what im trying to ask is can you take a 1000watt Electrical ballast, and run lower wattage lights of it e.g. 600,400? im guessing no! anyway thx in advance:thumbsup:
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what im trying to ask is can you take a 1000watt Electrical ballast, and run lower wattage lights of it e.g. 600,400? im guessing no! anyway thx in advance:thumbsup:
Answer is no. Ballast must match the bulb wattage. No exceptions.
It can be done. I've run 400w bulbs in a 600w ballast and it worked fine for 2 days till I got a new bulb. But I'm sure it shortens the life of the bulb. Its not a good idea.
Galaxy has a switchable ballast that will use a 1000w bulb and you can switch it to 1000w, 600w or 400w.
Of course it is possible but why would you wanna do that and kill the bulb, and possibly do damage to the ballast, or worse. There is a reason they have certain ballasts for certain wattage bulbs. They match for a reason. I agree with you killer, it definitely is not a good idea. So don't get any ideas, seriously!
You could even run a bulb without a ballast, but that doesn't mean it is not dangerous. Quite possibly you could burn your house down. Personally, not a risk I am willing to take.
"You could even run a bulb without a ballast"
Please show me an HID that does that.
Because I've certainly never seen it happen, not even with fluorescent bulbs.
And lighting is my business.
No stop. Please. That is not a good idea at all. Forget about the bulb and ballast. Who cares about a few hundred dollars when your house is at risk?! This is a good recipe for an electrical fire and good luck getting insurance to cover the loss once they realize you were running a grow room.
khy, I am talking about a home made application where you wire the fitting directly to an extension cord, and run power directly to the bulb from the wall. I personally have never tried it but I know a guy that did.
It is basic wiring really, as long as the wires go in the right spots, nothing is going to stop the current from going through the bulb.
Ballast regulates current, without ballast the bulb could blow out, explode,or possibly catch fire. Or worse. Lighting may be your business, but have you personally ever tried wiring without a ballast, it will work (for how long is another question).
I made a little diagram:
[attachment=o248012]
There is no reason it would not function, at least for a little while. But obviously not very safe.
KEEP IN MIND HOME MADE APPS LIKE THIS ARE NOT SAFE, AND I DO NOT RECOMMEND TRYING IT JUST FOR FUN. IT IS ALSO AGAINST THE RULES FOR ME TO POST THIS, BUT JUST TRYING TO PROVE IT IS POSSIBLE, BUT NOT SAFE AT ALL!!
This is basically what it would come down to if you do not wire with a ballast:
[attachment=o248015]
[attachment=o248016]
THIS IS DEAD WRONG.Quote:
Originally Posted by THContent
First off, a Ballast regulates both current AND VOLTAGE. YOU WILL NOT START A 330V ARC TUBE from a non-pulsing 120V power line. There is a transformer inside the ballast that ramps up the voltage, (that's most of the weight in a ballast) and then your starter and a couple of capacitors for smoothing out the power.
I build and design lighting. What you state is not possible.
I never claimed to be an expert on lighting, you can tell it to my friend that has the setup like that. I saw it once but didn't really get a good look at it, I saw the light on, with no ballast.. So it must be possible. Everything in his setup is home made of sorts.
I can try and get a better look at his setup and take some pics if you want, I believe I have a pic on here somewhere of the light with it directly plugged in.
I just took a look at his light, and I stand corrected, he has a ballast very high up and kind of concealed with some sort of connector for more than one plug, looks like a surge protector of sorts. Not sure how that works but that's whats going on. You were right khy, you do need a ballast.
I officially feel like an ass now. Damn eyes, always playing tricks.
I was there when he was hooking it all up and he connected the wire from an extension cord right to the fixture, from there he plugged it in to a socket type deal, but like I said, his ballast was very high up and concealed, So I didn't think anything of it.
A la Horschack... Ooo! Ooo! Ooo! Ooooo! I know!Quote:
Originally Posted by THContent
He could run an incandescent bulb without a ballast, but he'd prolly be waiting a bit for harvest! ;) [/smartass]
I like you, you can admit when you're wrong without much of a problem at all.Quote:
Originally Posted by THContent
Yeah, there's nothing wrong with being wrong. Anyone can admit they know the answer, not everyone can admit they don't.Quote:
Originally Posted by khyberkitsune
I saw what I saw which made me believe I knew what I was talking about, until I saw the ballast I was like shiiiittttt, totally feel like a dumbass now lol.
well that was an interesting discussion:) thx for the info evryone. and yeah didnt think it was possible or safe, i was thinking it would cause the light to blow or something. but that switchblade sound like a good idea
later pplz
You can go down in wattage, but not up.
I have a 1,000w HPS light and a 1,000w digital ballast combo. My ballast is interchangable though, so I run it at 600 watts on a 1,000w bulb with no problems at all. Going down in wattage some say prolongs the overall life of the bulb. Going up does just the opposite.