Do I Really Need To Buy A Ballast For My 400w Hps Or Can I Run Without It ??????

Can I Just Plug My 400w Hps Lights Into My Timer And Just Run It Cause I See Alot Of Ppl Using Hps Light Without A Ballast Do I Really Need This Or Not Really Cause I Gonna Buy The Refelctor That Suitable For Use Of The 400 Hps Light Then Buy The Bulb But Not Sure If I Do Really Need The Ballast I Can Just Buy One After What Is It Really Used For. Need Help Cause I Dun Have Money For The Ballast I Have Money For The Reflector And Bulb And Im In Floweing Mode Right Now

an hps bulb won't light up without a ballast

you need a ballast to run any hid lighting, if you don't see one its cause its not in the picture but that doesn't mean its not there.

and the reflector doesn't necessarily include the socket to hold the bulb and the cordset to plug it into the ballast.

No ballast for a 400 watter=no light and your plants wont like that. However a 70 watt hps bulb from home depot will run with a basic socket and plug set up.

As watts in these bulbs increases so does the size of actual bulb and threads (the male part) so they need a bigger socket (female part). The bigger the bulb the bigger the socket. It is a positive correlation, have fun

brasmith said:

No ballast for a 400 watter=no light and your plants wont like that. However a 70 watt hps bulb from home depot will run with a basic socket and plug set up.

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wait so can you run the 70 Watts HPS and MH off of a regular outlet?? does this mean that you could also have a split socket and run 2 lights from them?

Yep and it really does light up......i ahve done it during desperate times of needing more lights and not having enough money on hand for the big one. There are also lower wattage hps bulbs that will do the job as well. Good luck. btw the 70 watters cost about 20 bucks each so as one could afford add another and another......pretty soon you have it all covered.