AeroGarden Strawberries

Further examination of the AeroGarden Grow Bulb

During the waiting period for the replacement light from AeroGrow, I started wondering why I was unable to go to a store like Home Depot or Lowe’s to pick up a readily-available fluorescent grow bulb.  My curious nature led me down the path to deconstruct the grow light that left us before it’s time.  This of course led to destroying the glass tubing to get at the internal ballast and wiring.  You should not try this at home by any means.  Glass can cut you.  Fluorescent bulbs contain Mercury.

Ballast Circuitry - Front and Rear views

What makes this little guy AeroGarden light so special anyway?  Furthermore, why do AeroGarden’s grow bulbs cost ~$19.99 when you have alternative ~1450 Lumen, 26 Watt varieties available at 40%+ lower cost?  I do understand that AeroGrow’s business model depends on your purchase of said lights, but I always love a project. 

What if we could build an adapter out of the shell of the old light? Perhaps a socket for a similar fluorescent light?  Could this save us money in the long run? Here is a pair of 26 watt GE Spiral lamps for $11 bucks.  Nearly half the cost for better light.  Let’s compare the Underwriters Laboratories-accepted specifications:

	AeroGarden Grow Bulb	GE Spiral Bulb
Light Output (Lumens)	1450	1700
Energy Used	26W	26W
Estimated Life (Hours)	6000	8000

Interesting… this could be a viable option for us.  However, size could be a factor inside the cramped AeroGarden hood.  We will keep investigating.