What do you mount ballast kits in?

[toastfighter2]

I am planning on putting a 400w(or bigger), and a flip flop into a huge ammo canister I picked up at the army navy surplus. It's roughly 8"*8"*12", so I already plan on it getting a little toasty in there, and I am going to cut two holes in it and mount a fan on one side(with grills and a filter too).

 

[Sam the Caveman]

3 400 watt ballast kits will fit perfectly into a regular size $12 metal mailbox. You will have to make some vents though and mount a fan.

 

[Medium Pimpin']

I would be sitting there with a fire extinguisher.

I have changed out a tone of old burned out ballasts and have seen the coils expand and burn, caps eplode all the time Mdf burns plenty good. I like metal box mounting and unless the wall is concrete I use unistrut to mount the box to space it away a couple inches. Fire rated drywall just buys you some time but making it so it can explode in flames then not travel to anything else makes it so I could leave the house and sleep at night.


please don't just buy a ballast kit and wire it up then leave it laying there or mount it to stuff that can burn. Is it worth your life or freedom? If you are not going to box it up well just get one in a nice box and heat sink the few bucks more might keep your house from burning down and the cops from getting you. Don't become a news story.

i have seen ballasts burst into flames that ARE mounted in metal enclosures aswell.
if it's gonna boom, it's gonna boom regardless of where it is.
i also feel that the ballast doesnt get as hot in free air as it would in an enclosure.
plus the ballast is a good 1" or so off the board.
only part that touches the board is the bracket.
which, ftr, i bond to the ground.
the ignitor or cap wioll go b4 the ballast 99% of the time.
only time a ballast will short is when the epoxy wears off the windings from real high heat or factory defect during install.
then the windings short out on the core (iron) and BOOM!
an old shitty bulb will cause the ballast to fail more than anything.
not 110% safe with my method, but less heat = better efficiency imo.
we all know that heat is the enemy of electricity. not to mention it's wasteful by product.

 

[toastfighter2]

I finally got a camera so I could take a pick of that ammo can

 

[sanjuan]

Not as cheap as an old tool box but I bought:
"NEMA 1 enclosure, screw cover junction box or pull box, with knockouts"

 

[Jdizzel]

go to the electrical store and get what they call a NEMA3R can or a pvc junction box they are cheap and easy to use. I would suggest the metal nema3r box it has the knock outs and everything in it, and get some 2-screw connectors to hold the wire that goes into the box, if ur looking for watertite, get what they call a CGB ( cord grip ) it comes in 1/2" or 3/4" and you squeeze a rubber gromet around the wire that goes into the box. I work at an electrical supply house and could give u a list of parts that you would neeed to make this happen. good luck and durn burn down ur house by trying to save a few dollars!
happy growing