4 Bulbs on 1 ballast?

ttystikk

Well-Known Member
A single 1000W bulb pulls more than 1000W at the ballast. (4) 250 w bulbs will pull even more because 1: each 250W bulb actually uses slightly more than 250W@the ballast, and 2: you now have 4 times the resistance because 4 bulbs. You could probably run 3 250's off a 100W ballast and overdrive them a little, it will shorten bulb life, but not considerably. Personally, I think that much light in a 40" circle is going to be an oven...
This logic is incorrect; all lamps pull the wattage they're fed and magnetic ballasts are designed to handle it by using a bit more power, somewhere around 5-15% depending on the age of the components inside. Digital ballasts don't pull extra watts because they don't need to.
 

Glaucoma

Well-Known Member
You happen to be incorrect; you can already buy a splitter to run two 600W HPS lamps from one thouie ballast. However, unless that ballast can push 1200W, you're only going to be driving those lamps at 500W ea, not ideal.

Moving on; the most efficient HPS lamps are 600W, followed closely by the thouie. Smaller ones just don't have the lumens per watt punch, nor the spectrum to keep up with their big brothers.

While you can in theory run, say, 4 x 250W HPS lamps in series on a single thouie ballast, there are more disadvantages than upsides. For instance, if one of your bulbs fails, the others quit, too. There's extra expense, and of course you don't get the same performance for your kilowatts as with the thouie.
It would appear so. My bad, fellas.

+1 for everything in your post.
 

jimmy slim big

Well-Known Member
i think if it would be something id maybe tone down the amount pf bulbs lol say 3x600 and 1,000 in middle.... i was having many ideas flying in and out all night lol .... but i plan to run a 10x8 flower room this summer (permanint setup) with 4,000 watts, open bulb...600 watt hps, 400 watt mh and maybe 1,000 or 2.... idk... hmmm
 

ttystikk

Well-Known Member
i think if it would be something id maybe tone down the amount pf bulbs lol say 3x600 and 1,000 in middle.... i was having many ideas flying in and out all night lol .... but i plan to run a 10x8 flower room this summer (permanint setup) with 4,000 watts, open bulb...600 watt hps, 400 watt mh and maybe 1,000 or 2.... idk... hmmm
Why do you want different sizes of the same bulb type? It's redundant and expensive.
 

rob333

Well-Known Member
now that ive read a bit more and heard from others i know it wont work... i wasking thinking 4 250 watt bulbs makes a 1,000 watts so maybe i could get 1,500 watt ballast ... buut again i know now!!.... and for future posts please if your gonna add your input could you do it without being a condescending ass!?!? ... im not stupid!! ..im also not an electrician!! but again dude im by far an idiot! i have the smarts, talent, and ability to learn/teach myself anything, and i have ideas just pooring in all day everyday and yea maybe some are better then others but im thinker and ive always tinkered, built, fixed... anything that has to do with using my hands and mind!! and im the type that likes to talk shit out, bounce ideas off others and maybe come up with a way to make something better!!.... and for real bro seeing your comment is discouraging as fuck!! and its not like you were a total dick but still i hate when people are condescending!! you should have just asked me if i was stupid or something cause thats how i take it... anways just a " that wont work man, your gonna have to run a ballast for each bulb" would have been just fine!!!
were u just giveing me your life story there ?
 
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