figuring out grow lights

Hello all,

I am on my second year using grow lights to start various flower/herbs/vegetables in doors. I am still having a bit of a time wrapping my head around it but I decided to take inspiration from a certain video. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4jNlb-qD45Q    

In the video the farmer uses  6500k led shop lights ( https://www.amazon.com/dp/B01HBT3BVM?tag=onamzkylehage-20&linkCode=ssc&creativeASIN=B01HBT3BVM&asc_item-id=amzn1.ideas.3RJNQK37DJT9L&th=1)   My plants seem to be growing okay but I am wondering how long I should keep the lights and how far away from the top of the plants they should be. Right now I have the grow lights on for about 14 hours and the lights are about 4 inches from the top of the plants.  I'd love to take in some advice!

We have used these lights in the past, they will work fine for seedlings and starts.
I usually run mine 12 hrs a day but 14 is okay. Plants do need some light /dark cycles daily.
The distance is something you will have to figure out. The intensity is different with different light and even changes as the lights age. if the light has a good reflector you can go higher sometimes.  I went 2 in. away this winter with my light system but like I said, this varies.   If 4 inches gets light to all your seedlings and they are not getting leggy just go with that.  Too leggy, drop lights down..burning leaf tips go higher...
These lights are only ideal for getting seedlings up to planting out size. As soon as you get some nice sunny days try to get them in the sun to start hardening them off.

Thanks! I will play around and see how it goes. So far everything looks okay. Also wondering,  ones seeds germinate and start to establish themselves do you let the soil dry out pretty well before watering?

Taylor, I let the soil dry out in between waterings, but try not to let them get to the point where they look wilted.  I also use a small fan for air circulation on the plants.  As the plants dance around to the artificial wind it strengthens their stems.  This also keeps the young seedlings from getting too leggy.

Bump it up to 18 hrs on / 6 off for maximum benefit

LED's may not have a  great light spectrum unless they are really expensive ones.

I would recommend fluorescent grow tubes in shop lights held in close, or a metal halide H.I.D. can be held further out and cover a wider area (less lights/more plants)

Both of these would speed the process and produce larger/healthier plants.

I'm pretty sure I'm using the lights you're referencing, and I've had great results with them.
My best results for growth, from seedling to about eight weeks, is to get the lights as close as possible to the seedlings (as they grow, I try to allow them to grow up into/onto and over the light, at the point I will raise it slightly) having the plants leaves touch the lights is perfect in my opinion.  I've never had an issue burning anything.  I leave them on 24 hours a day, seven days a week.  I don't turn them off ever (I used to have them on a timer, but it broke).  I think eighteen hours on, six hours off would be as good as,or maybe even better.  24 hours works for me, and it eliminates needing a timer or another chore.

I posted a write specifically about my setup.  The rack, the trays, the modules, and most of the specifics.  Here it is. https://permies.com/t/174883/Seed-starting-plant-propagating-setup#1376020  There are lots of pictures in the thread to show exactly how I do it, and the results.

Happy Earth Day!