im looking for a 150 watt hps light with an external ballast, everyone that i look at is internal. The flowering chamber of my cabinet is small (2"L X 3"H X 1"W) so i would like to save space, and not heat the cabinet as much with an internal. Does anybody have any recommendations on a light kit? experiences? opinions? thanks
Well. Honestly, if your going to go that small it honestly doesn't matter that much. The heat generated by a light that small is quite a bit for the size of your grow. But consider the air your going to have to push through that box just to keep it ventinated. That small movement of air should be plenty to cool your room. I don't really think they make HPS's that small (anyone feel free to correct me) but I remember looking and they were mostly internal ballasts. I think your best bet is to use the 150 in your small cab and vent it as well as possible to dissipate heat, or up your annte and go with a 250w, of which i know they make external ballasts for. I know home depot makes 70w security lights with built in ballasts ; You could do something cool and put an HPS on either side (upper left and upper right) and flood your plants with the ballasts sticking out of sealed holes in the grow cab. Any questions or anything feel free to PM me. Good luck!
If you don't mind getting a little hands-on with the wiring, Lowes/Home Depot/Etc. sell 150W security lights (HPS) which I used for a few grows before upgrading. Really all you have to do is crack the case and wire the ballast externally, I believe there used to be a guide floating around here somewhere.