Busted cooltube

Whats up everyone. A buddy of mine gave me a 400w ballast and cooltube reflector today that he doesn't use anymore. Only problem is that the cooltube is busted. I'm not a fan of them anyways so I'm not really worried about it. I'm hung between cutting and bending the existing reflector inside the tube, or just removing the socket and building a reflector. I've got some aluminum sheeting but its dull, not polished. I'd kinda like to reuse the pebble pounded sheet in the old tube. Decisions, decisions. Anyone got any ideas or input? I guess the most important factor here is can I safely add another light. 12awg and a 20 amp breaker should allow it I believe. I currently run a 400w, 6 inch blower, and a oscillating fan. What do you guys and gals think?
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modifying it will void UL sticker on the light & in the event of a fire,your light will get blamed & homeowners insurance may not pay.I am a big fan of DIY but when it comes to lights & electric,follow code. a buddy lost his garage acouple yrs back & had to jump through hoops to get a settlement.they even checked his credit card statement to confirm his reciept for the lights was valid & not made up.
as for the breaker,20 amps should be fine but you can add up the watts of the lights,blower & fan. keep it under 1900 watts to be safe.

thanks mmc. Nobody else?

when running 400s or less you can run a couple for sure even on a normal 15a line. you should be fine

how is the cooltube busted?

not a fan? you should become one, it can do wonders for you.
make a diy cooltube for your other 400 and fix the other one if you can

then you can get those 400s down liek they are cfls booyaaa

Most of the glass is busted from around it. Its basically the two 6inch rings joined by the metal reflector, with the socket still attached.

Well, I just worked the reflector away from the glass and silicone and reattached the socket. Kinda like a homemade batwing. I'm all giddy and excited now. Doubled my lighting, maybe it'll double my yield.

2supra4u said:

not a fan? you should become one, it can do wonders for you.....

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if you are refering to me, the reason I dont believe in DIY for light fixtures is that in the event of a fire,any lights that dont have a UL sticker or any wiring that is not to local code will get blamed. especially if it is for a grow. once that happens, homeowners insurance wont pay. my buddy spent over 3 months fighting the insurance company to get paid when the fire department stated the fire started at the front of the garage. the grow was at the far end but they refused to pay on the grounds that he had improper wiring & fixtures at the grow & they caused the fire.his lawyer had to show reciepts for electrician and the lights to get anywhere.