Lighting No money, no common sense, no problem

[Puddentane]

I will be here. I have already started to cobble together a frame from some materials I have laying around. I am big on recycling things rather than pushing them out to the curb. I will try to get a few pictures when I wake the girls back up this morning and take a couple of pictures of day 18. So far I have heat sinks set up to slide on top of the rails and will start affixing the wiring harness for the fans and chips either this evening or tomorrow. College football is on so it is hard to find the motivation to pry my butt from the TV. I would watch two mules fight over a turnip if it is football.

I grew a Dinafem freebee (Critical +) last fall and it was pretty good. The problem with most everything last year was that it was my innaugural run and of course I got lots of things wrong in the cabinet. It's a learning process and I would say that I have barely scraped the surface so far. Still, everything but the GSC survived last winter's run and produced a moderate crop with very nice potency. Now it's time to see what I can do about getting that yield up.

 

[Puddentane]

So here is where I am for now. But first, before you scroll down any further, swallow the coffee in your mouth and put down the cup. I am not responsible for the spontaneous laughter that is about to occur.

And this is the shot of my makeshift recycled COB frame in progress. I will wire it out and get the fans set up so that there is less work to do when the chips get off their sloooowww boat from China.

When this gets in all the blurple will go back to the wooden cabinet I used last year and I will drop one in there just to make it happen. The Mars will stay here in the center of this frame.

 

[BigSm0]

I must say puddentane from your first message in live intro to this last post in DIY I have enjoyed chatting and seeing what a real go getter can do. I'm not sure if your in other forums or not but I prefer this joint out of them all. Afn is a great place and we need more like you around.

As for the lights you will see nothing but intrigued eyes from me and I'm all for the makeshift lighting. Well that is of coarse if it's safe. People tend to overlook things like safety when trying to do what is not necessarily cut and dry from the box. I did get a laugh at this one guys light mover though it was part of a bicycle hanging from his ceiling.

Autos can be a phenomenal plant if done right and I wouldn't beat yourself up over a less than satisfactory yield. I have been growing for awhile and still learn something new every crop. I can give you some tips if your interested.

 

[Puddentane]

Certainly safety is the biggest abiding concern in any project. I have already had a piece of wood explode on the router table this year. That's enough excitement for 2016.

I got skills with Soldering and a great deal of past experience. I will certainly make something that wont hopefully leave me homeless. Now I just need to go find some bicycles parts....

As far as other forums. I lurk and learn mostly from other places but I enjoy the group here and the genetics fit my style of grow. I would love to have bigger and more opulent spaces but for now I am content to enjoy what I have and be thankful for that. As you get older you start to realize how good you've got it. And I have it pretty good.

And as always, thanks for the kind words and moral support. That's what makes a good community tick.

Puddentane

 

[Puddentane]

OK, no hard update here just did some welding and mounted my blurples since the fixtures finally came off the boat. Once I get a cob system off and running they will all go as configured into a 22X30 cabinet I used last winter.

To call this lighting porn is like posting pictures of fat chicks at the beach. Not fair, I got the fat thing covered pretty well myself.

 

[Kakarot]

Damn puddin your tent has as much shit as mine does and I love it lol. I am not so handy with building anything but I can fix a led here or there. I love the creativity you have put into this tent man, your girls look like they are havin a blast


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[Puddentane]

F yeah, its a jungle in there. Wires and gadgets and the machine that goes ping. Where is Walter Mitty when you need him. Being broke sucks because you ultimately spend more money trying to save money on the way to what you wanted in the first place. I look at light sets like BigSmo does and then have to go wipe the drool off my face.

If iI add much more to the tent I will have to move the plants out to have room for it.

 

[BigSm0]

U know that you may think it's harder doing it that way but that's how it's done. The guy who can't innovate or make a decent light out of a little scrap and some $2.50 e26 eBay screw ins is the guy who fails in the end. You'll always have light and you'll always have that determination. It's clear as day. The big shot with fancy lights who struggles to plug his light in on his own isn't going to last here or in life. Make due with what you have and if you have it, fuck it build it for less. Your last message hit me pretty hard man. I was in your shoes for many years and always managed just like you will. It's deeper than growing weed. I have more respect for your tent then any other tent or room, warehouse in the world. Well besides mine. I have a 5gallon buckets of those bulbs kicking around and I may or may not show you my first light, that's worth a laugh for sure.

 

[Puddentane]

Humbling words from the one who is much further down the path.

I love to build things. And I love to follow the path of others that have already been here. I am going cheap this winter but I intend to come out guns (and pipes) blazing next fall. I already want a second tent and 1212's and Veros. Perhaps even a third tent for photos. Who knows. I am not blessed to be in one of the locations that smiles upon such activities.

In the end I just want to enjoy the process as much as the pride in growing potent and fun greens.

 

[Puddentane]

Holy Crap! I ordered one chip earlier than the others and got it in today. Attached it to a heat sink and wired it up directly to the AC circuit since the driver is built onto the chip. No idea of its longevity or how effective the wave length is but man does it put out some light. It dominates my light that is already in the tent and now casts shadows. The shadows all have that blurple tinge but every thing else is beautiful golden white. I should see the other 4 chips in before the weekend I hope and finish this. If the spectrum is what the manufacturer claims I should be in the range of 250 watts before loss due to heat. I would be interested in seeing some one test one of these things as the price and DIY is rediculously cheap and easy. I will try to get a picture at some point but my kids are here for the next two days so My time is more focused towards them.

At Less than $3 a chip and old AMD heat sinks I think I could be content for the winter.