Search results

Trying to adapt and create a dimmer for an existing ballast is not a feasible idea, since the switch settings are effectively related to the number of windings around the inductor coil to achieve these alternative wattage output settings...

I have a dim idea of what you're on about If the digital dimming ballast is heavy then it is a good chance it has a magnetic coil inside, and the circuitry controlling it is digital,,, I suspected that when I saw they all have set positions like = 600w or 400w or 320w, and not a knob you...

As I said I'm not going to do anything until I'm sure it will work...and safely... I think a dimmer solution would be the most elegant..Of course the plasma field in the kitchen flou strip light won't dim.. the plasma is either on or off.. LoL just found a design for dimming a flourecent tube...

Money is a problem, I'm in debt at present.. .I just like to understand how things really work, and it gives me more options... The problem with overheating is a real one. I'm just trying to find a solution that doesn't upset my set-up too much..And I have chronic back and neck problems caused...

Ohms Law is something I am familiar with (working and building soundsystems, and now I'm pretty sure ballasts are simply inductor coils)...thanks for the replies wiseguy316,, I think we are getting somewhere now... I'll have a good head-scratch and then I'll bounce it off "bored electrician"

I'm guessing what the letters mean.R = resistance, t = total...E = ?, I = impedance, P = watts (power) But the formula still doesn't explain if the total is achieved in parallel or series... Actually thinking about it the ballasts are simply wound inductor coils...I think.. I.m off to...

I'm quite a handyman..wiring doesn't worry me..and I will only tackle it when I'm sure of how everything works... In series...it all seems the opposite of what I'd expect..Surely,.running in series would choke the powerflow, and overheat them? I didn't know one could get dimming ballasts..Now...

Try a sheet of glass and some bricks. Cover the plant with some light penetrating protection...even clear plastic sheet, and a piled up earth mini-dyke. Not in a hole 'cos they will flood. You will find if you harden the plants, slightly and gently, at this young stage they will be more...

Thank for the reply wiseguy316.... That might be a useful solution ,,, I can use the smaller ballasts as a kind of dimmer.. thus, hopefully, regulating my heat problem. Can smaller different sized ballasts be used in parallel to give a total sum of output wattage to a lamp, Like, three 40w...

What a pain in the arse, thanks for the reply Wetdog... Not like my sound-system where I run a 3000W amp to drive 1600W of speaker drivers....

I'm a bit worried about putting a smaller wattage lamp onto a larger ballast.. My two 600W ( MH + HPS) are making my grow room overheat, but I have a 250W and a 400W lamp...So, without the chore of changing the wiring and ballasts, can I just screw these two other lamps into the existing...

We are past the vernal equinox so you are getting more than 12hrs of daylight.... Even on a cloudy day there is more light outside than most indoor lamp setups... Did you actually read my last post? Mid-Summer lumen intensity should give you a clue...

Have you considered moving your vegetating plants outside (if possible) and move them in when you want to flower them.. now we are past the vernal equinox..?

I just copied and pasted the answer to you question from another site.. I use a bank of flourescent tubes for my vegetative stage and a combo of MH and HPS lamps for flowering...If you know someone in the building trade ask them to find the flourescent tube light sockets and ballasts,. Often...

Don't worry HowzerMD, I haven't yet put my precious bud in the fridge ..it was just a thought (and a bit of an experiment to see if it was possible).. Anyway, even with a computer fan blowing directly onto my hydrometer, all night, the condensation won't go..which is long enough for mould to...

If by AC you mean air conditioner, I don't have one....We are still in the middle ages where I live...Just looked at my hydrometer in the fridge..it's down to 59% but it is covered with condensation..This is probably due to the hydrometer coming from a warm place at 23C...I'll try a small...

Thanks HowzerMD.. This is true.... Slower drying > better taste and smell.... But I'm impatient :bigjoint: and time is actually an important consideration for me at present ...... You replied a bit quick..... I thought about it and understood what you said, so I deleted my previous reply.

the only reason to have air circulating is to replace the air around the bud with new dryer air (to stop condensation and the subsequent mould)...but it is quite easy, the bulb for the light in the fridge is 12v so I just rig up a socket with a broken bulb and solder the terminals and use a 12v...

hmmm..If your roots are in good health and the pH is correct (electro-conductivity not too high?)...humidity around 35-40% ?? Water smells good? ... Still the flowering period is only a guide..and many other small factors will change this...how much nutes the plants are getting will change...

Thanks diamonddave..I've already got fans going, but they're not much help...worried about mould, and I'm praying for better weather... However, I've got a frost free fridge, and I've noticed how food in there, unless they are in plastic bags or sealed containers, will dry out...and check the...