Steve, Thanks for the info on socket-compatible HO LED tubes, ballast-bypass type. I was unaware of their existence. I'll give them a try. Maybe not HO, but rather plug-and-play LED tubes of 5000K. (Not really sure what I'm talking about here, but further research should remedy that.) I checked - a big box store here carries them. Regards, Mike On Thu, Mar 3, 2022 at 12:01 AM Steve Marak via pbs < pbs@lists.pacificbulbsociety.net> wrote: > Ken, > > One more short note on this. A friend who is a basement grower began > with a dozen or so T5HO fixtures to get the rather high light levels he > needed - expensive both initially and when replacing the fluorescent > tubes (all 4 tube or more fixtures). He's been replacing the tubes with > socket-compatible HO LED tubes that he found online, ballast-bypass > type, one fixture at a time and after a couple of years seems pleased - > cheaper and more light. Among the orchids he grows are a number of the > geophytic European terrestrials like Ophrys and Himantoglossum, and he > has no trouble flowering them. > > Steve > > On 2/26/2022 3:25 PM, Kenneth Preteroti wrote: > > Steve yes you are correct that I am aware of the lumen/lux vs > > ppf/ppfd, human eye vs plant. Throw in PAR too! > > None of these terms seem to truly help the hobbiest grow Massonia’s, > > Conophytum’s or Cannabis. > > > > My reason for high end LED’s is light penetration. I wanted to > > replace my HPS system rated at 55000 lumens. I could have went with a > > dozen T5HO fluorescent. However the LED’s at 325 watts made the most > > sense to me. This was for growing in the basement. > > > > I started with supplemental lighting last year when I saw Arnold’s > > results who lives in the same state as me. Arnold indicated he used > > supplemental lighting based on advice from Rimmer. Now I am a full > > member of the supplemental light club. Ha ha. I need adjustable height > > hangers for the lights next year. > > > > Steve noticed my LED’s are under driven and therefore are passively > > cooled. Heat kills LED’s. Stay away from fan cooled systems. The fans > > last a year or two and need replacement or you kill your LED’s. Heat > > is wasted energy and money. > > > > > > > > Ken P > > New Jersey, USA > > Zone 7a > > > > The past was erased, the erasure was forgotten, the lie became truth. > > > > George Orwell, 1984 <https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/5470.1984> > > > > > > > >> On Feb 26, 2022, at 1:44 PM, Steve Marak <samarak@gizmoworks.com> > wrote: > >> > >> Hi Ken, > >> > _______________________________________________ > pbs mailing list > pbs@lists.pacificbulbsociety.net > http://lists.pacificbulbsociety.net/cgi-bin/… > Unsubscribe: <mailto:pbs-unsubscribe@lists.pacificbulbsociety.net> > _______________________________________________ pbs mailing list pbs@lists.pacificbulbsociety.net http://lists.pacificbulbsociety.net/cgi-bin/… Unsubscribe: <mailto:pbs-unsubscribe@lists.pacificbulbsociety.net>