HELP! Ballast BLEW!!!

Floweed

Active Member
Ok so Im 2 weeks into flowering Jock Horror Auto(Nirvana), I believe the buds are about 2 weeks from finishing. Yesterday during the bad weather my light turned off and it no longer works. The ballast is not working, i now its the ballast because i screwed the mh light in to check. But anyway i haven't even had the light for 2 months yet so i sent it back and the company is sending me a replacement., which takes 7-10 business days. So basically im going to have eight 100 watt equivalent bulbs on 6 plants that are 5 Feet Tall (i know thats big for auto's) until next week when the new ballast gets here. Do you think the plants are going to suffer terribly?
 

four20seven

Active Member
Yes. Get more light. Add some CFL's all around your plant. The 2700k bulbs, 23 watt are 3 for a dollar at Do- it center
 

ThegrowerMOJO

Well-Known Member
you can get some really nice cfl's at menard's for 15 bucks little on the blue side but would light you up for now without the heat.they are 65 watters=220 watts i use them in my veg chamber. as long as you don't disrupt the light cycle (12/12) you will only suffer a yield decrease. But i have a question if your 2 weeks in then how are you 2 weeks from finish? even with an auto that don't add up.
 

Floweed

Active Member
im going to see about getting some more cfls then, with the sockets and cords and plugs needed to power them though, it all really starts adding up but i can loose this crop.
@thegrowermojo - they are autos but they are a special case that dont really flower until you put them on 12/12, then they start flowering RAPIDLY. they were throwing out hairs everywhere by the 3rd day on 12/12. this is my first real grow so maybe they have longer than i think but there are buds everywhere and the hairs are turning brown also. my magnifying glass hasn't came in the mail yet so i cant check the trichs yet bet i just hope everything works out. Thanks for your help.
 

smoke and coke

Well-Known Member
your 2 weeks from finish of 6- 5 foot tall autos that have been flowering for 2 weeks?

sorry your ballast blew. you should pick up a spare ballast. even a used magnetic 400 watt for a back up.
 

Floweed

Active Member
Yea im def getting another ballast because I cant take the disappointment of something like this again. And Yea, 5 of the plants are Jock Horror Autos from Nirvana, and 1 of them is a bagseed whose budding up pretty good as well. Two of the Autos are about 6ft long but I have them bent at around 5 ft and they are growing horizontally (they grew past the light so i had to bring em down.) So all of the plants heights are 5 ft, they're in 1ft tall pots so the canopy is sitting at 6ft off the ground. I hope to yield at least 5 zips. Im hoping hard.
 

ThegrowerMOJO

Well-Known Member
If you can't get a zip off a 6 ft plant I would cut that shit down and get some real strains! just saying.the bud in my avatar weighed in at over 2(top cola only) cured and was only 3 ft tall.
 

GanjaGod420000

Well-Known Member
Magnetic ballast kits r the way to go. The digi's suck, in my opinion. I'm an electrician, and I promise you I've heard more people crying about their "nice", new digi's crap out on them, and I've been running the same old magnetics for years and years, only ever having to replace a capacitor, ignitor, and lamps. Those things r like old cars, they might be ugly and rough, but they were definately built to last and stand the test of time...
 

ThegrowerMOJO

Well-Known Member
Funny you should say that my mag ballast damn near burned down my place when it blew.nah i like my digi's plus they use a lot less power and produce a fraction of the heat and noise. not usre what was louder my ballast or the 3 air pumps i had running either way i got rid of all them!:-P As an electrician you should understand heat means wasted power
 

ThegrowerMOJO

Well-Known Member
If your talking to me it's a Dinafem Shark Attack.i love it one of my favorite strains huge cola's of stinky cheesy goodness.The high not the strongest but taste and smell are top notch going to do some breeding with her when i find a proper male.
 

Floweed

Active Member
Thats good info. Im going to get a 600 Watt Mag Ballast with an air cooled hood. Heat was a major issue this grow but i'm learning.
 
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