MH in HPS ONLY BALLAST

i know about conversion bulbs. but plz read below...

so i just bought a 400 watt hps ballast. a its stated that it is clearly hps and not metal halide. can i light a metal halide with this ballast? i know the high pressure sodium bulbs need an igniter in the ballast to ignite the hps bulb. so if i put the mh bulb in the and turn it on will it light up just fine ? i searched and cant find a direct answer to this. on my other ballast there is a switch for mh/hps which switches off the ignor so would i have to take out the igniter or is it ok as it for mh? i have the schematics for it and can by pass the igniter.

thanks.

It will work w/o you needing to do anything other than screw it into the socket.

thank you darkdesrtuction. i thought so but i found some mixed answers from idiots who don't know the technical and electrical basics lol.

found this on www.ehow.com

How do high pressure sodium ballasts work?

[h=2]Light[/h]

• A sodium vapor lamp is a lamp that uses sodium to create light. It can come in a high pressure or low pressure format. High pressure lamps have more components than low pressure and contain other substances such as mercury. The lamp produces a clarity of light that creates vivid color from objects illuminated by it. The tube of a high pressure sodium light is generally made out of aluminium oxide, due to its resistance to the high pressure, and xenon, that is used as a starter for the light because it won't react with the other gases. Voltage runs to the light through a ballast, which regulates the current.
  
  

[h=2]Balast[/h]

• The arc of gas that extends from one end of the tube to the other is created when ignited, and is made up of metallic sodium and mercury vapor. The temperature of the vapor is controlled by the power supplied to the lamp. With higher power comes higher temperatures and thus higher pressure in the tube, which creates more light. The ballast is an inductive ballast that helps regulate this power by keeping the current constant, instead of the voltage.
  
  

[h=2]Operation[/h]

• The inductive ballast is made up of a coiled wire. The coil creates a magnetic field inside when a current is applied. It stores the energy of the current in the magnetic field it creates. This way it controls the output current that continues on to the light. The store of energy also helps in the starting of the light when it is off, by sending an extra volt of electricity when the current first starts into the coil.
  
  

k. tonight got the ballast wired up and the new hood and everything is good. the mh fired right up and arched now its burning bright.
the ballast was cooper lighting ballast for a warehouse. the ballast has the same specifications as the components on the other magnetic grow ballast. same thing just in a different box and configuration. so i unscrewed the socked and mount and cut the wires.

i had a black white and green leads. then i cut the plug off the hood so i can hard wire it and it works great. put wire nuts on it and the wires are more than enough for the current. so everything is great. we got it for only 30$ up in big bear. cheap./.

not a bad price. was it new or is it used?

was new. cheap. and it works )

My 400 watt vegg light is a HPS ballast and is lighting a MH bulb fine. Doesn't mean it's right though. This has been known to cause melt downs or fires. The old timers have been doing it forever. It works though.

the tag on your ballast says it's for hps or mh

it says its a high pressure sodium. but hps require ignitor to work. mh does not. both bulbs work in it no problem. not hot or anything bad. just light coming from it.

looks like his ballast is rated for both though, it's not an HPS only ballast

You can use a cmh in that ballast , you use it all the way thru your grow.