Need ballast info

Hi, Im using a 400w bulb for flowering six plants and dont use a ballast, and frankly haven't a clue as to what the their purpose is. What are the benefits of using a ballast for my flowering bulb? Any sort of feedback will be greatly helpful

thanks

ummm how are you doing this as you have to have a ballst for hps lighting???? they need the mogul socket and the igniter or they will catch fire and explode if you attemp to put them in a regualr light outlet using a reducer or directly without a ballast?????????

hmm. good question lol. maybe its a differen't kind than what i was told it was when it was given to me. anyways i know its a 400 w bulb for sure (H.I.D possibly)

well MH hps or sodium all need ballasts.The bulb should be about 8 inches long 3 inches around and will fit the large mogul socket all hid lights need ballasts to run.

thanks back to my first question what are the benefits of ballasts?

Well a ballast lets you use HID lights which means high lumnes output. A regular hous bulb says 100 watts but its lumnes and kelvin light wave are wrong to grow.CFLs dont grow crap unless you get like 250 actual watt vitalume lights which cost $90 a pop and give off less light but are cheaper to run.I run 600 watt digital ballasts that run both hps or mh bulbs.They give 30% more light then old standard ballast lights use 30% less power and are silent with built in cooling fans.So a ballast lets you use hps, mh, or old fashion sodium light bulbs that cant be run by simply pluging a bulb into an outlet. The ballast for lets say hps has to have an igniter inside which when you turn it on "warms" the bulb for use.An hps light takes a minute or 2 to come on as the igniter warms the gasses then ignites the bulb to burn thats why I said you cant be using an hps bulb if you have no ballast as its just physically impossible to be done.