OMG thank you so much for this. I have been thinking of a way to put reflective shield on my lights for a few weeks. As soon as I saw the duct tubing you are using I had the ah ha moment. I went to my garage and found some extra 4 inch and installed it on my lights. So simple I had the gear at my house the whole time

As a person that has worked in HVAC and electrical, I am kicking myself for not thinking of this. Thanks a lot of sharing...

Another idea i thought about is a bathroom light bar they come with 3, 4, 6 light sockets. mount to hood, not so much wiring, and it is properly grounded. attach a cord and you are ready to go.

Cool idea. Only thing I'd do differently is get that wiring into a junction box. For $1 or $2 you get a little added protection from spark, water, etc.

amazing presentation! I found the information to be very informative. Bravo for your ingenuity, really caters to those just starting out. Fantastic job.

I do hvac so this style was perfect. I used a vari-bit and 1 3/8” is the biggest size. Thanks for the video

Can’t believe I’ve only just seen this! Oh well, light will be here tomorrow……. Maybe on my next one I’ll try it

Very nice set up, my friend. Here's my grow light set up: I have 4 tables from a past farmer market endeavor, 49 X 26 inches. I made light but strong wood frames to stand atop these tables. Reinforced the corners and leg joints. Put nails along short top rails to hang the chains from. For lights I used those home depot Lithonia type fixtures that take T-8 or T-12 fluorescent light tubes. I can get 3 or 4 fixtures inside my wood table support frames depending if I have 3 or 4 nails on each end of the top. Put in the bulbs, adjust the height off the seedlings. I'm using 6500K tubes, which is equivalent to natural sunlight. I have a large enough room that I can heat to about 68 -- 72 degrees ( sorry, don't know the C conversion for my Canadian friends), anyway, about "room temperature". I found some packs of what are called "space blankets" at a sporting goods store in town. I get maybe 6 packs of these. They are cheap, but don't remember the exact cost. They are a plastic mylar type thing and are silver to reflect heat (and light for my purposes). They can be used each year if folded up and stored with your lights. I spread a sheet on the dining rm table and marked the height of my grow frames with a black marker and straight edge, cut with scissors and reinforced all edges with 2" (50 mm) masking tape folded so 1" (25 mm) was on each side . The tape sticks very well the this silver mylar, a pucker with the tape does not matter. I think one sheet will be cover both sides and ends of one wood frame. Thumb tack or push pin the sheets to the frame, put the seedlings onto the growing table, turn on the lights. Power strips are nice to use, but expensive. Look for them at yard or garage sales. They can be had for a buck or 2, usually. So you have your baby seedlings under grow lights. How long do you leave the light on ? I've gone 12 to 15 hours on, the rest off. I've also left them on 24/7 'til they get big enough to harden off and plant. Doesn't seem to matter, but plants need light to grow, so try one way or the other and see for yourself. I recently converted my shop lights to LED. I may do the same to my grow lights if I can find the 6500K tubes I'd prefer. They would be cheaper to run for 7 or 9 weeks, for sure. Sell your extra plants at a farmer market for a bit less than the nursery to recover some of your power cost. My bet is your plants are better looking than the sickly looking, weakling, water starved, root bound nursery plants anyway, because you took better care of them. I just got tired of buying culls and reject garden plants every year, suffering with root bound, water starved and skinny stems. So I start my own, especially tomatoes. Cheers, my gardening friends. Bob on Montana.

Very easy and informative video. I truly believe in CFL 's since experimenting with vegging Cannabis with them and getting awesome results! Thanks SSL man! Gonna try this out!!

Love your video....Just built a grow light same as yours tonight...Can't wait to see the results 👍👍👍

There are a lot of comments about these lights being more than $40. Please check the description of this video for a list of each item and a link to purchase it. Total cost is $38.09 for each light. That does not include bulbs, you can use any type of bulb you like. Led, CFL, big, small. The light can take 8 bulbs but they are powerful and you may not need to fill all the sockets.

Killer video dude. Absolutely awesome. The materials ended up running me just over 120$ (lights included), but if it works out in the end, it's going to do the job of a 600W CFL setup, so thank you.

I have been struggling to find a good reflecting hood for CFL bulbs. I don't want to use HID due to the heat & I have limited venting ability. & if I go LED I'd prefer some of the sets like platinum makes (which run around $400) I can honestly say this is the best idea I've seen for me. so perfect & pretty easy to make (even for me) I can't say thank you enough for posting this..

Clever set up!!! I really like this idea.

looks great, thanks for the upload

For anyone looking to grow indoors I also have a video on what type of lights work best here - kzfaq.info/get/bejne/isCWgtWdtcW8qJ8.html. Not trying for shameless advertising but it does answer a few common questions that I get, thanks!

Thanx . So much valuable info from you gus

Great video! Loved that you suggested the use of junction boxes and daisy chaining the lights the less exposes wiring the better. As an electrical engineer, with all that water I have to suggest investing in GFCI electrical outlets. OK with that being said the only improvement I can suggest is attacking mylar sheeting to the inside of the reflector, you can get the same amount of light to you plants with less bulbs. The matte finish of the reflector diffuses about 1/3 of the light.

I have a tiny grow box (a cable box in a closet). I've switched over to some LED light bulbs soon. They are for peppers, some catnip and some other stuff...

nice video, wish I saw this a few weeks ago before i made mine. I made 2 of them from 6" stove pipe, and joined them together side by side. I love the threaded rod idea. I did not spend enough time watching vids like this, I was trying to figure out what I could use to stabilize the ends. I ended up cutting a piece of wood strapping, and screwing it to the ends with self tapping metal screws, in much the same manner you did with the rods. Next time I will use the rods, and the chain like you did. One other thing I did different than you did, is I bought 2 of those 4 lightbulb vanity light strips, and I mounted them inside centered in the middle of the hood, then I wired one hood light into the other one, joined them together as one unit. Then I cut the end off of an extension cord, and wired that on to the light fixtures.

Nice setup. Great instructions. Thanks for sharing. I'm a new subscriber.

This is a fantastic build . Instead of using my typical drop lights ( 8 bulbs ) this allowed me to configure them together. Even with a jump in bulb watts ( I say no more than 150 watts ) it would allow some great growth before I move plants into the other tent ( 600w Mars hydro LED ) . Simple and brilliant. Thanks

Instead of cutting the crimped ends off you should cut a series of triangle-shaped flaps on both ends of the duct that can be folded in to make a sort of end cap. I'm trying to visualize it in my head, and I'm pretty sure it should work.

GREAT IDEA!!!!! LOVE IT! Thank you so very much, Great Vid!

I built exactly the same light .Many thanks for material list and instructions . Now I need to know How I should keep the light from newly germinated seed and later on when they are more mature until I take them out in the garden . Thanks for any comment .

i built the same thing but i used a vanity fixture wit 4 sockets works awsome

Excellent video, I followed you steps and now have one nice light system. 8 bulbs

Thank you SSLDADDY. You have a great video to follow along with. I will keep you posted on my grow. Onky thing is it won't be vegetables. Lol.

I figured it out one of t he sockets were broken and crossing and fixed it now it's fine, thanks for the video, very helpful!

This is ideal. thanks for the great DIY!

super sick light and nice video man thank you!

Great video ! I made two with modifications to fit in my closet .

Nice setup!

Clean set-up. I would make a cover for those exposed joints. I'm paranoid and wouldn't turn my back on electricity unless the design was over-kill. I would add a 12V computer fan across the lights when on and make sure the breakers in the panel are new. I'm inspired none the less.

Ya excellent. A guy could squeeze a few more in there . Awesome build, thank you

Your video helped me out a TON thx! !!!

Really does work .... THanks BRO

Love it works great!

great! Thanks a lot for this. I LOVE DIY stuff... repurposing things and saving money.

i think you best use a grounded power cord bud. and id use a heavier cord regardless.

I like this project, think Im gonna try it

seriously thank you so much

Awesome setup. I always had good luck with the general purpose miracle grow. Growing tobacco plants (burley) I use to add a bit more nutrients suggested when mixing it with the water.

very interesting tutorial.

good job and good for you it's a brilliant idea.

Excellent!! Thank you!!👍

I made one following your video snd it turned out better thsn I thought it would. I live in Hawaii so it was just a bit more thsn $40 . Not much. Thsnkd again for the video. Muvh Mahalo

Sweet idea thanks good tutorial

I did basically same thing but used rubber pigtails and splitters and used aluminum baking trays for reflectors.

Tip, use a very long surge protector on the inside with socket to wall wart adapters plugged into every other outlet (or every one if they are spaced) then the Y adapters screwed in. Can even diy a pc fan, plug it in to an open outlet, and secoure it to the end. Two holes and two zip ties. Cool idea on the adjustable reflector. Thats what I'm trying next.

$38.09; wow (price in Canada muchmuch higher! Thanks for the material use ideas. We have a terrible time up here keeping costs down, as shipping is insane and we pay several levels of taxes.

I'm dying lol!! I really am. Everyone is like hell yeah at the start then the chrip starts lol. I'm trying to pay attention to the video.. it's a good video though.

Very interesting I learned a lot today

Do you know if the y splits effect the intensity of the light?

An excellent DIY video, but IMHO you are way too nonchalant in your wiring, especially around water. You need to make sure the white wire is always hooked up to the wide blade on a two blade plugin (or you need to find the white wire with a multimeter if it is an old cord with equal size blades). The white wire (neutral) on any light fixture always connects to the threaded part of the fixture (bulb holder) and is often exposed, the black wire (hot) connects to the very center at the bottom and is hard to touch. If the wires are switched and you touch the metal when you change the bulb you are now charged and if there is a path to ground (damp floor, leaning on the grow bed etc.) its game over! Hooked up properly and no problem, white is already hooked to ground in the panel. Electrical codes are there for usually very good reasons. When working around water especially make sure everything is grounded and wired properly.

A few things about CFLs from my aquarium lights experience. : 1. Painting the inside of the reflector white has been proven to reflect the most light. 2. CFL's are the most inefficient fluorescent light bulbs due to their shape. Look at one of them - the light that is emitted between the coils and inwards is completely lost (bouncing back to where it came). 3. The electronics in the base of the CFL run hot. That is why you must have ceramic sockets to screw them in. 4. 10,000 Lumens with the best German aquarium T5HO are achieved with 108 watts. Cost is $130 for the best spectrum and wattage/lumens/PAR ratios you can get. Very minor heat and that's why they last much longer than the CFLs. LEDs can do the same lumens/PAR but at a higher cost, more emitted heat than the T5HO, and way less spread for the same wattage. So your 200W/10,000 lumens for $40 are good if you have no other option.

Funny,my wife was listening to the video,she says honey smoke detector is chirping,lol,great video though!

Dude the video was great! One suggestion...change the battery in your fire alarm, :)

Great video, when there is water present? Also for common safety practice, a green ground wire shal be installed either single or twisted pair with a common ground. Per NEC code. So in other words it's keeping you safe from shock. Just add a ground to your circuit.

Hey SSLFamilyDad nice video. It gave me some great ideas on indoor lighting. what kind of plants have you grown to the finish with this light setup.

It does matter what wire goes to what. The "hot" or the black wires should be attached to the "hot" side of your socket. You dont want the "hot" to be on the threaded portion of the socket.

with the new 14watt screw in LEDS you can get 21,000 lumins for just under 200watts they are amazing!

How high can you hang these lights to where they would be efficient for annual and perennial as well as house plants in a shelve system in a grow room do you think ?

I built the same fixtures as you show only i used junction boxes on top to connect the wires. What have you actually grown with these lights. Have you tried strawberries, or any other fruit or vegetables? What lumen readings do you get under these lights?

Would it be ok to use 4 pin g24 sockets instead? The bulbs im trying to get are 3200 lumens at 42w each bulb, this would be 19,200 lumens at 252w using 6 bulbs, i dont think ive seen this in e27 cfl bulbs, just 4 pins, usually the e27 types that produce that many lumens are of more wattage.

I am a little late to the Aqua-party from SSL but I started with this one, I like it & I w/build it! Thanks for your efforts and willingness to share. These are really affordable for the average person. Respectfully, Margo Q? How much power are they pulling?

If I was to be making one of these to house 200watt cfls, should I just opt for a two socket fixture?

What kind of heat does the cfl light put off. Thank you for taking the time to show us how you made them.

And to add to my AF/GFI note. You should be using a three wire grounded socket so the breaker/receptacle to operate properly.

Thank you love the video!

I tried the splitter didn't like it. I used the regular socket adapter. But I used a square wood frame the ducting is a great choice gonna get some for my seedlings and veg

Can I build a similar setup with a construction temporary string light. Rated at 1800 watts and 15 amper for 12 light sockets.??

Great video from execution of project to explaining it! Can I get threaded rod cut to size from home depot if i wanted smaller pieces?

Decent diy, thank you! Those bulbs, however, do not use 100w (you said each socket uses 200w near the end). They are 100w equivalent which references how bright they appear to our eyes... kind of like how a heavily frosted 23w bulb could be called a 10w equivalent lol. The actual wattage (23w) is most relevant to growing and is what the sockets actually consume!

Those vents work out pretty good eh? I had lots of bad ideas before that, lol. Looks great.

This is why we need csa

Would this type of setup work for microgreens and doing hydroponics inside

QUESTION---HOW WILL A TIMER HOLD UP WITH SO MANY BULBS???WOULD LIKE TO SEE A VID ON THE SUBJECT...THANK YOU......JDA

with 16 bulbs you could pump out 400-500 watts on this thing and grow stuff during a "Colorodo" Winter. lol who else is thinking the same?

Can u put a relayand switch in the circuit if no surge protector

Did this recently buying all parts from HomeDepot came out to $77.51 USD. This price does not include tools. I used 10 x 100w bulbs rather than 8. That's about 206.42 Lumens per USD. There are currently a few products on amazon with 4 stars such as the DuroLux 4ft X 4 lamps that boast 244.11 Lumins per USD (lamps included) although they have some scary reviews. The bulbs were about $20 which explains some of the price difference however there appears to be more economical option especially if you don't already have the tools.

Thank you :-)

you mentioned light spectrum on cfl or any florescent bulbs you have to mix red and blue to get full spectrum infred ultru violet

do you using avr for safety of the lights ? thanks

.....What about a ground wire ? what happens if something failed like wire, wire connector cap or wire fell out well running??

You need a new battery in your smoke detector:) Nice video!

LOVE IT!!! I'm heading to Home Depot today to build a few for my basement aquaponics system! I do have a question for you. I plan on using daylight CFL's that are rated to the equivalent of an 120 watt bulb. In your experience, what is the power consumption of your lights using 8 bulbs in a lamp? Thanks again for the video!

I put a emergency blanket on the inside of the duct. Seems a lot brighter

use 5(or a few more) 15w amazon basics led bulbs. they already point down so a reflector is less urgent a need.

and you should either tape or bend that razor sharp edge over first, its just not as safe as it could be and if your working around it often then its best you be as cautious as possible and take that extra time to think about safety. you got electricity near water, and some damn sharp edges ;)

I'm going to build this! thanks for sharing! I have one question about the wire you used to give the set up power. does it have to be a certain volts? like a 12 volt wire etc?

what kind of bit please thank nice video

Battery totally distracting What did you say? Love the idea, where is the ground wire for safety, you know in case it shorts out.

So, I changed the batteries in my smoke detectors. They kept beeping. I checked again. They looked fine. But beeped again. I thought I would have to replace them completely. And then the video ended..... I am still laughing at myself... By the way, the video is very helpful (minus the beeping...:)

How do you keep that from tripping your circuit?

Here i was watching this and it made me go a check my C02 and all my smoke detectors lol, change that battery! also, great video helped me alot.

Please use a 3 prong power plug/cord and use the third wire ground to the metal shade. As things age in the environment, that rubber around the bulb sockets just may short out to that metal pipe. Also it does make a difference on the connection of the black and white wire. The black is the center of the outlet. Ever since they started polarized plugs, they meant to have the standard that the smaller of the two prongs is the black (hot) lead.

Just a quick question. If my lamp cord has a ground where would I wire that?

Nice but a bit confusing, didn't read other comments but about the holes you drill, you clearly said that you use a metal bit because wood bit won't do much, you got one thing right, it's not nice holes for the simple reason that you use a wood bit, no metal bit looks like that, next time if you want to keep it simple, take a punch or even a nail and make your punch after get a real metal bit and drill, since it's not tick, go full blast, you will have an uniform hole, :)

Since you have had these in operation for a while. Would you change to LED or are these a comparable alternative?