Quote Originally Posted by jackforest
Misunderstanding - I'm not using the 400 watt in a rubbermaid growbox

Closet Space:


:wtf:
Ah, I see... my mistake. Well, the choice is yours. Daihashi is right that with a remote ballast, you'll be able to keep the ballast out of the room the light is in if you wish to do so. But, for the life of my magnetic 400, as long as a fan was trained on it at all times of operation, the transfer case never got hot... and barely warm to the touch. It was always kept in the same room as the light, mainly because I'm a lazy-ass who never took the time to route the wires through the ceiling and into the attic. I'm confident that the ballast itself doesn't contribute to much extra heat when cooled by a fan, but the bulb itself does. You'll still need to have air circulating around the growroom to keep the air from becoming stagnant.

If you can keep the ambient temperature of the room under 80F with the lights on, then it really doesn't matter which one you buy. But also bear in mind what Daihashi said about upgrades, you won't be able to do much with the standalone ballast/light fixture, where you could always turn a system with a remote ballast into an air-cooled system later on down the road.

Whichever you choose, I wish you the best with it. HPS lights are wonderful for flowering plants, so as long as temps are kept in check, I'm sure you'll love the results.

Take care. :jointsmile: