HELP HPS 250 watt ballast

[onelife]

Hi, im new to growing, im past the germination stage

Im using the light above, but the ballast is very very hot, its only been on for 6 hours, is it normal for it to be this hot? and will it cause me any danger?


Thanks

[UMrocksmysocks]

it should be so hot that you cant hold your hand on it for more than a few seconds.. its totally normal. if you can, get the ballast outside of your growroom so your temps dont go way upppp

[onelife]

cool thanks

yep i cant keep my hand on for longer then a few seconds.


is there any chance it could blow or cause a fire?

[orangeman]

Make sure that ballast is on a fire-proof surface. If possible get a cinder block and let it sit on it. And those ballasts are made for that type of thing so no it should'nt blow or cause a fire unless you help it to do so :).

[babystarbud]

cheap ballasts do get hot, but it shouldnt get too hot to touch.
your in the uk, so make sure your ballast has a " CE " mark in the documentation, or on the equipment lable, it should only get about as warm as a high power hi-fi amplifier.
if it has a heat sink attached ( like fins or paddles for despersing the heat) its normal for that part to get pretty hot...just make sure theres good air circulation so the heat can be dispersed.

[invision]

some ballast get mega hot its normal but if its so hot you can smell it id see whats up with it

[babystarbud]

sorry, i didnt see your other post, if you cant keep your hand on it for more than a few seconds, then its either faulty, or a very bad design....

either way, you should ditch it and buy a reliable one.

[onelife]

thanks for the replies

it is too hot to keep my hand on for more than 5 seconds,

its got the CE mark on the ballast, ill post a pic of it

[onelife]

http://img107.imageshack.us/img107/7282/p1010024pb6.jpg


its the same as this, although i got it on ebay

http://www.hydroponics-hydroponics.com/pd_250w.cfm



just read this which sort of gives me more satisfacton:

Pro-V-T System Thermostat Inside - Incase of overheating the built-in thermostat fuse which automatically turns off the devise.)

[babystarbud]

in that case, like orangeman said, ( but only if your confident ), sit it on a small stone slab/brick/slate and make sure its not going to heat up anything thats close to it.

it does sound rather hot for my liking though...

[babystarbud]

also, somthing worth noting, is that a hot ballast is a waste of electricity, a few more pounds spent on a good ballast will save your elecrtic bill a few quid per quarter, and help the environment.

shit, i sound like a fucking hippy

[youngcity]

u might also get a small fan blowing on it so it doesnt get as hot if u can't afford a better ballast.

[onelife]

thanks for the help.


How much should i be looking to spend on getting a light/ballast?

any reccomendations?

also do i have to look out for anything inparticualr?