HID lighting

I was just wondering...

Why aren't the HPS/MH ballast kits more popular? 2 out of my 3 400 watt HIDs were wired by myself, and it really isn't that hard to do. You can currently find 400 watt ballast kits for like $50-70, and 1000w kits for 100+...

Anyone have any thoughts, cus personally I think the kits are the way to go if you're on a budget. And just to ease any worries from non-technically inclined (although i'm finding more and more that growing takes a certain level of inherent technical ability), A friend of mine showed me in 5 minutes what to wire, and why I was wiring. Theory and application in 5 minutes.

Any thoughts on why people on a budget choose the CFL's, as far as I can tell, the neccesary number of CFL's needed to veg and flower is about equal with the cost of a 50 bone HID ballast and a decent bulb.

Also just wanted to add that my friend explained wiring to me using a former mounted security light... the kit that I bought had fairly detailed directions.

You are correct about the savings. I think that most people are willing to pay extra for convience of not having to put it together. Or they don't trust their own ablility to attempt this.

You are also correct about the cfl expense. When done correctly a person has invested enough to buy a bare bones HID set up.

part of me also feels like people don't do enough research into HIDs after the hearing that they cost alot. Granted, if you buy a switchable electronic ballast, you're looking at higher pricing, but for starting out, a simple ballast is all your need.

Also, most of the budget ballasts that you see are just ballast kits thrown into a proprietary box. Thats literally $50 markup, for a metal box.

I think that alot of people would benefit from a tut on putting an HID ballast together. If I can get my hands on a decent camera, i'll disassemble mine and put it back together with instructions.

But anyone looking into lights: If you're even remotely handy, give a serious look at the ballast kits.