Ballasts... hid. help please and ty

a ballast is not the socket for the HID light... a ballast converts the higher voltage lighting system into necessary amount of volts so that it can be either a.) wired into your home's electrical box or b.) plugged directly into the wall
 
You can get ballasts for fluoro's at home depot or lowes. You probably want fixture too, which often include ballasts. Buying just the ballasts is for those who want to wire their own rigged up fixture. Can be the cheaper way to go if you're handy.
 
yes ok... its a device that safely channels the voltage out of the lights.. so they dont over heat and burnout... makes sense....

are these needed for cfl growing.. around 4-6 plants...

and yeah id have to geta fixture.. w.e. that is.. cuz i dont know how to wire shit
 
if you don't want to wire, cfl's may be the way to go
cfl's have their ballast 'built in', cfl has a bulb - then a ballast - then a screw plug
they screw into a regular light socket
lowes, home depot, walmart have cheap fixtures that are suitable for cfl's
you'll need at least 2 bulbs per plant usually, at least for the cheap cfl's, more is usually better
 
growone said:
if you don't want to wire, cfl's may be the way to go
cfl's have their ballast 'built in', cfl has a bulb - then a ballast - then a screw plug
they screw into a regular light socket
lowes, home depot, walmart have cheap fixtures that are suitable for cfl's
you'll need at least 2 bulbs per plant usually, at least for the cheap cfl's, more is usually better
Click to expand...


ok, so cfls dont need a ballast... i just need a good lamp/reflector? or possibly clamps i guess... but i find those get in the way when the plants get bigger.... and what exactly is a fixture?
 
it's a catch all for anything that supports a light socket, the clamps you mention can be called a type of fixture
and yeah, the fixture may be difficult to arrange with the plant as it gets bigger
i made a 'fixture' from a pizza pan(stainless steel) and 3 porcelain light sockets
cost about $10, about as cheap as you can get
good fixtures cost, so keep eyes open for things that might be 'recyclable'
one last item on cost, for 1-2 plants, cfl's are probably the cheapest way
as you get up to 4-6, hid are probably cheaper, depends on plant size in part
 
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