Found this on craigslist: http://columbia.craigslist.org/bfs/1029674137.html I can get half off. How would I hook that up in my closet? Thanks.
how many watts is it? if I missed it in the craigslist post, sorry, i must not have looked hard enough. Theoretically it should work, but if it's a horribly low wattage, you'd probably be better off with mass amounts of CFLs and if it is wired to plug in, you simply have to hang it, thats easy. if it isnt wired, you're going to have to wire it... which simply put it just buying a plug, and putting the positive in the positive slot and soldering, and the same with the negative. But I wouldn't advise you doing this if you dont at least have SOME knowledge of electrical wiring.
you have to explain what you mean by "hook it up" like I sad in my above post, if it already has the plug wired to it, you just somehow hang it in your cabinet and put a bulb in and you're good to go. if not, it gets a bit more difficult, but you can look online for tutorials about how to wire lightbulbs. It's actually not THAT hard, but it's potentially dangerous(have to say this, because there are some stupid people out there)
So this pretty much looks like a ballast, reflector and bulb all in one. Is there anything else I would have to add?
They will work if you have adequate height to accommodate them. They typically can hang down as much as 24". Most can be opened up and re-wired to 120/220 also. The price is right. If you hang in closet, explore ventilation possibilities, they will make your space hot. MH is preferable for vegetative growth, HPS is the preferred HID lighting for flowering. They do have conversion bulbs for MH to HPS.
Thanks for your help, I gave both of you reps. My plant is currently 5 inches tall and maybe 3 weeks old. The light is said to be several years old. He is selling it to me for $25 bucks. He thinks that it has an integrated ballast on top of it. Those lights were used to illuminate an entire church. So it pretty much seems like a full set right? Or is there anything else I'd have to get? It seems to be a ballast, reflector, fixture, and bulb all in one. The person selling it also said that some already come with plug.
You will need at least a new plug end or wire with plug end, I doubt your house is wired for 277 volts. Before you buy, take a screwdriver and open up ballast where wire goes to make sure it can be wired for 120 or 240. There is usually an array of different connections to wire for available power, and it is marked inside the ballast. If its designated 277v only(I doubt it), you would have to have a designated circuit run from your box to your closet by a LICENSED ELECTRICIAN which would make the price not so good. And suspicious to the electrician. Anyway......good luck and I hope it works out for you. BTW..............thanks for the rep!