Indoor Light Dilemma. I Need Ideas!

Before I go into my lighting dilemma, please check out an older post here for pictures of my seed starting setup.

Now that you've seen the setup, and my *tiny* grow light that only efficiently covers a 2 foot by 3 inch section, take a quick look at my new light here. I'm sorry I don't have a picture to post for you... I'm in hella pain from my kickboxing workout last night, and feeling very lazy today.

So, last night I received my new light, and when DH and I tried to hang it, the height adjusters wouldn't hold the weight of the light. I'm hoping you, my super smart and innovative readers (wink wink), can come up with some ideas to help me adjust my setup to hold a heavier light so I won't need to make a new one.

The PVC holds the weight perfectly, but the PVC screw shown below won't clamp down onto the wire tight enough, and the wire keeps slipping.

Let There be Light!

Two weeks ago, I ordered a 2 foot Hydrofarm T5 Grow Light, and I finally received it yesterday. It's the same one that amazon sells, but I only got the light and hood, and no frame. The frame that comes with the light uses S-hooks, which are a total pain to use, and we were able to save a little money by building the frame using 3/4" PVC pipes. It didn't take very long to assemble either.

Here are a few pictures of the process.

Cut sections of PVC, and the light hood...


DH drilling a hole in the PVC t for the wire used for height adjustment. See? Beer and tools do mix!


Making sure everything was measured/cut correctly...


Testing out the assembled system...


A few coats of Hunter Green spray paint...


The ingenious way DH came up with for adjusting the light height. Simply hold the wire while loosening the PVC screw, and adjust to where needed. No stinkin' chains, or S-hooks to fumble with!


Ta-daaa!


I started new broccoli and red cabbage plants on 9/16, so the light made it in time to help these babies grow right this time.