Ballasts just worry me..

Something about having a separate box to control the flow of electricity worries me when it comes to an HPS bulb. Is it worth buying a 150w HPS or just using plently of CFLs?

How much would something like a 150w HPS + ballast run me?
Whats the dangers of having one?
Are they hard to setup / maintain?
Heat issues?

balast box removes one heat source... cfl's still have a balast, its just attached to the bulb. an hps lets you move the balast (& a source of heat) away from the bulb.

When you compare the efficiency of CFL to HPS the HPS lamps are far more efficient! I have a 600w HPS in a 4x4x8 room and neither the ballast or the room gets too hot.

well how much would this thing cost me?

Looks like a ballast is really expensive.. Looks like growing on a budget...issnt really budgetable..

I grow with cfls but hid is the way to go if you want to grow big plants cfls are awesome but im using 400 + watts and i only have 5 small plants but with a 400watt hps i could grow bigger plants and more

you can get a complete setup for $160.00usd shipped thats about what you will spend on cfls over time...

Do HiDs require ballasts also?

Hid = high intensity discharge . All hps $ mh lights are hid. And yes all hids require ballasts. You can prob get the whole setup for under 100usd on ebay if you can do a lil diy!

Madhadda said:

Do HiDs require ballasts also?

Click to expand...

All Hids require ballasts

I know a while back someone posted a $20 150w hps, lemme see if i can dig it up.

Hmmm well nothing is jumping out at me. Do some searching, yoou should be able to find it.

damn. okay well ill start sketching out some DIY projects for a new lighting system. Its kinda saddening to see my amazing image in my mind for growing, look so different.

so if i need a ballast, know where i can get a cheap one? And still, what are the dangers?

The econolight 20$ 150hps no longer exists you can buy one at lowes or home depot for around $100.00----- they stopped selling the cheap 150 at e-conolight.com but they do still have some mh and hps but you will need some diy skills for that

The only danger is of you mess something up! If you follow all the directions and use common sense you will be safe and fine just make sure the lights have enough juice coming from the box and that will keep you safe! Read the faq section im sure all this info is better spelled out in there!

You need 2000 lumens per sqft at the least and 3000 lumens per sqft at best for indoor under lights.

26w cfl=1725 lumens, 86.34 LPW(lumen per watt) $1.50 to $2.50 ea
42w cfl=2800 lumens, 66.6 LPW $7 to $10
54w per (each 4ft bulb) T5= 5000 lumens, 92.59 LPW ($150 to $300 depending on # of bulbs and size)
65w cfl= 4000 lumens, 61.53 LPW $15 to $20 ea
85w cfl= 5000 lumens, 58.82 LPW $20 to $25 ea
100w Incadescent=1700 lumens, 17 LPW. under $1 ea
150w cfl = 8200 lumens, 54 LPW $35 to $50 ea
200w cfl = 1000 lumens, 50 LPW $45 to $50 ea
150w hps= 16,000 lumens, 106 LPW $70 to $90
250w hps= 25,600 lumens, 102 LPW $100 to $175
400w hps=50,000 lumens 125 LPW $250 to $350
600w hps = 90,000 lumens, 150 LPW $300 to $400
1000w hps = 140,000 lumens. 140 LPW $300 to $500 ea

You can get these lumens with whatever bulbs you want. MH or 6500k cfls for veg and HPS or 2700k CFLs for flowering. For making your decision you must take into consideration the cost of the fixtures/bulbs as well as there lumens per watt. Thus letting you compare the cost of the fixture and the costs to run them.

About Ballasts, They are basicly a wirewound transformer and capacitor. They are alot like those little transformers you plug into the wall to charge your cellphone except they are increasing the voltage instead of lowering it like the cellphone charger. There are now digital ballasts that do this voltage conversion with transistors instead of a transformer. If your buying a new fixture I wouldnt let a ballast worry you. Those CFLs have there own built in ballasts, the T5 fixtures have balasts and of course the HID lights also require a ballast. The only way to not use a ballast would be to hook up the 80 some or more incadescent bulbs needed to give you enough lumens and that by far is more energy and danger than a ballast. Every flourscent light in your house has a ballast, every dc power converter for phones, video games, etc also include pretty much the same componets of a ballast.

okay. So if im growing 4 - 6 plants. In a generally small area. its about 5 ft tall and 4 ft wide and 2ft deep. so 20 square ft.

but since my light at this moment is only going to need to be so high right now, and my grows i only plan to let them get to 3ft at most. Think of it this way, i only have 5ft tall of grow space, so hanging something that large, will vastly cut my distance from the plants themselves... so something like a 400w HPS so i dont burn the bastards?

height of plant max : 3 ft.
Room width: 4 ft
depth : 2.5 ft
height: 5 ft

Total Cubic Ft : 50 ft (cubed)
total ft used by plants: 4 x 3 x 2 = 24
24 x 3000 (lumens) = 72,000 Lumens?!!?!? Is this correct?!

Madhadda said:

okay. So if im growing 4 - 6 plants. In a generally small area. its about 5 ft tall and 4 ft wide and 2ft deep. so 20 square ft.

but since my light at this moment is only going to need to be so high right now, and my grows i only plan to let them get to 3ft at most. Think of it this way, i only have 5ft tall of grow space, so hanging something that large, will vastly cut my distance from the plants themselves... so something like a 400w HPS so i dont burn the bastards?

height of plant max : 3 ft.
Room width: 4 ft
depth : 2.5 ft
height: 5 ft

Total Cubic Ft : 50 ft (cubed)
total ft used by plants: 4 x 3 x 2 = 24
24 x 3000 (lumens) = 72,000 Lumens?!!?!? Is this correct?!

Click to expand...

its not the cubic ft its the sqft. so 2.5x4 = 10sqf which is 30,000 lumens.

hey bro i got two 250 hps and three 400 hps lights that i want to get rid of cheap. they work fine but are magnetic ballasts so heat is a issue. i hear they can be modified to have ballasts out side of room but i aint no electrician and my diy expertise involves just buyin new stuff lol. lookin for like 30 a piece or you could prob find them in a electric supply store near you for under a hundred each

dgk4life said:

hey bro i got two 250 hps and three 400 hps lights that i want to get rid of cheap. they work fine but are magnetic ballasts so heat is a issue. i hear they can be modified to have ballasts out side of room but i aint no electrician and my diy expertise involves just buyin new stuff lol. lookin for like 30 a piece or you could prob find them in a electric supply store near you for under a hundred each

Click to expand...

how much you looking to sell?
the 250 and the 400.

i want to get rid of all of em except one 250 i use to germinate wit. after i bought all of them for my first grow then had major heat issues( to many ballasts to small of space) i upgraded to digital ballasts.