ballast change

B

boneheadbob

Well-Known Member
Was just at the homely depot
T8 four footers were 20 bucks. No chain, no reflectors, no power cord.
They are designed to wire in as a fixture.

At the True Value, exact same thing except it came with a power cord and a chain to hang it with for ten and change. Usually its the other way around.
 
hammer6913

hammer6913

Well-Known Member
boneheadbob said:
Was just at the homely depot
T8 four footers were 20 bucks. No chain, no reflectors, no power cord.
They are designed to wire in as a fixture.

At the True Value, exact same thing except it came with a power cord and a chain to hang it with for ten and change. Usually its the other way around.
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thats kewl i have a true value in ludington the town i live only has ace and i got got kicked out of there so i will get to town. anybody know the price of the tubes by chance
 
Kart0oN

Kart0oN

Active Member
every lighting setup needs a ballast, a ballast is what "ignites" the bulb so to speak and controls the current through the bulb... electronic cfl ballasts are more energy efficient and cost effective with alot less startup energy a 250w MH or HPS ballasts can use anywhere from .8-1.1 amperes to start and .9-1.4 amperes to run depending on your setup cfl ballasts although im not sure exactly on the numbers use alot less than that and on most bulbs are built in not requiring and seperate ballast hook up which has its pro's and cons because a ballast will last about 50,000-60,000 hours while the bulb will last about 10,000-20,000 hours so when the bulb is done the bulb and ballast get thrown away and ur throwing away a perfectly good ballast hope that gives you a little more insight on what a ballast is for good luck....
 
hammer6913

hammer6913

Well-Known Member
[
Kart0oN said:
every lighting setup needs a ballast, a ballast is what "ignites" the bulb so to speak and controls the current through the bulb... electronic cfl ballasts are more energy efficient and cost effective with alot less startup energy a 250w MH or HPS ballasts can use anywhere from .8-1.1 amperes to start and .9-1.4 amperes to run depending on your setup cfl ballasts although im not sure exactly on the numbers use alot less than that and on most bulbs are built in not requiring and seperate ballast hook up which has its pro's and cons because a ballast will last about 50,000-60,000 hours while the bulb will last about 10,000-20,000 hours so when the bulb is done the bulb and ballast get thrown away and ur throwing away a perfectly good ballast hope that gives you a little more insight on what a ballast is for good luck....
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thanks for ur input kartOon very informative i have learned so much on rui thanks
 
Crazyhair

Crazyhair

Active Member
Medi 1 said:
id like to see a lit non ballast hid light. ....how
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I use to do a lot of lighting for TV and video production. It was nothing for me to pull out a 1K light (MH) from a field kit and plug straight into a wall outlet. No external ballast. I've repaired many as well but never noticed a ballast like what I see with everyone's grow lights. I am not an electrician so maybe there is some kind of ballast inside of the light that I did not realize was a ballast. What I am noticing is that grow companies are selling you a light then selling separately a ballast that you need at a pretty hefty price. I noticed also that the price for bulbs at these places are far over priced. I can order from B&H and other production supply places at a fraction of some of the prices I have seen from grow stores.
 
hammer6913

hammer6913

Well-Known Member
Crazyhair said:
I use to do a lot of lighting for TV and video production. It was nothing for me to pull out a 1K light (MH) from a field kit and plug straight into a wall outlet. No external ballast. I've repaired many as well but never noticed a ballast like what I see with everyone's grow lights. I am not an electrician so maybe there is some kind of ballast inside of the light that I did not realize was a ballast. What I am noticing is that grow companies are selling you a light then selling separately a ballast that you need at a pretty hefty price. I noticed also that the price for bulbs at these places are far over priced. I can order from B&H and other production supply places at a fraction of some of the prices I have seen from grow stores.
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ya no now that i think of it i have seen those older setups like that dont know anything bout em though. or it was a vape dream who knows lol but ur right thanks
 
Medi 1

Medi 1

Well-Known Member
Crazyhair said:
I use to do a lot of lighting for TV and video production. It was nothing for me to pull out a 1K light (MH) from a field kit and plug straight into a wall outlet. No external ballast. I've repaired many as well but never noticed a ballast like what I see with everyone's grow lights. I am not an electrician so maybe there is some kind of ballast inside of the light that I did not realize was a ballast. What I am noticing is that grow companies are selling you a light then selling separately a ballast that you need at a pretty hefty price. I noticed also that the price for bulbs at these places are far over priced. I can order from B&H and other production supply places at a fraction of some of the prices I have seen from grow stores.
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well i called our light guys and they said its impossible to fire a real hid withoiut a ballast. we guess your using halogen not hid, 2 diff worlds there. or the case that you screw the bulb into already has one built into it and you just dont know.
 
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