I have just purchased a new 1000 watt lighting system and the ballast seems to be making a loud humming noise. If im in the room next to where the ballast is, I can easily hear the ballast humming away. Does anyone have any ideas as to how I can reduce or elimnate the noise so that when I shut the closet door, you cant hear the ballast inside?
Pretty much all balasts humm. With exception to digital balasts of course. You might have thin walls, you may have it setting on something that amplifies the humm. I have two 1000w balasts, in the room connected to mine. I hear my AC, water pump, and dehumidfyer more then anything else. Mine sit on ceramic tiles, which then rest on carpet. They humm, but nothing loud or anything, but enough to hear in the room of if you stand close to the door.
lol, awful advice max. If you've seen my grow yet, you would know that shutting it off wouldnt do anything but send cupple hundred bucks to no good use.
is the ballast sitting ware your 400w one was if so try puting a peice of carpet on the shelf . or try a chunk of foam under it but watch and make sure its not to hot. some ballasts need time to worm up then they settle down
my new 400w buzz's more than my old 250w (the 250 is a sun system, good quality and the 400 is an htgsupply budget ballast) i assumed that ballasts get louder as they get older, maybe true but does a higher wattage ballast buzz more than a low wattage one? also i was thinking, these ballasts get pretty freakin hot. would there be a benefit of having a fan blow on them?
If you want my HO, send it back and get a digital ballast, what's the restocking fee gonna cost you, 30-40 bucks?. We all make mistakes and we learn by them. And yes I have been looking at your grow, get some Epsom salts.
my new 1000 watt ballast is definetly louder than my 4oo watt system. Djdew - great advice but if you noticed the area above the shelf, you will see a diagonal portion of wall. Its like this because RIGHT ABOVE IT, there is A public stairwell that goes to other portions of the apartment complex. lol. Also, on the other side of the wall that im growing on, there is probably someone elses closet on the other side whomever lives across from me. There are people living above me and and on both sides of me. So having a ballast humm like that could be a little discerning to my paranoia.
Looking at big grow op's in Holland they have fans blowing on the ballasts 24/7 so I guess it's gotta help some. Must extent the life of the ballast imo.
I'm implying, I thought you could change but reading your posts I see you cant, thing like "smoke a blunt with the next kid that knocks on your door" just does my head in. I sincerely hope you get caught.
Someone might be here looking for an answer, so I'll chip in. Two things... Carpet underlay. Preferably the thick rubber stuff that looks like diagonal strips of bubbles. I've tried a few different kinds and that stuff works the best, so far. You can put a section of this under anything that hums, bubbles, whatever. Air pumps (compost tea, hydro tanks) can be really noise for people downstairs, but a layer of this stuff under the bucket makes a huge difference. I have my landlord's office underneath, and his bedroom (small white lie, but something like that) at the other side of a thin wall, so noise is a MASSIVE issue for me, or rather, reducing it is. I also get a chance to go down and have a listen, very useful. The second thing is pipe-lagging. The stuff I have is black, and made of a similar foam rubber that comes in gel mouse pads or stress toys, but slightly firmer. This stuff is amazing. My entire grow room sits on a layer of this stuff, and anything that vibrates or hums is in some way either connected to the shelving system (that sits on the pipe-lagging), or has some pipe-lagging of its own. Inside my ballast (which I constructed from an old apple mac case, being a "Low-Bay light fitting, originally) is more pipe lagging, specifically underneath the transformer, where it bolts to a metal sheet that sits on top of, you guessed it, more pipe-lagging. Pipe lagging also has good heat-resistance properties, being designed to not only absorb vibrations, but insulate hot water pipes, which are, of course, hot. All traditional ballasts hum to some extent, but will start to hum loudly when they are getting old. Heat kills them over time, loosening the internal coils. Lastly, don't be so paranoid. We become attuned to the hums and noises in our grow rooms because they are meaningful to us. We associate the hum with a piece of illicit growing gear, but a neighbour, if he even hears it at all, won't have that thought cross his mind unless it is suggested to him. Saying to your neighbour "Do you hear a hum coming from my apartment" is about the most stupid thing you could do. Try it! haha Think; it's common for people to put computers in all sorts of places, and those things can be really noisy. Step back and ask yourself, "could that be a computer making that noise?". Most likely the answer is Yes. So, no problem. -mu ps.. Springs are useful for hanging fans and other vibrating objects.
Mu, thankyou soo much for articulating your noise reduction strategies. Im going to have to get myself some pipelagging. Seems like a big time cure. As for asking my neighbors if they hear a humming, lol, thats just funny. haha gluck. max --- that post was strictly for halloween night. I wasnt serious about smoking a blunt with the next kid who came to my door. it was essentially a thread to collaborate about halloween experiences that involved marijuana. It was a 1 nite thing and if it really bothers you, i guess I wont post any more threads for non-growign purposes.
Anyone who even thinks about giving drugs to kids should be strung up, I'm sure a lot of people feel the same way but are unwilling to say anything. I really thought u'd turned over a new leaf but hey, a leopard can't change it's spots eh?
I dont condone supporting kids with their drug habits max. And im not a leopard. Im a tiger. I wouldnt be tenacity if i was a leapord would I?