hps ballast

[olylifter420]

hello RIU, hope you all having a high day!

Hey, i am on the market for a 400w hps/mh ballast and was wondering if they will run off the regular wall plugin sockets?

I have no experience with these lights and need some help.

thanks

 

[Luger187]

yup they come with regular plugs.

basically the ballast is just there to change the wall electricity to a form in which the light bulb can use

 

[Pureblood89]

The socket must have a ground but other than that, yes it's just a normal socket.

 

[WeeGogs]

hello RIU, hope you all having a high day!

Hey, i am on the market for a 400w hps/mh ballast and was wondering if they will run off the regular wall plugin sockets?

I have no experience with these lights and need some help.

thanks

the ballast can be plugged in, its purpose is to inject high voltage at start up to get the lamp ignited and run at this ampage and voltage until gas in the lamp stabilises in light and pressure then the ballast will return to normal ampage and voltage and run as normal, the ampage and voltage to get a lamp ignited might take 5 fold the normal power, so the 600w lamp may draw 3000w of power at 110v and 27.2 amps or 240v, 3000w, 12.5 amps, at start up for a few minutes before it stabilises back to normal working power from the ballast, you may notice any power leads start to get very hot and soft during the start up period, and this is normal for a few minutes, this period is the critical time for the unit and lamp, you then must let the lamp and ballast settle after switch off for about ten minutes before you switch it back on or you may damage the unit and bulb.
it is an exact science, so i have given you it in quick laymans terms.
if you want to find out the exact workings check wikipedia.
if you plug a lamp directly in to a normal socket without a ballast it will not ignite, the voltages versus ampages for switch on are far too low.

it would be a bit like putting a massive frozen turkey in your oven at gas mark 1.
by the time it cooked the food would be off, if it cooked.

 

[Luger187]

the ballast can be plugged in, its purpose is to inject high voltage at start up to get the lamp ignited and run at this ampage and voltage until gas in the lamp stabilises in light and pressure then the ballast will return to normal ampage and voltage and run as normal, the ampage and voltage to get a lamp ignited might take 5 fold the normal power, so the 600w ballast may draw 3000w of power at 110v and 27.2 amps or 240v, 3000w, 12.5 amps, at start up for a few minutes before it stabilises back to normal working power, you may notice any power leads start to get very hot and soft during the start up period, and this is normal for a few minutes, this period is the critical time for the unit and lamp, you then must let the lamp and ballast settle after switch off for about ten minutes before you switch it back on or you may damage the unit and bulb.
if you plug a lamp in to a normal socket it will not ignite the voltages versus ampages for switch on are far too low.

hmm interesting. wouldnt u need a circuit breaker for each light if it needed that much power for a few minutes?

 

[WeeGogs]

hmm interesting. wouldnt u need a circuit breaker for each light if it needed that much power for a few minutes?

definitely not, the ballast handles it all.
you will notice you have a black connector that connects your ballast to your lamp/hood, this is the same connector that a 2500w kettle uses which is very safe.
when the lamp switches on this is the critical stage for this connector, it may start to arc inside and become very hot, yes even with a 600w lamp which is a lot lower than a 2500w kettle, when your lamps switch on try to feel these connectors now and again just to make sure they are not arcing and overheating.
thats why you have a ballast, if you didnt, your local electrician would need to come in to your house and refit any wiring and any mcb,s rcd,s mcbo,s and and upgrade all your wiring.
with the ballast you can even plug it in to a basic electrical system in india, clever eh.
stick your tongue on your ballast after it has been on a few hours then come back and i will start to go in to real detail how it works.
let me see the blisters first.
the heat here would be in your house wiring and fuse box without the ballast.

do you smell something burning ?

i remember years ago when we were repairing/refitting flourescent lights igniters etc, we used to call the ballast a choke.
for obvious reasons.
and these high pressure lamps were never ever intended to be used in a home.
as i said if you want to learn the exact science read it in wikipedia or somewhere reliable.

 

[elevate]

I accidentally plugged in my 1000w hps while the ballast was on last
night. did I damage my set up? there was some static electricity when I plugged it in

 

[WeeGogs]

I accidentally plugged in my 1000w hps while the ballast was on last
night. did I damage my set up? there was some static electricity when I plugged it in

i dont think so, the static you are hearing is the static generated by the ballast and is the same idea as a ballast in an old colout tv with crt tube, when you switch it on it will gather all the static electric power and crackle if you run the back of your hand across the front of the tube you will feel a weird tingle in the back of your hand.
in the old days they used to say to the kids that this will put hair on your balls. but thats about all i guess.
LOL