250w HPS bulb on 400w HPS ballast???

Hey guys... I got a question! Recently a friend of mine bought a 400w ballast and the guy that sold it to him had it running with a 250w HPS bulb! The guy also gave him a 250w Mercury Vapor bulb along with the ballast! My friend said the guy powered everything up and put the MV bulb in first, then after that, put the HPS bulb in and everything worked just fine! So he bought it! I saw the ballast and it says 400w HPS on it and my friend gave me the same demonstration with both bulbs. I thought the thing was gonna blow! But it worked just fine. So my question is... IS THIS POSSIBLE? I mean... I saw that it worked with my own eyes, but from what I know, you have to match the bulbs wattage to the same wattage as the ballast... Right? And if it is possible... Would he only be using 250w of power even if its a 400w ballast? Any info would help! Cuz I'm stumpt! This goes against whatever I know about lighting. He's been using it now for the last couple days and its working just fine. So how is this possible? Please help me understand... LOL! Thx...

HB

yes you can its perfectly safe.. i do it all the time

never saw anything like that before. I would think that the ballast is rated for a max 400w. attaching a "weaker" light shouldn't hurt anything. (don't put a "stronger" light on it though... i don't think it would work) The light is only capable of using 250w. the ballast is able to provide 400w. Same applies with the ordinary lamps in your house. They will have a sticker on the side that says use 60w light bulbs... you cans till use a 23 or something... just dont go hooking up a q-beam to it.

which begs the REAL question. if you have a 400w ballast... why would you not sue the 400w bulb? ^.^

I think the bulb's life will be reduced if anything since it was not made to handle that kind of wattage..

May even explode after long term usage.

Sounds like a possible fire issue..

I would go with the correct 400 watt bulb to be on the safe side.

A house is an expensive thing to lose over a crop of Mary Jane.

What if someone dies over this?

It would be terrible knowing that you contributed a death because of a bulb.. I couldn't live with myself if that happened, or I would be mentally tweaked for the rest of my life.

"Better being safe than sorry"

Hi HB

Any HPS bulb will work in an HPS ballast the big question is for how long.

Some ballasts Are capable of running any bulb upto the bulb they are designed for but then most ballasts are designed specifically for the wattage of bulb that goes in it.

I personally wouldnt want to run anything other than what the ballast was designed for. IT may work for a few weeks but it could also go boom.

Just my take on ballasts etc.

J

[video=youtube;d7fcjsDFOnA]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d7fcjsDFOnA[/video]

[video=youtube;16A6nYQJEyc]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=16A6nYQJEyc[/video]

CLOSETGROWTH said:

I think the bulb's life will be reduced if anything since it was not made to handle that kind of wattage..

May even explode after long term usage.

Sounds like a possible fire issue..

I would go with the correct 400 watt bulb to be on the safe side.

A house is an expensive thing to lose over a crop of Mary Jane.

What if someone dies over this?

It would be terrible knowing that you contributed a death because of a bulb.. I couldn't live with myself if that happened, or I would be mentally tweaked for the rest of my life.

"Better being safe than sorry"

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not at all. been running a 400wttmh bulb in a 1000wtt hps ballast for a year now...

WOW... U guys a f'n awesome! I go out to smoke a cig n I come back n there's like 7 replies... Thx! Well he only wants to use 250w and the guy had it advertised as a 250 watter but when he got there he saw the ballast was actually 400 watter! But after the guy showed him that the 250w bulb would work fine on it he bought it! And that's exactly what I thought CG... Like I wrote... I thought it was gonna blow up! But it didn't. Its working just fine! MYGIRLS... That's interesting! I totally thought you had to match the wattage of the ballast! Well... We'll see what happens! I warned him but he's convinced it'll b just fine!
HB

Ok... So like Vedaicon illustrated with a 60w house lamp using a 23w bulb... I sorta understand that now! I use 23w bulbs throughout my house and I've never had an explosion! Good illustration BTW! So using a 250w bulb on a 400w ballast shouldn't be an issue as long as he doesn't go over what the ballast is capable of! Now what about putting the 250w MV bulb on the HPS ballast? I saw that it worked with my own eyes. I thought either it wouldn't light up or it would blow. But it lit up just fine! Just like how MYGIRLS is using a MH bulb on a HPS ballast. I totally thought u couldn't do that but MG's been doin it for a year now! Could it be like a universal ballast or somthing? That even tho it says HPS it'll still power any bulb u put in it? Thx again for the quick responses everyone...

HB

nope just a very good sales man.... they are ther for the money.

MYGIRLS: "nope just a very good sales man.... they are ther for the money."
But aren't u using a 400w MH on a 1000w HPS ballast? How's that possible? Is it a 400w MH conversion bulb or straight MH? I can kinda understand using a 250w HPS bulb on a 400w HPS ballast. But not using a totally different bulb than what the ballast is for.

HierbaBuena said:

MYGIRLS: "nope just a very good sales man.... they are ther for the money."
But aren't u using a 400w MH on a 1000w HPS ballast? How's that possible? Is it a 400w MH conversion bulb or straight MH? I can kinda understand using a 250w HPS bulb on a 400w HPS ballast. But not using a totally different bulb than what the ballast is for.

Click to expand...

a ballast is a ballst.. don't let them saleman blow smoke in you ass....

No kidding?... So any ballast will power any type of bulb? So that would mean everything that I've learned about lighting on this site is wrong! If anyone can run whatever type bulb on whatever type ballast like u say... Then why wouldn't everyone have 1 ballast and just run different types of bulbs on it for each growth stage? So instead of me buying a $70 HPS conversion bulb for my MH ballast, I can just put a regular HPS bulb in my MH ballast and run it just fine with no problems? I had no idea I could do that! That would explain how my friend ran the MV bulb on the HPS ballast without a problem! Hmmm... That's something new!

HierbaBuena said:

No kidding?... So any ballast will power any type of bulb? So that would mean everything that I've learned about lighting on this site is wrong! If anyone can run whatever type bulb on whatever type ballast like u say... Then why wouldn't everyone have 1 ballast and just run different types of bulbs on it for each growth stage? So instead of me buying a $70 HPS conversion bulb for my MH ballast, I can just put a regular HPS bulb in my MH ballast and run it just fine with no problems? I had no idea I could do that! That would explain how my friend ran the MV bulb on the HPS ballast without a problem! Hmmm... That's something new!

Click to expand...

the only thing i havn't tried is hps bulb in a mh ballast. i don't think this will work.. but you necer know..

Lol... Well I think I might play it on the safe side! I'd rather spend the $70 bucks on a conversion bulb and not have my house burn down! But that's kinda cool how ur running a 400w MH bulb on your 1000w HPS ballast! I totally thought that was a big NO NO! But I guess not since its been working fine for u for a year! Thx for the info! I just started reading up on your indoor grow BTW! Anyone else have any thoughts?
HB

i can already tell you that many do not aagree with this.. but there it is all lite up in black and white...

I'd NEVER use the un-reccomended bulb. I've seen first hand what CAN happen...say bye bye to your entire crop.

If the bulb doesn't blow up...it won't last as long, and it's RAELLY hard on the ballast itself.

Those of you that say you can do it?...you obviously know nothing about electricity...read up and start using your brains, cause one day your gonna come home to the fire department and police at your house!!

Would you try to shove a square peg into a round hole???

I agree with u about using a different type of bulb on a ballast! Ya... it may work for MG ok but I rather not take that chance! What about using the same type of bulb for that ballast but just a lower wattage? Like Vedaicon illustrated with a regular house lamp using a lower wattage bulb... What's your opinion on that? The ballast is "capable" of pushing 400w but if u put in a 250w bulb, then the ballast/bulb should have no prob as long as you don't go over what the ballast is capable of! Just like using a 23w bulb on a house lamp that's capable of pushing 60w!

Using a different bulb is going to put a lot of stress on the transformer in the ballast. There's a lot of ways you can stretch the rules, but I really don't see a point in pushing it. Actually, the only difference between HPS and MH ballasts is the ignitor. With the exlusion of the ignitor, they are pretty similar specs.

~ooli~

Thx for the replies! But like I said b4... Isn't it the same thing as using a 23w bulb in a house lamp capable of pushing 60w? I mean... Ur using the same type of bulb that goes with it, ur just not using all the juice that the lamp is capable of pushing! That kinda makes sence to me! The ballast is "capable" of pushing 400w! It doesn't necesarily have to use all 400w but its there if u need it! So using a 250w bulb would be well within the range of what the ballast is capable of! I went by his house to check up and the 250w bulb is working just fine! I looked at the ballast and it has "minimum of 90" written on it! My guess is that he could go as low as a 90w bulb. I'm not dissagreeing with what anybody is saying cuz I totally respect everyones opinion n I really appreciate the input! I'm just saying what I've actually seen done! Like I said... I really like how everyone's responded to this thread... So keep it comin! If u have any experience or knowledge on this matter then type away! Thx...
HB