why have one .. run cooler without it
he has an excellent point, its what i do. keeping your ballast cool greatly extends the life of the product.
however having exposed parts is sometimes not an option when space concerns and safety issues become a priority over function.
the best solution for this is to get a metal electrical junction box (like a 12" x 12") and mount the ballast components to the inside. you will need to drill holes for ventilitation. also make sure the box is grounded... some magnetic ballasts will not function properly if they are not grounded, and they get there ground from being screwed to a grounded object (like the light fixture it originally came with or was designed to go into)
dont use plastic/pvc or wooden boxes, the ballasts are to heavy and will rip the screws out you use to mount them to the plastic box with, and wooden boxes trap heat and become dried out and brittle and will fall apart from the harmonic resonance (fancy word for vibration) the ballast creates when it is running.
