HID lights a fire hazard if left alone?

Hi, I'm about to start my grow op of a few plants for the first time and I'd just like to know if there are any large fire risks by leaving HID lights (MH and HPS of course) alone for a period of several days at a time, on a good quality (walmart ) digital timer.

Everything would be set up properly in a well ventilated bathroom and wouldn't be too hot, lights would be securely hung, etc, so is there any risk of the whole thing going up in flames? The light's gonna be plugged into the timer and then a normal wall outlet (house is fairly new.. but I don't even know what grounded is so couldn't tell you if it is or not)

I'm probably just being paranoid, but I don't want to come back to a burnt down house in several days when I go to water the plants. The light is a 1000w with a digital ballast (they are just some fairly cheap chinese brand, but have seen lots of people buy them)


Thanks so much for your input.

If you set them up poorly and don't take precautions in ensuring that they will not break, melt other things, cause fires. make sure the ballasts are kept cool, and away from flammable sources. ensure that the wiring is done appropriately by a professional, and is enclosed in a well constructed ballast case.

Doing it right the first time will save you time and effort later.

i passed on buying the chinese ballast. they are low quality and dont put out enough power

Well, I bought an HPS light and found that they get *extremely* hot. Alarmed, I did research and discovered that they can definitely be a fire hazard. They MUST be properly vented, they MUST not be on a circuit that might be overloaded. So yes, it is possible that they could be a fire hazard. If you are living in an older building and aren't certain of the electrical system in your dwelling, it's a risk. I've switched to CFLs (though I know they won't be as effective) because I had such concerns over the HID light. I do find that the seedlings are growing nicely under the CFLs that I've set up. I doubt they will flower as well, but insurance will not cover a fire caused as a result of illegal activities.

with the money u spent on a hps 1000 from china u could of bought a namebrand hps 400 thats an electronic ballast that is waay less hot and is more reliable. less of a fire hazzard too.

how much cooler are digital ballasts?

sikwidit bay kid 650 said:

with the money u spent on a hps 1000 from china u could of bought a namebrand hps 400 thats an electronic ballast that is waay less hot and is more reliable. less of a fire hazzard too.

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I get it, you hate chinese merchandise and think namebrand is alot better (it probably is) but unless you have something useful to say on the topic, please don't respond. I know a namebrand will probably have less of a fire hazard.

artemisinked said:

Well, I bought an HPS light and found that they get *extremely* hot. Alarmed, I did research and discovered that they can definitely be a fire hazard. They MUST be properly vented, they MUST not be on a circuit that might be overloaded. So yes, it is possible that they could be a fire hazard. If you are living in an older building and aren't certain of the electrical system in your dwelling, it's a risk. I've switched to CFLs (though I know they won't be as effective) because I had such concerns over the HID light. I do find that the seedlings are growing nicely under the CFLs that I've set up. I doubt they will flower as well, but insurance will not cover a fire caused as a result of illegal activities.

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The house is fairly new and was built in the late 90s, electrically it's pretty simple and I rarely would be using any other electricity in the area of the bathroom, maybe a tv and a lamp with it. Although it's of course alot different, my PC power supply pulls a max of 1200w and it's fine, everything will be kept cool though and there's not really anything flammable in the room itself. The breakers have gone off probably twice in the 6 years i've been there and it was from stupid stuff like a lamp falling off a table abruptly, i believe.

they will be fine left alone, besides faulty shit there is no real danger to having a properly set up light

The newer digital ballasts being used today are more energy efficient and runs cooler than the old magnetic ballasts. The ballasts being sold today are almost all digital and have a dimming option. If setup correctly with proper ventilation and wiring you should be fine, I have seen peeps with 2 1000W HIDs strung together and it's safe. I think the biggest danger would be overloading your circuit so make sure you know how much amperage you are using.

my apollo ballast run cooler than the expensive ballast i see people using. and what? they dont pull enough power? go get your volt meters out my friend.

and what the previous poster just said its all about how many amps. i run my 2000w on 240 30 amp circuit. i would recommend going 240v for your lights so you have less to worry about running all the othr stuff like heaters fans CFLs and stuff on like 15 amp 120v circuits. if you plan on running a heater they pull 1500 watts by theirself. so if you put like a 400 watt light and a fan on the same circuit as a heater your going to trip the breaker or set something on fire.

Well for above my digital ballast get about 70 degrees maybe I can hold my hand on them for 10 minutes and still have lot longer till my hand gets warm. Digi ballast are awesome I threw my magnetic stuff in trash. If your leaving ac on in house close off a few vents in house to build more air pressure and put a peice of ducting from a ac vent to light just to help move air across light

mixin said:

how much cooler are digital ballasts?

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Not much, because there is no escape from the physics which produce the light. The benefit of digital ballasts is that they are: slightly more efficient, totally silent, and smaller in size. I use them, but I do not expect that they will have anywhere near the lifespan of a magnetic ballast. But, the silence alone is worth the trade-off.

#1. automatic fire extinguisher #2 air cooled hood.