Two lights one balast (keeping wattage in mind)
- Thread starter Numboard
- Start date
this is a really interesting idea. if its possible then perhaps even running two 400w off of one 1000w ballast... hmm.
if you were to attempt it i would try wiring them in parellel to split the current. if wiring them in series you would be hitting the first bulb with the total 600w current and this might disable or blow the bulb.
the 250w bulbs can most likely handle 300w a piece tho, considering during startup of a 250w ballast they are hit with a power spike that must go well above 300w.
if you were to attempt it i would try wiring them in parellel to split the current. if wiring them in series you would be hitting the first bulb with the total 600w current and this might disable or blow the bulb.
the 250w bulbs can most likely handle 300w a piece tho, considering during startup of a 250w ballast they are hit with a power spike that must go well above 300w.
You can buy dual 250 ballasts. You would get allot more penetration out of a 600 on a mover, let us know your measurements and what your trying to achieve? No need to reinvent the weal.
Karma, One Love
Karma, One Love
Ms_Weekend
Member
im just curious as to why?
why not 2 250w ballast?....or just one 600w?
why not 2 250w ballast?....or just one 600w?
I would definately go for it. Its the people who think out of the box that come up with best ideas.
Ofcourse always be careful when working with electricity, (thats a given), and keep an eye on heat buildup on the ballast, otherwise i don't see why it should catch fire or anything. bulb life expectancy might go way down but why not give it a shot.
i might go ahead and try this experiment as well.
btw just a thought, possibly 4 150w bulbs to 1 600w ballast would work better, so as not to overload the bulbs. or 4 250w bulbs to one 1000w ballast.
Ofcourse always be careful when working with electricity, (thats a given), and keep an eye on heat buildup on the ballast, otherwise i don't see why it should catch fire or anything. bulb life expectancy might go way down but why not give it a shot.
i might go ahead and try this experiment as well.
btw just a thought, possibly 4 150w bulbs to 1 600w ballast would work better, so as not to overload the bulbs. or 4 250w bulbs to one 1000w ballast.
Ms_Weekend
Member
they do already make ballast that run 2 600w lights, & 2 1000w lights...I believe they are lumatek.
*edit*
here goes the pic of the dual 600w
*edit*
here goes the pic of the dual 600w
S
sparkjumper
Thinking out of the box is one thing but what you all are considering doesn't sound right to meEach lamp must have its own ballast and lamp rating and ballast rating much match.I've never heard of running multiple fixtures from one ballast but I've been out of the trade over 5 years.Who knows.The insane penguin would know he's still in the thick of it.I still say no just thinking about the little I know about how these fixtures work but again it could be I reckon
lol i agree with you sprakjumper, it probably would not work. but i am still definately going to try this. to be done properly it would need to be measured with a lumen meter as well.
if it were to work, the benefits would be substantial. linking 4 250w bulbs to one 1000w ballast, you would save considerably on ballast costs, and the light could be evenly spread out using more bulbs, and the bulbs could be placed alot closer, increasing available lumens to the plants.
btw those dual 600's look siiick, but im quessing they draw 1200ish watts?
if it were to work, the benefits would be substantial. linking 4 250w bulbs to one 1000w ballast, you would save considerably on ballast costs, and the light could be evenly spread out using more bulbs, and the bulbs could be placed alot closer, increasing available lumens to the plants.
btw those dual 600's look siiick, but im quessing they draw 1200ish watts?
Ms_Weekend
Member
yea im guessing 1200w.
you got to think how much penetration you are going to lose using 4 250w lights.....there is a reason all big grows use 600w & 1000w.....you can grow bigger plants with bigger tighter buds
Harvest Time
Member
in the interest of personal preference of Scrog... i would love to do 4 250w off one ballast... maybe i could afford it if i did that...good luck to all...
I'm pretty sure the voltage requirement for various bulbs are different. So you would have to get into the ballast and mess around with ignitors and transformers.
You could do it if you knew what you were doing. It might be as simple as swapping out the ignitor. But I don't know enough about ballast construction and the startup and steady state voltages of various bulbs to say for certain.
A lot of transformers have multiple taps of the output coil so you might be able to utilize that to your advantage in converting a ballast.
Also, the capacitor in a ballast probably contains enough charge to stop your heart if it isn't discharged. Something to consider.
You could do it if you knew what you were doing. It might be as simple as swapping out the ignitor. But I don't know enough about ballast construction and the startup and steady state voltages of various bulbs to say for certain.
A lot of transformers have multiple taps of the output coil so you might be able to utilize that to your advantage in converting a ballast.
Also, the capacitor in a ballast probably contains enough charge to stop your heart if it isn't discharged. Something to consider.
im probably wrong on this, but assuming the running voltage of a 250w bulb is approx. 1/4 that of a 1000w bulb, (like cashmunny said, something that would need to be looked up), could you not just splice the leads from each side of the lamp socket into 4 sets of leads, and wire 4 250w bulbs in parallel from those leads? and wouldnt wiring them in parallel effectively divide the voltage between them, so 1/4 total V to each 250w lamp? Or does wiring in series only cut the current, the Amperage?
possibly 4 ignitors would need to be used, one for each bulb?
damn i wish i wasnt out getting high during all those science classes lol
possibly 4 ignitors would need to be used, one for each bulb?
damn i wish i wasnt out getting high during all those science classes lol
K
krushonkush
It might be possible as I think about it, to add another ignitor to say a 600W ballast and upgrade the transformer to handle the additional current and then run two lights. Could be tricky though if the bulbs weren't exactly the same and if they didn't fire at exactly the same time.
It would probably be easier to do this with active electronics in a digital ballast. In fact I don't know they don't make one digital ballast with a switch for different size bulbs. I guess they kind of do now. I think some of the digitals have 25, 50, 75 and 100% settings or something.
Maybe it's a liability issue, they don't want someone putting a 250W bulb in a fixture and starting it with the ballast set to 1000W. The bulb might explode or something.
It would probably be easier to do this with active electronics in a digital ballast. In fact I don't know they don't make one digital ballast with a switch for different size bulbs. I guess they kind of do now. I think some of the digitals have 25, 50, 75 and 100% settings or something.
Maybe it's a liability issue, they don't want someone putting a 250W bulb in a fixture and starting it with the ballast set to 1000W. The bulb might explode or something.
Numboard
Member
Ok so heres why I want to do it.
My cabinet is 2 feet by 8 feet
I have very little money to work with so i thought id cut costs
Get one 600watt balast and run two 250's in two econowings
I found a 600 watt balast on ebay for 50 bucks and two econo wing fixtures are only like 30 bucks a piece
My cabinet is 2 feet by 8 feet
I have very little money to work with so i thought id cut costs
Get one 600watt balast and run two 250's in two econowings
I found a 600 watt balast on ebay for 50 bucks and two econo wing fixtures are only like 30 bucks a piece
S
sparkjumper
Man I must have been stoned yesterday when I said all mushy wushy I dont think it sounds right lol.NO it will not work I guess I'm awake this morning.It will work with flourescent lighting but not HID's I wouldn't even try
why will it not work? a flat no really doesnt help answer any questions. if it can be done with flourescents, which also use a ballast, why can it not be done with HID lamps?
also Numboard I dont think it would be a good idea to light 2 250w lamps off of one 600w ballast, the voltages arent equal, even wired in parallel you would be striking each lamp with 300w, (even more when they are first lit).
It may be possible to get them to light but i doubt the bulbs would last very long. also if you do try this make sure that the bulbs are behind a barrier, or in another room before you turn them on, just incase the bulbs blow lol.
also Numboard I dont think it would be a good idea to light 2 250w lamps off of one 600w ballast, the voltages arent equal, even wired in parallel you would be striking each lamp with 300w, (even more when they are first lit).
It may be possible to get them to light but i doubt the bulbs would last very long. also if you do try this make sure that the bulbs are behind a barrier, or in another room before you turn them on, just incase the bulbs blow lol.
