Continued flickering 600 watt bulb

jhowdy17

jhowdy17

Active Member
I have a 600 watt digital ballast, When I boot it with a 600 watt MH in the hood, it flickers a bit. The problem is, it continues to flicker, though a little less intensely, even minutes after I've started the ballast. It keeps flickering slightly the entire time the bulb is on. The MH bulb I have in it is the one that came with the package I purchased. I have ran it for 2 grows thus far. Is this a bad ballast or a bad bulb? Im stumped...
 
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tellno1

Well-Known Member
I would say the bulb is getting old ... replace it and keep that one for emergencys.

happy growin
 
jhowdy17

jhowdy17

Active Member
so only magnetic ballasts should do that flicker vibe when they start up? i have booted the ballast a few times and its worked fine...but about 3 out of 5 times it goes on with the flickering...
 
jhowdy17

jhowdy17

Active Member
reason im concerned is ive just ordered a new air cooled hood, and im worried i need a new ballast as opposed to a new bulb...another side note i forgot to mention was that another bulb actually fried in my reflector with the same ballast. i booted it and heard a weird popping/squirting noise. obviously i was worried and checked the bulb after a few hours , and everything seemed to be okay. ran the bulb in there for 3 days, woke up one morning , and the bulb (where it screws in) was literally melted to the disc/spring in the socket of the hood! it was a 600w Hortilux too, so i was pissed to say the least haha...does that bring a new angle to the ballast possibly being shot?
 
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skunkdaddydiesel

Member
Not saying this is the issue but just throwing it out there. Do you have the correct wattage going into your ballasts? Maybe something weird going on with the wiring behind your outlet.
 
jhowdy17

jhowdy17

Active Member
hmm possibly...im assuming that the house is prewired for 110v? its not an old house..also i run my 400 watt Hydrofarm MH ballast with no probs...im just prayings its not my ballast that needs replacing
 
PJ Diaz

PJ Diaz

Well-Known Member
jhowdy17 said:
reason im concerned is ive just ordered a new air cooled hood, and im worried i need a new ballast as opposed to a new bulb...another side note i forgot to mention was that another bulb actually fried in my reflector with the same ballast. i booted it and heard a weird popping/squirting noise. obviously i was worried and checked the bulb after a few hours , and everything seemed to be okay. ran the bulb in there for 3 days, woke up one morning , and the bulb (where it screws in) was literally melted to the disc/spring in the socket of the hood! it was a 600w Hortilux too, so i was pissed to say the least haha...does that bring a new angle to the ballast possibly being shot?
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That ballast sounds like trouble. Also, I wouldn't run hortilux lamps with digital ballasts -- stick to digilux.

skunkdaddydiesel said:
Not saying this is the issue but just throwing it out there. Do you have the correct wattage going into your ballasts? Maybe something weird going on with the wiring behind your outlet.
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You don't send wattage to your ballast, the ballast uses whatever wattage it uses. If you exceed the amperage (watts = amps x volts) then you will simply trip a breaker.
 
PJ Diaz

PJ Diaz

Well-Known Member
jhowdy17 said:
hmm possibly...im assuming that the house is prewired for 110v? its not an old house..also i run my 400 watt Hydrofarm MH ballast with no probs...im just prayings its not my ballast that needs replacing
Click to expand...
Buy a new ballast from a local hydro shop with a 2 week return policy (or better) and try it out.
 
jhowdy17

jhowdy17

Active Member
i wish a shop was closer to me(1hr), but that is a great idea.. that may have to be done. i just hooked up the ballast to my replacement hood with a 600 watt MH and its running good. its been on for a day and the only thing i notice is a faint hissing noise when the bulb is operating..guess ill see how the situation looks in a couple days.

By the way, Maverick Sun makes very durable hoods, and their return policy is the shit. Only a a quick phone call and half an explanation and they emailed me a prepaid Fedex return label.
 
jhowdy17

jhowdy17

Active Member
i stopped running mine...the rep from the hood company i sent my fried hood back to literally told me that it was almost definintely the ballast that is bad...he said the cheap manufacturers from overseas dont have the most reliable ballasts..mine was just park of a cheap package deal on ebay so its just a basic digital ballast. also i dont think i was supposed to hun the Hortilux HPS with that ballast in the first place.
 
PJ Diaz

PJ Diaz

Well-Known Member
jhowdy17 said:
i stopped running mine...the rep from the hood company i sent my fried hood back to literally told me that it was almost definintely the ballast that is bad...he said the cheap manufacturers from overseas dont have the most reliable ballasts..mine was just park of a cheap package deal on ebay so its just a basic digital ballast. also i dont think i was supposed to hun the Hortilux HPS with that ballast in the first place.
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No, you should always run Digilux lamps with digital ballasts. The Hortilux lamps will depreciate sooner and give less output when run in digital ballasts.
 
jhowdy17

jhowdy17

Active Member
right on, any suggestions of where to snag the Galaxy ballast online? im tight as shit on cash since my ballast shot...
 
jhowdy17

jhowdy17

Active Member
anyone have experience with the Apollo ballasts? they have rad deals on them on Amazon...so far im sold on the Quantums
 
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