Risky business dude, a typicall ballast is good for a couple years from what i read, plus it is possible to degrade ballast life with human erorr with turning off then on right away. Who knows how long they had it, u gana trust a couple of dopers? Many check out htgsupply.com and get a brand new 1000w for like 120.

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"The creative mind plays with the object it loves." - Carl Jung