250w HPS ballast buzzing/overheating

I was gifted a 250w hps light with built in ballast.
Did not come with reflector hood..
did come with two light bulbs.
I tried the one so far and there's constantly a humming/buzzing noise. It clicks on real loud too.p
Its also very hot to the touch. (The metal not the bulb)

Light is on 16 hours of the day. The noise is very annoying as its in my closet..
the over heating worries me.
I this common with many lights or hps lights or is there something wrong with this light?

Yes it's normal.......you have a magnetic ballast which are heavy/hot/loud BUT dependable ......switch out that hps bulb and stick one of these in there http://www.advancedtechlighting.com/cdmed18.htm for the best quality weed under HID............good luck

Will any HID work in the magnetic ballast?
do certain bulbs get less hot than others?
i was looking into LED again as an alternative.

Is your ballast switchable between MH/HPS?? no switch then only 250w hps bulbs, most will fire just NOT DIGI specific bulbs (20,000+ Hz)

CMH are more "manageable" for heat removal that regular HPS at the same wattage.......you can't run a 250w non-remote mag ballast without exhaust in a small closet, It will be a headache.

yes led's will work in your situation without adding intake/exhaust...........to get comparable results to a 250watt hps your looking at a 140-160 ACTUAL led watt panel(s) and around $500.00 bucks

Thank you. Very informative And helpful,
I have an inline fan and ducting / filter all set up to a ttimers
i just got that light going so ill turn on the inline in the morning.
i will look into LED if anything but $500 isn't something I could afford right now