mh ballast, does hps bulb fit?

CatEyes420

Active Member
I have an insidesun 400 watt ballast, i just switched into flower and am going to buy a 400watt hps bulb, i was told it would work just wondering for a 2nd opinion

thanks
Cat bongsmilie
 

Nitro1990

Active Member
just had a look at there site and i found ur equip and it dosent day its a dual control so i wouldnt use a hps in it sorry
 

Nitro1990

Active Member
it dosent contain a dual control ballast/igniter so it will either fry ya ballast or cause a fire

some have dual control's in for mh/hps but ur one hasnt
 

CatEyes420

Active Member
thanks some one told me the complete opposite than dark, so if i had a hps ballast could i run both?
 

darkdestruction420

Well-Known Member
yep, hps can run mh or hps or cmh(ceramic metal halide, which only works in an hps ballast) or h.o. (high output) blue spectrum added hps bulbs. Ultimately having tried both mh bulbs and cmh bulbs and normal hps bulbs and h.o. hps bulbs I prefer the h.o for all phases of growing. It does better than the rest in my experience. Cmh comes in second place. Also, A cmh bulb will not work in a switchable/dual ballast unless you find one that specifically says it can be used in an electronic/switchable ballast.
 

darkdestruction420

Well-Known Member
i thought this was a myth?

But they actually do have the bulb you want CatsEyes420
Here it is
This is an expensive one http://www.specialty-lights.com/10010.html
Nope, I too was skeptical when i heard it(why would people waste money on getting mh setups then? was my thought. which i later found out is because alot of people dont know about it ) but then some veteran growers on here who i really respected and knew their shit said they had done it for a long time w/o problems. So I decided to ask a few members who i knew were proffesional electricians and they confirmed it for me. Its a shame so many people buy mh ballasts not knowing.
 

stephaniesloan

Active Member
an hps bulb will not work in a metal halide ballast unit as there is no igniter built in to the ballast, and a metal halide bulb has an igniter built in to it, the metal halide will work in the hps ballast as it does not matter if there are two igniters one in the metal halide bulb and one in the hps ballast. hope that helped.
 

darkdestruction420

Well-Known Member
"an hps will not work in a metal halide ballast unit "
"the hps will work in the metal halide ballast"
I'm gonna assume thats a typo of some sort?
 

HankDank

Well-Known Member
Well this is quite interesting, i think im going to have to now order a MH for my HPS and see if it truely does work
 

CatEyes420

Active Member
So what it is then? everyone is just throwing out opinions can we get some actual proven facts, or some plausible explanations, so which bulb needs the ignitor?
 

darkdestruction420

Well-Known Member
So what it is then? everyone is just throwing out opinions can we get some actual proven facts, or some plausible explanations, so which bulb needs the ignitor?
what? you asked "mh ballast, does hps bulb fit" We answered, what more do you want? we didnt give you opinions.
 

CatEyes420

Active Member
what? you asked "mh ballast, does hps bulb fit" We answered, what more do you want? we didnt give you opinions.
actually i got every possible answer, yes no and maybe... you were the only one to back up your answer with actual proof or evidence... so what is my best bet, i dont have the money to buy another ballast, should i just go thru my whole grow with an mh or purchase a conversion bulb? what would happen if i just try out a hps? so the hps bulb is the one that needs an ignitor?

Thanks
Cat
 

darkdestruction420

Well-Known Member
I'd get the conversion bulb. putting a hps bulb in a mh ballast wont work as you are correct when you say the hps is the one that needs an ignitor which the metal halide system doesnt have.
 
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