Ballast noise

Hello, I bought a 1000w xtrasun magnetic ballast and im wondering if some noise im hearing is normal. The first noise i am sure is normal from everything i have read and heard and that is the constant buzz but that is not what concerns me. What concerns me is there is a crackling type noise "best way i can describe it" that is not as loud as the buzz that i can hear. Does this sound like the ballast is running fine? I just dont want any kind of fire hazard so i figured i would ask. This is my first time running a ballast. Thanks

The light should be a indicator does it function right? It might just be a noise fucker

thizz13 said:

The light should be a indicator does it function right? It might just be a noise fucker

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It seems to run fine. I connected it to an environmental controller and it powered it on and the light fired up nice and bright. I was just concerned with that noise.

it is pretty noisy which i expected but it has that extra little almost crackling type sound along with the buzz and i am just not too sure about it. I am sure it is normal but I just felt i should seek some advice to be safe.

I would just keep a eye on it maybe contact manufacturer

Loud ass huuummm can be normal, but you shouldn't ever hear cracking or popping, that's not normal. Hit up the manufacturer like thizz suggested. your sure there's no loose connections?

Yeah I might have to do that. What sucks is after I pulled the ballast out of the box i noticed that those stickers that say something like "if this seal is broken warranty is void" were broke right in the crack and i didn't do shit. The ballast is brand new and has never been tampered with and it looks like now the warranty may be void. Bunch of bs.

Fuck.... I would call them, sketchy ballasts scare me

Yeah it scares me too. I am going to test it out here again soon and double check my connections to make sure everything is good and see if I hear anything different.

I know it's very unlikely, but sometimes when you get electrical stuff with those warranty void stickers floating about like that, it usually steers one towards believing they may have acquired "counterfeit" parts...square D had a huge problem with this for a while (they make circuit breakers and stuff like that)
I'd be scared/cautious too if shit was making noises....

well i just ran the ballast again and im hearing the same noise along with the buzz. I will continue to let it run and monitor it for awhile. I am going to try to change the thread topic and see if anyone hears anything like this with their xtrasun ballast if they have one. So if you see this and have a 1000w xtrasun convertible ballast please let me know if yours sounds different. here is a link to what i have http://www.hydrofarm.com/pb_detail.php?itemid=7630

that baby has a 5 year warranty. I'd be calling them ASAP

I will call them tomorrow but i feel i may be shit out of luck due to the warranty stickers being cut which voids the warranty. This kind of shit really pisses me off. I will definately make a call tomorrow anyway and see what they say. Thanks for your input guy's.

Hope everything works out for ya let us know what's up!

sure will, i will reply to this post when after i give them a call tomorrow.

I just did some more testing out of boredom and when the ballast is plugged in without the reflector plugged in it just makes the buzzing noise but when i turn it off then plug in the reflector and turn on the ballast it makes a buzzing noise and that quieter shocking type noise "i cant explain it" the sound of electricity i guess lol. Can anyone tell me if the ballast is suppost to sound different when you have the reflector plugged in with a bulb? it kinda sounds like the sound is coming from inside the ballast around where the reflector plugs into. any info from anyone is much appreciated. thanks.

this sounds like a short, did you see any signs of scorching near the plug connections?

this is why i like to deal locally, fore 20-30 more you take it back to the shop and they give ya a new one, for 5 years, def worth 30 bucks

get with iam5toned, he's a whiz

Murfy said:

this sounds like a short, did you see any signs of scorching near the plug connections?

this is why i like to deal locally, fore 20-30 more you take it back to the shop and they give ya a new one, for 5 years, def worth 30 bucks

get with iam5toned, he's a whiz

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no i didnt see any signs of scorching near the connections. I tried to get this ballast locally to begin with but the hydro shop here wanted a little more than $100 more than what i payed for it. Their prices are insane. He also told me that magnetic ballasts are easy to fix and there is pretty much only 2 things that can go wrong and that's is the ignitor and something else "i forget". I dont know if he is correct or not but if so they sell the 2 pieces he is talking about to fix the ballast.

Alright guys. I contacted hydrofarm and told them the situation and they told me that the ballast is not sounding good and that the ebay retailer is responsible for sending it back and getting me a new one. I then told the dude that the warranty stickers are broke and asked if my warranty is voided. The dude said ah fuck, sounds like to me they tried to sell you a used ballast and you need to contact them and tell them that "which i did" and the dude also said he would not fuck me over because the stickers are broken "exact words" he was a cool dude and i have to say hydrofarm has excellent support. Long story short i called the owner of the ebay store and told him what i needed to say and he is sending me a brand new ballast with a return label for hydrofarm and to put the old ballast in the box and ship it when i get the new ballast. so i get my new ballast in a few days so i am happy. Thanks for your help guys.

very nice not often a happy ending with bullshit ebay purchases