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Growing under Lights

3Tube T8 SIMKAR non-overdrive Fixtures

19 years ago

I bought 2 Simkar Fixtures at Lowes. They are on their website here:

http://www.lowes.com/lkn?action=productDetail&productId=124808-12833-WL108332A

They use 3 32w T8 tubes and almost exactly cover the width of a standard seed flat. The fixtue is low profile and the have electronic ballast. They are not good candidates for overdriving, because the ballasts are built into the connectors. I am using 1 4100K and 2 6500K bulbs, each about 3000 lumems for a total of about 9000 lumens. The fixturea are about $32 each. Anyone else tried these?

Jack

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Comments (2)

jkirk3279
19 years ago
$ 32 !!!!

Home Depot has decent SL-15 based fixtures for sale for less than $ 5.00
shrubs_n_bulbs
19 years ago
The SIMKAR fixtures include a nice parabolic reflector and a lens. Not sure I would use the lens for growing plants, it will probably block light but I haven't tried it. They don't just do three-bulb fittings. Useful if you want to grow a small number of taller plants, since you can position the lamp away from the plants and still light them properly. For growing seeds, I'd just get two-bulb shop-lights, use 40W bulbs, and put them close to the seedlings. Much cheaper.
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