What is wrong with doing this? Don't just say your not supposed to cuz it's a fire hazard. Ive heard people arguing both sides of this. Some say they do it with no problem. Some say it's a fire hazard. The Sun System 4 accepts both and theres no fire hazard, but I don't think its designed any differently than the original sun system, which I have(150 hps). I don't see why I cant just stick an mh bulb in there. Whats the deal with this? Can you safely operate a regular Mh bulb in a HPS ballast? Also if you do this do you need to change wattage(ie. 175mh for 150 hps) or do you use the same wattage bulb?
Most magnetic ballasts you cannot safely operate a MH in a HPS. They run on different firing voltages and frequencies, and yes the fire example is very true. Some ballasts are switchable, which is your example. I'd skip having both bulbs, and get a CMH bulb. They run on an HPS ballast, put out the spectrum of a HPS and a MH, as well as running cooler. I cannot tell you how amazing these are.
why dont you read what wikipedia says about the operation of the 2 different lights, and then come back and tell us if you can run an MH in an HPS ballast
i thought as long as theyre the right wattage there wudnt be a problem? is this the case with all or some ballasts?
i dont remember the thread but i remember reading a thread awhile back that said something about the MH "conversion" bulb is no different than a regular MH Bulb. The guy had some explanation about how the bulbs worked and he said that it works fine with a regular bulb. Basicaly the conversion bulb is just to get people to spend more money. Has anyone else heard anything like this? Has anyone been using regular MH bulbs in an HPS ballast sucesesfully??? DEspesite everones objection to it.
Nope. Never heard it, don't believe it. Hey, if you want to try, be my guest. I personally wouldn't risk it. Doesn't seem to be worth it. Good luck.
Most (all?) digital ballasts are fine with both HPS and MH bulbs. I know I can use both with my Lumatek.
How can o tell if its an electronic or magnetic balast? Its then sunsytem 1. i know that the sunsytem 4 is advertised to accept both. My real question is how is the sunsytem 4 any different from mine?
They might be. I don't know, I don't have one. My reasearch suggests that most, but not all digital ballasts are inherently switchable, but I am not 100% sure of that.
It should say "electronic" or "digital" somewhere on the ballast. They cost a bit more so the fact that they are digital is usually made very clear.
True when it comes to old magnetic ballasts. Not true with digital (electronic) ballasts. Let's put this one to bed guys...
I use a 320 watt MH bulb in a 400 watt HPS ballast, if that helps. Noot sure if its digital or magnetic. Its old, no writing and does hum in the beginning. No problems.
yes. I know it must sound like hype but they are amazing. the fact is HPS puts out so much energy in an unusable spectrum, yet CMH can be put closer to the plants then MH, and puts out more useable energy then both HPS and MH combined. The only drawback of CMH is that the bulbs larger then 400w aren't commercialized yet, which makes it perfect for smaller set ups. Google up CMH.
You cannot mix and match MH lights with HPS ballasts. In addition you cannot match a lower wattage light to a higher wattage ballast even if they are both the same type of light bulb (MH or HPS). ALWAYS match the right light bulb to its corresponding ballast. HID light bulbs do not fit into regular sockets - they require a MOGUL socket. That's done to protect people from blowing themselves up accidentally.