External Temp of Electronic Ballasts

Greetings, Dudes and Dudettes,

I'm preparing to move my plants into the vegetative stage and was checking temps with a laser thermometer. Inside the cabinet with a 600 HPS the temps are around 80*F after my trial run. The electronic remote ballast sez it's external temp is around 103*F. It isn't inside the cabinet, but lying on the carpet outside of it. Does that sound normal?? Or is that temp a little on the high side. Maybe I should mount the ballast on the wall, but then, so much for stealth.
First time indoor hydro grower.

you shouldnt put the ballast on the floor especially the carpet.
im not sure how hot those electronic ballasts get. i have a magnetic ballast and it gets hotter than that i beleive. electronic or digitals run cooler than a magnetic.

After running it for the first time at 18 hours, the temp spiked up to 114*F. I can lay my hand on it with no problem, but that still seems a little warm to me. I might either mount it to the wall or possibly on the outside of the cab.

always always ALWAYS mount ballasts on something fireproof, with nothing combustible above. they DO go bad from time to time...

I mounted my ballast outside of the grow room and was able to drop the temps by 3 degrees F. It is a magnetic ballast though and I don't know how much hotter it gets than an electronic ballast. I have it on the cold cement basement floor and it seems to be happier there.

KP2 said:

always always ALWAYS mount ballasts on something fireproof, with nothing combustible above. they DO go bad from time to time...

Click to expand...

That's good advice. Maybe I'll use a masonary 'soap' slab and set it on that. The back of the cabinet is also an option, but I'd like to finish this grow before I start chopping thangs up. I DID just mount a SMOKE DETECTOR in the room. The external temp of the digital ballast is right around 105-110*F today, but I've got the window cracked in the bedroom where my grow cabinet is, and it's like 12*F outside right now. Interior of the cab is staying right around 80*F, and the humidity is @ 20% unless the flood table is filling, then the humidity jumps to @ 35%.
Only thang better than homegrown tomato's is homegrown reefers.

I've done some research on magnetic and electronic ballasts. My exterior case temp is actuall quite low, compared to other electronic ballasts. Mine is usually around 105*-115*F. Some of the others that were tested were running around 150*-160*F. No electronic ballasts bear the ANSI logo, yet. None have been independently certified for fire hazard or RFI.
You are relying on just the manufacterer's info and as we all know, when someone is trying to sell something that they represent, it's always the best. NOT.

My magnetic one is suspended by hooks in my grow area. I should relocate it out of the room, but I think i'll just buy a air cooled reflector for that light (MH) to compensate for it being in the area. It is 400w, and my area it is in is 4x4x3. Its for vegging. I figured if it was suspended, air could flow around the entire thing and cool it a bit better. My temps stayed in the mid-80's.

My flowering area is 4x4x5, and I use a 600w HPS with a digital ballast. It is mounted to some drywall. Seems to run cooler than my magnetic for my MH.

mines in my grow room. its a 1000wtt and gets extreamly hot. with it being in the room with my fans they help to cool my ballast down.

I have 250W ballast both for MH and HPS and it gets hot as hell. It's in a closet, lying on a wooden shelf. Somebody said if you hold it on wood an it gets bad - it might ignite. I guess i'm taking my chances. Don't know the temp in F.