What to look for when buying a HPS light?

[skitzo]

Local person on craigslist is selling a 400w HPS bulb, ballast, and hood for $120. Says the condition is good and the light works great.

What I want to know, what should I look for when buying a HPS light? Should I just go ahead and get it while I can? Will the bulb be good for vegging & flowering, becuz I thought I read somewhere else that you can get a different HPS bulb so its better for flowering or vegging(i 4get which one)

skitzo Reviewed by skitzo on 06-01-2008. What to look for when buying a HPS light? Local person on craigslist is selling a 400w HPS bulb, ballast, and hood for $120. Says the condition is good and the light works great. What I want to know, what should I look for when buying a HPS light? Should I just go ahead and get it while I can? Will the bulb be good for vegging & flowering, becuz I thought I read somewhere else that you can get a different HPS bulb so its better for flowering or vegging(i 4get which one) Rating: 5

[the image reaper]

depending on the lamphood-style, 'discount-hydro' sells a new 400 HPS for as little as $169 ... :smokin:

[stinkyattic]

It won't be good for vegging, but you can do that under flourescents.
Ask how many hours of burn time are on the bulb, how old the ballast is, if the hood is air-coolable, and whether it was originally a 'reconditioned' unit, but that is not a bad deal even for just the ballast and hood.

[skitzo]

they said the hood/bulb look like the 1st picture, and the ballast looks like the one in the 2nd picture.

would that be good so far for growing Top44 Scrog? im asking the seller about how long they have used the light, so ill reply on that later.

[the image reaper]

Skitzo, that's the same setup I was mentioning for $169, of course ya have shipping and possibly sales tax in addition, so your $120 deal could be a good opportunity ... figure in the shipping, could be $$$, ballasts are heavy ... that ballast, although a cheap one, is usually sold with a 5-year guarantee, same as my more expensive one ... I'd guess it should hold up pretty well, just try to place your ballast in a cool area, they get pretty warm ... :smokin:

[skitzo]

The hood isn't air coolable(what does this mean anyhow?)
Says it's all about 3months old, not sure how many hours it was used, and NO it was not a reconditioned unit. Says it was bought brand new.

Should I be concerned that the hood is not air coolable? I dont really know about that...

I was wanting to do a SCROG setup for some Top44 seed I purchased. It will be my first time grow.