What do you guys think?

[Volker]

400w max ballast with 360w hal bulb and high pressure sodium bulb, for $80 bucks from a buddy. He used it for one harvest and it looks to be in good condition is that a decent deal? and would it work for about 4 plants?

Sounds like a good deal, but I'm ublear about the bulb? Is it halogen or HPS? Or one of each? HPS bulbs "wear out" after a few grows, but bulbs are much cheaper than ballasts. Also, since the bulb & ballast aren't quite matched, your ballast may wear out quicker.

Will it do 4 plants? Sure. Provided everything else is hunky dory, the light output from a 360W HPS should be more than adequate to take 4 plants from sprout to harvest. Some will argue that you should throw a MH bulb (for the blue) in there for veg, and it does improve the veg, but it isn't a requirement.