mcelhenye

AND, keep another thing in mind. I'd use the HPS bulb (provided it's a standard bulb from HTG) for 1 MAYBE 2 grows and replace it, as the bulbs will lose power and spectrum over time, 3 grows is about the best we can expect from our cheap bulbs. It's the same with the one I purchased, the bulb is semi cheap, but IS at least 2300K color temp. So i'll most likely be replacing it for my next flowering, or at least the one after that.

Good luck with your grow man!
But keep in mind, that the deal you got wasn't for a cooltube design, and didn't have a decent hood on it either. That + the heat from the magnetic ballast ends up warming the room quite a bit! Since I have the cooltube, I can hook up ventaliation and easily suck the heat from my lamp out of the room!
And welcome to RIU! Hope you stick around a learn something from us, there's A LOT to be learned here!

Good deal bro, hope it works well for you. Those magnetic ballasts can get HOT and can also be dangerous, so...keep a close eye on it. Cause if trouble happens, it can start a fire. And while HTG has a 5 year warranty (not sure it applies if you got it 2nd hand), they won't rebuild your house if it burns down . Read back in the thread a little, people talk about their experience with HTG ballasts and the fact that they're made from cheap parts out of china. I dunno if my ballast is made from cheap parts from china, but I DO know that my ballast is UL certified, and HTG ballasts, aren't.
Switchable is good, but but the MH conversion bulb doesn't sound like it would be needed if the ballast was switchable?? Perhaps I didn't understand you correctly.