So ive heard a few ppl recently say they use 1000 watt lights in their 600 watt ballast set ups. They say its less heat and more evenly spread light. I get it cause the 1000 watts are longer but doesnt it take 1000 watts to run them at peak spectrum? Anyone do this?
You are asking for trouble, lol you can do it if it will strike and burn but you prob will shorten the life of your ballast Why not buy a 1000w ballast you can dim ?
I'd be afraid a dimmed 1000w wouldn't give the full spectrum that bulb is able to. I prefer to size my ballast and bulb properly from the beginning. Sent from my iPad using Grasscity Forum mobile app
The only time you should be running a light on a non matching ballast is if you're using a 1000w ballast with its specific brand splitter to run two 600w bulbs off one 1000w ballast but not every ballast works this way.
You can dim the ballast, but not the bulb, if that makes sense. You can use a 600w bulb in a 1000w dimmable ballast because you can turn the ballast down to 600. I believe it doesn't work the other way and if youre trying it then you're just asking for trouble. Hope that helps. Cheers.
I dont see what trouble it would cause. U can run a 1000watt light dimmed to 60 percent and that doesnt do any harm... And we all know 60 percent of 1000 is 600. So i dont believe any trouble will arise lol. Im more concerned about spectrum. Thats what i was asking. Btw i dont do this, i am curious. I am curious if the spextrum and lumens will be that of a 600watt. If so it seems like a good idea. But i have no way of testing it.
Sure, go ahead...if you want to blow up your ballast and have no light at all. Keep the size ballast with the size bulb and don't veer from it unless it is a light that can do that type thing safely. A 600 watt ballast is not designed to carry a 1000 watt bulb and I would imagine make it easier to start a fire. A burned down grow room grows no weed. TWW
Let me give you this example. You have a ladder, it's rated for a load of 1000lbs, you can put a 600lbs on there no problem. Now, you have a ladder, it's rated for 600lbs and you put a 1000lb load on there. You know what's going to happen? Go ahead and do what you want but the fact that you're even debating this is quite scary.
just get a 1kw ballast or a 600w bulb. don't be playing with fire when the risks include but not limited to...fire.
This is a bad idea. You've been given excellent advice by the people posting in this thread. Whatever people you've "heard" from concerning this idea DO NOT know what they're talking about. You can downsize bulb wattage on dimmable ballasts, but you can't upsize bulb wattage on non-dimmable ballasts. If you have a standard type ballast, you must use the appropriate bulb that it's rated for (wattage wise).
Calm your tits everyone! I am not doing it i was curious! Lol. I still dont believe it is harmful in anyway at all, but im not going to do it because i feel it is a waste of power and the bulb wont be the correct spectrum. If it was a 600 in a 1000 watt ballast then id worry.
Ive done it before. For a couple of runs. With no issues ::hides:; Sent from my SM-N920P using Grasscity Forum mobile app
The 'spectrum' isn't related to the wattage in any event. I mean you can get whatever spectrum in various wattage bulbs. That's design/materials inside the bulb, not it's power rating. I could also be totally FOS. Wet
Well this thread gives me a chuckle. 1000w light with a 600w ballast... No need to be frightened, it'll be fine. Yes the spectrum will be off, Yes there will be less heat. 600w light with a 1000w ballast... You'll blow the bulb right away. No risk of fire. No risk of electrocution. You'll simply blow the bulb. Nothing more. The ladder scenario doesn't apply here.
It may not make that much difference as the socket voltage is the same for 600 and 1000 HPS Horticulture is the only major industry to use the 600 w lamp , it appears to be built on the 1000w platform... In most other wattages the socket voltage changes with the wattage At least with a magnetic ballast it just has to be big enough for the load otherwise the voltage to the socket is lower and the ballast runs hotter. Running a smaller lamp might run the voltage up but not much.. Your spectrum would change if you go outside its design tolerance ... Most electrical products have a + or- 20% leeway or margin of error... Chinese ballasts may not have as much thats part of the reason they are cheaper.... That said Mix and match is just plain dumb especially for home growers who may already be well into that margin of error. It all adds up and the weakest link fails... HTH
Good info. Yeah i was just wondering after hearing some new school kids talking about it at the shop. Was wondering if i was behind on some new trick lol