Hi all, I’ve an issue with my mechanical socket timer. The one Spider Farmer sent me with the light / tent / extraction fan / etc. I bought from them doesn’t turn the light off completely during the 6 hours of darkness I’ve scheduled. It’s about 99% off, during the “6” of an 18/6 cycle, but when the ambient room is dark as well, I can see a faint glow from the lights. I’ve read that the darkness needs to be absolute, so this is a problem, isn’t it? When I plug the light in directly to the power strip, the lights DO turn 100% off. I’ve tried two different socket timers, with the same result. Has anyone ever experienced this? Maybe it’s the power strip? Or I’ve just been unlucky with the two socket timers. I’ve let Spider Farmer EU know about this, but so far they’ve not responded. It’s been a week. Thanks!
That does seem like an issue. Dr. Bruce Bugbee says that light needs to be bright enough to read a book to effect the plants, but I don’t believe that refers to the entire cycle, just every so often. I would definitely wait to see what spider farmer says. Iveused a cheapie cheistmas light timer with no issues
Most of the “socket” timers don’t have physical contacts to open and close. Most use MOSFETs or Triacs to switch: Low end MOSFET’s and Triacs often have enough leakage current to cause some LED’s to be dimly lit even when in an OFF state.
Best to use timers and switching devices with physical contacts for LEDs.
My takeaway is that he meant the entire cycle. Otherwise, he should have also specified a maximum acceptable DLI for the lights-out period.