Save money fellow growers

Ok so i run a 400 watt hps and a couple of weeks ago some one told me i should invest in a MH conversion bulb which is pretty expensive i called my local hydro store and asked them if they can order me one and they said there is no need for a conversion bulb you can use a normal mh conversions were just to make more money so i bought a normal 400 watt mh put it into my hps and its ben running for a whole month on veg for my kush plants no prob just given you guyz a heads up

Is it a digital ballast that auto switches?

i thought this was common knowledge? I knew this from day1 when I bought my kit i could put a 250 mh into my 250 lighting kit....

same connection. same wattage. good news for anyone that didn't know but seriously, I thought this was common knowledge.

no offence intended etc though mate.

No offense taken The Serpent and desert sativa any hps ballast can take an mh bulb that is the same wattage it doesnt have to be a digital but a mh ballast cant take a hps bulb this is because a hps ballast has 3 ignitors a mh ballast only has 2

I have a 175w MH ballast. It's an old school magnetic ballast. Probably 20yrs old.

I'm thinking about buying a 150w HPS conversion bulb for about $50.

Will it work?

Thanks for the heads up man, I'm in the same boat as you. Common knowledge or not, I had no idea, but now I know! I'm gonna go pick up an MH bulb today now, thanks bro!

No Problem Bustedparaphernalia
@Poordad i dont think its a good idea to put in a bulb that doesnt match the watts on the ballast its a major fire hazard

I actually just called HTG Supply (known for their great customer service) and asked them. I believe (based on their response) that this only works with digital ballasts (the expensive-er ones). So if you bought a cheapo system like I did (http://www.htgsupply.com/Product-HTGSupply-400-watt-High-Pressure-Sodium-Grow-Light.asp) buying a normal MH won't work, and you need a conversion bulb. If you have a nice digital ballast, it shouldn't be a problem. Unfortunately, this is not the case for me :/

Oh well, I'll upgrade soon enough. But for the time being, I'm probably buying this: http://cgi.ebay.com/Plantmax-HPS-MH-400w-Conversion-Bulb-Hydroponics-/280653172844?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item41583b906c#ht_1393wt_905

Just a heads up to my fellow growers.

Enigma684 said:

No offense taken The Serpent and desert sativa any hps ballast can take an mh bulb that is the same wattage it doesnt have to be a digital but a mh ballast cant take a hps bulb this is because a hps ballast has 3 ignitors a mh ballast only has 2

Click to expand...

ah right ok I get ya now! darn, maybe buying a new HPS ballast might be the better option in the long run then matey?

Yea why what are you working with?