ballast?

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garbagecollector

Well-Known Member

• May 17, 2008

• #1

can somebody explain to me what a ballast is and how it works?
i have one 150W HPS bulb and one 200W MH bulb..
can i just screw them into a normal light fixture and operate them?
how does it work..

 

TetraHyC

Well-Known Member

• May 17, 2008

• #2

check this
GROWFAQ

 

G

garbagecollector

Well-Known Member

• May 17, 2008

• #3

i read that, it still doesn't really explain what I need..
i mean i know i need one but what kind and what not.
any suggestions as to what I'll need to operate the two..

 

TetraHyC

Well-Known Member

• May 17, 2008

• #4

It will be better to get a least a 400 watt set up.

 

GrnMan

Well-Known Member

• May 17, 2008

• #5

Bulb wattage needs to match ballast wattage.

400 watt ballast = 400 watt bulb = YES!

1000 watt ballast = 400 watt bulb = NO!

 

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garbagecollector

Well-Known Member

• May 17, 2008

• #6

GrnMan said:

Bulb wattage needs to match ballast wattage.

400 watt ballast = 400 watt bulb = YES!

1000 watt ballast = 400 watt bulb = NO!

Click to expand...

so if i get a 400W ballast that says it's good for MH and HPS i should be good?

 

G

garbagecollector

Well-Known Member

• May 17, 2008

• #7

GrnMan said:

Bulb wattage needs to match ballast wattage.

400 watt ballast = 400 watt bulb = YES!

1000 watt ballast = 400 watt bulb = NO!

Click to expand...

so if i get a 350W ballast that says it's good for MH and HPS i should be good?
does it have to match the wattage exactly?
because i haven't seen any for 350W....

 

GrnMan

Well-Known Member

• May 17, 2008

• #8

Yea, I don't think I've ever seen one like that either.

As for your other question, yes if you get a switchable ballast, you can use both bulbs as long as they match the wattage of the ballast.

 

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garbagecollector

Well-Known Member

• May 17, 2008

• #9

damn, i think i'm gonna have to go buy a 200WHps (so the wattage of the bulbs will both be the same)and then just get a switchable HP/MH ballast, will i be able to operate both of the bulbs at the same time?

 

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gangjababy

Well-Known Member

• May 17, 2008

• #10

1 ballast per bulb

 

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garbagecollector

Well-Known Member

• May 17, 2008

• #11

gangjababy said:

1 ballast per bulb

Click to expand...

damn that sets back my grow a couple weeks i have to find a couple hundred dollars to buy two ballasts, thanks for everyones help
everythings answered
oh, btw
i like you're grow grnman
deuce

 

L

longlivemtb

Well-Known Member

• May 17, 2008

• #12

You want to run MH and HPS at the same time? Why not the MH for veg, and the HPS for flowering? How big is you grow space going to be, 200w is fine for anything around a 2x2 grow area.

 

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garbagecollector

Well-Known Member

• May 17, 2008

• #13

just speculating i was gonna run one at fowering and one at veg..
yea that'll be sufficient wattage for my grow i already calculated the lumens and hat not, it'll work out.