Seedling light

When we re-did the master closet, we ended up replacing the florescent light because it didn't have a cover. Well, I have re-purposed it, using only scrap materials from my basement!

Please note: This project contains minor electrical work. Do NOT attempt any electrical projects unless you are 100% confident in what you are doing! (Even then you may want to have someone else who is 100% confident looking over your shoulder!)

What I needed was a light for my seedlings. New seeds planted need a lot of light, and if they don't get it they become "leggy." No, they don't grow legs... they become long, and scraggly. (See here for a picture) Basically, they are using all of their energy, trying to stretch and get closer to the light. This causes long, narrow, and weak stems. 
The biggest way to prevent leggy seedlings is to provide them plenty of light, and maybe even a little breeze.

Ok, so what kind of light and how much? Florescent, and as much as possible!
Why florescent? Because it's cool! No, literally... it is a cooler temperature than incandescent bulbs. The light needs to be placed just 1 to 3 inches away from the plants, so if the bulb is too hot your seedlings will be toast!

Ok, Eva's bored with this... onto the project:

Using some scrap wood from the basement I built a basic frame structure to hang the light from. I even found some light-fixture chain left over from the previous owner. I looped it over so it could be adjustable as the seedlings grow. I was rather proud of it... until DH (Dear Husband) said it looked like a torture device.  :(

Eh, he has a point... but it is tough to make a utilitarian, industrial light stand look pretty.

Originally it was mounted to, and wired directly into the ceiling. Obviously I can't just stick the exposed wires into the wall socket, so I needed to connect it to a plug.
I was fearing that I would have to deconstruct an extension cord, but believe it or not they actually sell exactly what I needed... one end with a prong plug, and the other with the exposed wires! Perfect!

Ok, here is what you don't want to do unless you know EXACTLY what you are doing. There are three wires sticking out of the cord: a black (positive), a white (neutral/negative), and green (ground).

So I connect the white and black wires on the cord, to the white and black wires on the light. Check.
Then I connected the green wire to the copper "ground" wire I attached to the light.
I used "heat shrink tubing" to insulate all the connections and keep them together. Basically it is a fancy plastic/rubber sleeve you put over the exposed wires, then heat it up so it shrinks into place.Now no wires can touch that aren't supposed to!






Then the big moment... plug it in, and pray it doesn't explode!
Kidding... (mostly)

It works!
Don't worry, inspector Eva is on the job making sure everything is up to muster. Now I can get on with planting Spring seeds!