Any recommendations for replacement 4 ft 6500k fluorescent bulbs?

[Iowa newbie]

I have had a 4 foot fixture going on two seasons, I have heard you should replace the bulbs every 18-24 months, some say 12 months. I am researching on amazon and there are a ton of conflicting opinions and most use them for shop or garage purposes so I thought I would ask the group. Does anybody have any experience with ordering them on amazon? Should I just buy some from a marijuana supply store? I am growing mostly tropicals and a few succulents. Thanks

 

[JesusFreak]

Growace

 

[Wires_Guy_wires]

COB LEDs seem to be very cost efficient.
Polish them with an alcohol/isopropanol dipped cloth every 6 months and they should last around 4-8 years.
I've seen some weed growers buying up large stocks of high wattage (20W and up) LED flood lights too.

My terrarium has around 80 watts of LED strips mounted on an aluminium frame, and every plant in that 1 square meter surface is doing well.

 

[Leo in N E Illinois]

If your plants under the fluorescents have good color and growth, indicating sufficient light, there is no need to rush to replace the lamps. I stretch my replacement schedule. 2 years to 3 years, seems to work okay. You really do need to replace lamps at about 3 years, as intensity will have degraded significantly.

I'm not growing marijuana, no dollar per watt return calculation. So less than "perfect" growth is still good enough.

 

[Iowa newbie]

If your plants under the fluorescents have good color and growth, indicating sufficient light, there is no need to rush to replace the lamps. I stretch my replacement schedule. 2 years to 3 years, seems to work okay. You really do need to replace lamps at about 3 years, as intensity will have degraded significantly.

I'm not growing marijuana, no dollar per watt return calculation. So less than "perfect" growth is still good enough.

I noticed 2 bulbs out and figured it was time to replace, is it worth swapping around bulbs to see if its the ballast that is bad?

 

[Treefer]

I just traded out my 3yo flourescents for red and blue LED grow lights from Walmart. So far so good.

 

[Leo in N E Illinois]

I noticed 2 bulbs out and figured it was time to replace, is it worth swapping around bulbs to see if its the ballast that is bad?

Sure. Ballast should last 10 times longer than the lamps, but the cheap, poor quality control goods out of China, ballasts can go as fast as the lamps

 

[Leo in N E Illinois]

I just traded out my 3yo flourescents for red and blue LED grow lights from Walmart. So far so good.

I dislike red & blue LED. Their performance is usually inferior to LED with at least some "white LED".

Part of the reason is that plants use much more of the spectrum than just red and blue.

My biggest objection is as a grower I can not tolerate looking at "black foliage". Without white light, the grower is unable to judge the health of the plants.

 

[penumbra]

I use 6500k bulbs and buy them on Amazon. I replace them more or less annually. I have noticed a huge difference from when I replaced them whenever. Our eyes don't usually pick up on the spectrum shifts and intensity, but my eyes on my plants see a big difference.
One thing I noticed a few years ago is that cuttings take better under T5 than under LED.

 

[Treefer]

Good point Leo. I still have one flourescent with the two red/blue LEDs. Only have a single tropical inside, under lights.

 

[Nybonsai12]

Is replacing the lights necessary due to hours of usage or age?

 

[Glaucus]

COB LEDS seem inferior to the latest LED panels. They have gone obsolete a year or so, for now.
Are red & blue LED panels still being made? There is absolutely no reason whatever to get these. This is very outdated technology now. Plus, the fact that you cannot see your plant makes it very bad for bonsai or any ornamental plant.

 

[penumbra]

Is replacing the lights necessary due to hours of usage or age?

Usage

 

[Bonsai Nut]

Is replacing the lights necessary due to hours of usage or age?

For fluorescent bulbs, the phosphors degrade with usage. For LED's there is no phosphor to degrade, since the diode generates light in a set spectrum via a different technology. So if you can find the right LED spectrum for the right price, it is often more cost effective than buying a fluorescent fixture and swapping bulbs every 6 months.

 

[penumbra]

For clarification, a rough count and I come up with about 40 LED fixture I am growing plants under. I have 6 fixtures that are T5 fluorescent. The economy and longevity of the LED is beyond what the T5 can deliver.
I still get much better results with the T5 for propagation, particularly for cuttings. If you are growing plants or holding plants over winter, an LED light is hard to beat. If you are using lights for propogation I would recommend trying both and making up your own mind.

 

[Iowa newbie]

For clarification, a rough count and I come up with about 40 LED fixture I am growing plants under. I have 6 fixtures that are T5 fluorescent. The economy and longevity of the LED is beyond what the T5 can deliver.
I still get much better results with the T5 for propagation, particularly for cuttings. If you are growing plants or holding plants over winter, an LED light is hard to beat. If you are using lights for propogation I would recommend trying both and making up your own mind.

Thanks for the info, 2 questions
1) What would you recommend for LED replacements for a 4ft 8 bulb fixture?
2) When you need to replace bulbs for you T5 fluorescent, what do you buy?

 

[penumbra]

Thanks for the info, 2 questions
1) What would you recommend for LED replacements for a 4ft 8 bulb fixture?
2) When you need to replace bulbs for you T5 fluorescent, what do you buy?

The LED market is changing so fast I can't keep up with it so I can't make a strong recommendation. The first ones I bout years ago were expensive, under powered and didn't last. That has all changed. Several that I use for maintaining plants are LED 6000 - 6500 shop lights that I got at Rural King for about $20- $25 each. Others are grow lamps and nearly all off of Amazon.
As to T5 replacement bulbs, I have purchased all off Amazon and I don't think there has been much difference in performance, they have all worked well. I have used I Power, Vivosun and Lightwise. It has not been convenient for my to visit a grow shop but I am sure that there are higher quality and more expensive bulbs, but I am satisfied with my purchases.
One final thing I would like to say in defense of T5 is that they tend to be for eye friendly for me.

 

[Leo in N E Illinois]

For fluorescent bulbs, the phosphors degrade with usage. For LED's there is no phosphor to degrade, since the diode generates light in a set spectrum. So if you can find the right LED spectrum for the right price, it is often more cost effective than buying a fluorescent fixture and swapping bulbs every 6 months.

I agree that the phosphors in a fluorescent tube degrade. The manufacturer recommended replacement cycle is for optimum performance. Enough aspects of my growing conditions are less than optimal. Usually the replacement interval manufacturers recommend is about a 25% degradation from 100%. Double the manufacturer lifespan still gives "good enough" output. Usually. I replace my T-5 6500K every 2 years, unless they burn out sooner. Same with my 430 watt HPS, every 2 years.

If you really want to tweak to optimum, you can get a light meter. I'm an old timer. I haven't measured output in years. I set my system up for about 1000 to 1400 foot candles at the level of the leaves. This worked for the orchids. Once I knew what this level looked like on my set up, I have not pulled out the meter since. LUX and PAR are the metric values. I forget what the equivalent is.