I recently bought a 1000w hps/mh light with magnetic ballast and realized after i set everything up that you could hear the humming from the ballast throughout the whole house! Ive gotten the noise reduced alot by putting the ballast in an old rubbermaid cooler and wrapping towels around it, but my only question is will this cause a fire or my ballast to overheat? Any other ways to beat this humming sound would be greatly appriciated because if i cant figure out this problem then i just wasted $1000 on grow supplies until i get my own place.
Sounds like a bad idea. The way that ballasts are made is basically the exterior is used as a heatsink. Air runs over the metal and carries off the heat. If you wrap towels around it, the air isn't going to be cooling it... which will probably cause issues. Probably not a fire, but it might seriously screw up the ballast.
damn i shouldve just spent the extra $150 and got a digi ballast. Will it being in an enclosed space 1'x1'x1' be a problem if i dont wrap towels around it? I figure i can just wrap the cooler in a couple blankets and that would muffle the sound just the same as wrapping the ballast in a couple towels.
Ok so not the whole house but the whole second floor and directly underneath it. I dont think there is anything wrong with the ballast, but just really need to know how to make it quieter. If its in a small space does it need to have and exhaust fan or can it be in a high heat enviroment?
When someone tells you that their ballast doesn't make noise why don't you listen? SEND IT BACK Mine is barely audible.
alright ill give htg a call tuesday when they open. I guess my girls can make it a few more days under cfls
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