Worst luck ever...

N

N00b_Farmer

Active Member
Yesterday my MH bulb stopped firing, today my ballast won't stop tripping breakers. I am left with no light in my tent. My plants are just seedlings, i think about 8 days from sprout. I contacted the seller of the ballast (Apollo horticulture) and am waiting to hear back. Best case scenario, I'll have a new one in a week.

I tried the ballast in every room of my house, and each time it flips the breaker.I'm kind of at a loss of where to go now, as I am out of money in my grow budget (not even $5 left) and cannot afford to dip into other money. I have a lamp with a 120V/14W CFL bulb, but I doubt that'll keep my plants alive until I get my ballast replaced. I'm gonna stick it in the tent anyways, maybe luck will be on my side for once.

Any suggestions? I already contacted Low_Baller on Amazon, hopefully he gets back to me soon. How can I keep these plants alive (can't go outside, too cold)?

Please just shoot me any ideas you may have, no matter how crazy or ridiculing.
 
giggles26

giggles26

Well-Known Member
At 8 days old And 6 of those bulbs they will be fine until your new light comes. Just keep them close and you will be fine
 
N

N00b_Farmer

Active Member
Are those bulbs good for supplemental light? if so, I will keep them up even once my ballast arrives. If they won't help growth too much, I can find other uses for them I'm sure.

giggles26 said:
At 8 days old And 6 of those bulbs they will be fine until your new light comes. Just keep them close and you will be fine
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panhead

panhead

Well-Known Member
I have no vested interest with this company but the next time you buy online try HTG Hi Tech Garden supply , they make their own ballasts & are as good as any ballast ive used .
Ya get a 5 yr no questions asked replacement where HTG pays the shipping for you , i have over 30 hps ballasts from them & only 1 has gone bad in 7 yrs .

I called just to tell them 1 finally blew & they sent me a new 1 3 days later even though it was 2 yrs past warranty .
 
N

N00b_Farmer

Active Member
panhead said:
I have no vested interest with this company but the next time you buy online try HTG Hi Tech Garden supply , they make their own ballasts & are as good as any ballast ive used .
Ya get a 5 yr no questions asked replacement where HTG pays the shipping for you , i have over 30 hps ballasts from them & only 1 has gone bad in 7 yrs .

I called just to tell them 1 finally blew & they sent me a new 1 3 days later even though it was 2 yrs past warranty .
Click to expand...
Wow that's awesome. Truly dedicated to customer service.

I contacted the seller I ordered mine from and he told me to send it back (I pay shipping) with tracking, and once they get notice I have dropped it off to the carrier (USPS) they will send another out. I'm rushing to get this dropped off today, hopefully the replacement will be in the mail tomorrow!
 
panhead

panhead

Well-Known Member
N00b_Farmer said:
Wow that's awesome. Truly dedicated to customer service.

I contacted the seller I ordered mine from and he told me to send it back (I pay shipping) with tracking, and once they get notice I have dropped it off to the carrier (USPS) they will send another out. I'm rushing to get this dropped off today, hopefully the replacement will be in the mail tomorrow!
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Thats good the seller is taking the ballast back but its bs you should have to wait for it to be returned , check out htg on ebay , they have massive + feedback & great gear priced less than most , ive been where your at with no light & needing to do something quick , a regular T-12 shop light is enough to veg your lil seedlings with for the next few weeks & only costs $10 at home depot & puts out alot more light than cfl's .

Having a few shop lights layin around will come in handy should you have another lighting issue while the plants are in bud , ALLWAYS have back up lighting on hand .
 
N

N00b_Farmer

Active Member
panhead said:
Thats good the seller is taking the ballast back but its bs you should have to wait for it to be returned , check out htg on ebay , they have massive + feedback & great gear priced less than most , ive been where your at with no light & needing to do something quick , a regular T-12 shop light is enough to veg your lil seedlings with for the next few weeks & only costs $10 at home depot & puts out alot more light than cfl's .

Having a few shop lights layin around will come in handy should you have another lighting issue while the plants are in bud , ALLWAYS have back up lighting on hand .
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I agree, it is bs. however it was a "warranty claim" as there was a 90 day defective return period and a 3 year warranty. I used the warranty.. Just got an email from the seller and he sent me a tracking number, it's in the mail. hope it's here saturday!
 
diamonddav

diamonddav

Well-Known Member
Hot Diggity Sog

Hot Diggity Sog

Well-Known Member
panhead said:
I have no vested interest with this company but the next time you buy online try HTG Hi Tech Garden supply , they make their own ballasts & are as good as any ballast ive used .
Ya get a 5 yr no questions asked replacement where HTG pays the shipping for you , i have over 30 hps ballasts from them & only 1 has gone bad in 7 yrs .

I called just to tell them 1 finally blew & they sent me a new 1 3 days later even though it was 2 yrs past warranty .
Click to expand...
That's great to know cause I've been having terrible luck with digital ballasts.
 
dbkick

dbkick

Well-Known Member
N00b_Farmer said:
Yesterday my MH bulb stopped firing, today my ballast won't stop tripping breakers. I am left with no light in my tent. My plants are just seedlings, i think about 8 days from sprout. I contacted the seller of the ballast (Apollo horticulture) and am waiting to hear back. Best case scenario, I'll have a new one in a week.

I tried the ballast in every room of my house, and each time it flips the breaker.I'm kind of at a loss of where to go now, as I am out of money in my grow budget (not even $5 left) and cannot afford to dip into other money. I have a lamp with a 120V/14W CFL bulb, but I doubt that'll keep my plants alive until I get my ballast replaced. I'm gonna stick it in the tent anyways, maybe luck will be on my side for once.

Any suggestions? I already contacted Low_Baller on Amazon, hopefully he gets back to me soon. How can I keep these plants alive (can't go outside, too cold)?

Please just shoot me any ideas you may have, no matter how crazy or ridiculing.
Click to expand...
This is the reason I buy ballasts and lamps locally at one shop that I've used exclusively since day one.
If I buy a ballast from them and it goes bad they would loan me one until the bad ballast was straightened out.
I realize some people don't live in an area that they can just go to a hydro store , those people need to plan things out in advance and have a spare every-fucking-thing handy.
 
panhead

panhead

Well-Known Member
Hot Diggity Sog said:
That's great to know cause I've been having terrible luck with digital ballasts.
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That sucks , ive had nothing but good experiences with htg gear & ballasts , ive had 24 of htg's 600 watt hps systems running 12/12 for the last 6 yrs & 2 other 600 hps systems going 24/7 for the same time period & have only had that 1 go out .

I ordered a bunch of shit from them about 3 yrs ago including 2 vortex type 8 inch fans & 1 showed up damaged not broken , it was the little plastic box where the cord connects into the fan that snapped off durring shipping , they sent a new fan & never asked for the broken 1 back , i glued it with gorrilla glue & put it in use & am still using it .

Ive got nothing but good shit to say about their light systems & fans .
 
diamonddav

diamonddav

Well-Known Member
N00b_Farmer said:
Yesterday my MH bulb stopped firing, today my ballast won't stop tripping breakers. I am left with no light in my tent. My plants are just seedlings, i think about 8 days from sprout. I contacted the seller of the ballast (Apollo horticulture) and am waiting to hear back. Best case scenario, I'll have a new one in a week.

I tried the ballast in every room of my house, and each time it flips the breaker.I'm kind of at a loss of where to go now, as I am out of money in my grow budget (not even $5 left) and cannot afford to dip into other money. I have a lamp with a 120V/14W CFL bulb, but I doubt that'll keep my plants alive until I get my ballast replaced. I'm gonna stick it in the tent anyways, maybe luck will be on my side for once.

Any suggestions? I already contacted Low_Baller on Amazon, hopefully he gets back to me soon. How can I keep these plants alive (can't go outside, too cold)?

Please just shoot me any ideas you may have, no matter how crazy or ridiculing.
Click to expand...
how long have you had the ballast noob?
 
amgprb

amgprb

Well-Known Member
diamonddav said:
that sucks man.. the cfls will pull you thru tho. buy y splitters for the sockets if you have to. how long have you had that appollo light cuz I was considering buying one as well,all the reviews about replacement are good but is it really worth the headache of losing your plants over a few bucks? this is the one im looking athttp://www.amazon.com/Apollo-Horticulture-GLK600CT24E-Digital-Dimmable/dp/B00521B894/ref=pd_sbs_lg_2?ie=UTF8&refRID=0W6EM7HPQYYVAQBSF389
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I have been running Apollo. ballasts for 3 years now. They are great equipment for the price. And since the price is so low, I have a spare 400 for this sort of emergency.

I own 3 apollo 400 watt ballasts, 1 600 watt apollo ballast, 1 1000 watt apollo ballast and 1 600 watt lumatek ballast.

I highly reccomend apollo
 
N

N00b_Farmer

Active Member
Sorry for my late replies guys. What I'm doing for lighting is I got 7 bulb socket adapter all rigged up to a lamp. The splitters are rated 660w and the lamp who knows. I have 8 18w 5000k cfl bulbs hooked into this lamp providing light. My plants seem to be loving it. They're really thriving, so much so I'm going to keep them for supplemental lighting.

I've had the ballast maybe 4 months. I think it was just a coincidence mine failed, everything from Apollo seems well built
 
diamonddav

diamonddav

Well-Known Member
well im about to buy an Apollo set up... im gonna buty extra parts tho...everything now a days is junk, just luck of the draw half the time if you ask me. cfl's aint bad . that was my first grow. click on my sig down below and see .im ready to hit the hps and see the difference!!!!!
 
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