hey guys i got a quick question...I have a pretty standard bulb size (like a lamp bulb) hps light....but no ballast does anybody know where to get a ballast? all hardware stores just have the outside lampost heads and such help i wanna flower!!
hey there chances are if it's the same size as a reg bulb its a low-watter, won't pump out enough lumens for anything decent- at that size your best off with cfl's- but i'd suggest looking in a used electronics or recycled hardware shop, look for a high-bay fixture- usually includes everything you need and they go for cheap- around 25 bucks! hope that helps, good luck-
it's not so much the lights themselves, but their fixtures.. i was just at my local lowes and they had a 400w metal halide however did not carry the fixture to go with the bulb....wtf is that lol? anyways guy told me head to specifically a lighting store.. ugh
Basically, the types of ballasts you search for are very common.. made by just about any security lighting or high-bay lighting company (inc Cooper)- just about any building or street in America has light fixtures made of metal halide, hps/mh or fluoro -operable ballasts.. so you just have to look -a good one can be found at a swap meet, second-hand, recycled, etc.. They are as easy to find as water- all ballasts are either pulse-start/magnetic/electronic ballasts and almost never die.. They shine as long as the bulb has some of its initial 60,000 hours of life left.. some cost hundreds, other are a few bucks.. And ya, actually anything 'specialty' is hard to find in general fix-it stores like the depo.. guess we're lucky to have the replacement bulbs for under 20 bucks. i wouldn't search anywhere you'd have to ship it- they aren't cheap or lightweight.. HID is a powerful and useful tool in growing.. but just don't get caught up in the commercial hype.. Some Ads put too much emphasis for new growers to focus their dollars on the newest systems.. others can get quality, simplified.. For example- Online, I found a 'security light' that came out of a parking lot that included hps ballast, bulb and housing reflector for 20 bucks.. after i picked it up, i took it apart and re-assembled it in a large, vented box- and boom! great grow cab, just as effective as those multi-hundred dollar plastic cabs advertised... my advice is stay smart with your time and money- you are investing much more.. - "then that magic brews, given an exceptional environment and genetic line"
Anything you are going to find at the depot means isn't sufficient to cover a square foot... I think the max they carry is 150watts, in the Real Lumen world, its not very effective or efficient.. 250watts would be the very minimum you'd want for HID -anything up to 125watts for CFL's is pretty damn effective
shopping KEYWOD : ballast local hydroponic stores carry it. Smaller ones will have to order it for you, but at least you dont pay the shipping. There's always the internet. Easily available like that.