ballast question?

[GaGrown]

I was wonder who out there could tell me if it is possible to position a ballast in any postition,Or are there ballast's that have to be positioned vertical or horizontal.the bulb socket (large base) is fixed to the ballast.Therefore hindering me from using it in a horizontal relflector.Much like a hydrofarm,reflector.Any input would be an asset!

Ga Grown!

GaGrown Reviewed by GaGrown on 05-16-2006. ballast question? I was wonder who out there could tell me if it is possible to position a ballast in any postition,Or are there ballast's that have to be positioned vertical or horizontal.the bulb socket (large base) is fixed to the ballast.Therefore hindering me from using it in a horizontal relflector.Much like a hydrofarm,reflector.Any input would be an asset! Ga Grown! Rating: 5

[4x5]

far as i know, you can mount it in any orientation, all it does is supply clean steady current.

[mobay]

position the ballast outside of your growbox, and if you can put a fan on the ballast . it gets hot

[GaGrown]

so your saying I can seperate the socket from the ballast andand remove it from the room?

[GaGrown]

so your saying I can seperate the socket from the ballast andand remove it from the room?

I'm a liar bout all this pot stuff!

[mobay]

the cord that comes with the ballast is long enough for you to place outside of your grow box. mine was 6ft long

[4x5]

If separating it looks doable, and you use the correct solid core wire, yes you could put it anywhere you want, but if its more than screwed to the socket, just leave it and mount the whole assembly however you want.

[redneck1]

you can position your ballast however you want. i keep mine on a shelf in a closet inside my grow room. mine sit on one inch rubber, helps isolate the buzzing and ballast. i typically run five thousand watt ballasts in each room. four hps and one mh. as long as your circulation is decent you won't have to much of a problem with heat. depending on how you are doing your lighting, mines vertical(hanging), make sure they are where you can service them if need be. if you use a longer cord from the ballast to the socket, make sure you take in account for how much amperage you are drawing and make sure to size the cord wire correctly. a safe rule of thumb is never use anything less than twelve gauge wire, for up to about twenty five feet. this is for thousand watts lights. one of the biggest mistakes people make, is using cheap timers. spend forty bucks on ebay and pick up a used intermatic timer, or eighty dollars new. they are easy to use, very dependable, and made to take the amperage of lighting. one timer will typically be safe for about forty amps. they can be used for 110 or 220.

[mobay]

dont postion your ballast anywhere, place it away from your box it gets hot. if you place your ballast in with your plants , you now have a bad heat problem. iam taking that your growing in a closet? place it outside of your closet.

[latewood]

I was wonder who out there could tell me if it is possible to position a ballast in any postition,Or are there ballast's that have to be positioned vertical or horizontal.the bulb socket (large base) is fixed to the ballast.Therefore hindering me from using it in a horizontal relflector.Much like a hydrofarm,reflector.Any input would be an asset!

Ga Grown!

In answer to your question. You can mount a ballast anyway you want to. Bulbs on the other hand are limited by their design...horizontal, vertical, or universal/used either horizontal or vertical.

If you want to seperate your ballast from the mogul base and rewire it with a longer chord, it is pretty simple, but you should 'google' a wiring diagram for HID lights before you do.

Since your ballast is attached to the mogul base, then you probably have a single tap ballast. this means that it can only be wired/run 120 volts. That would make rewiring simpler. No extra wires to confuse you.

You can use standard metal electrical receptacle boxes and a little ingenuity to pull this off...Good Luck, and I hope this answered your Query. lw:smokin:

p.s. I showed how to wire a 1000w hps in growfaqs.