I have my lights on a timer for 12 hours every day.