A tale of 5 ballasts

[compost]

I went to this site and ran it against the capacitors I had in my 120V sunleave ballasts and didn't get exact matches on some. Was just curious because my switchable ballast(400) did not have any capacitors with the same UF. They were 26 and 28 UF 400VAC was just curious if I needed exact matches on that stuff or not. My 600W light had a match it was 64UF 300 VAC 60MZ.

Any help would be great

 

[compost]

Went to the hydroponics store today and was told be the person who repairs magnetic ballasts that the capacitor would not effect light production as such. He said they would either work or not work. I did not trust him and went ahead and got the 600W hps capacitor and put it in as soon as I got home.

I am still trying to find the ones for my switchable 120V 400W sunleaves ballast though if anyone can help. Inside the ballast there are 2 capacitors that are 26 and 28 UF on the specs(add the 2 together and you get 54) but they only had a 55 UF one for the 400W HPS. In the ballast the one capacitor runs into the other one and then to the transformer.

Thank you

 

[Avenger]

28uf

26uf

 

[compost]

wow thank you avenger!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I looked at a lot of sights and searched them not sure how I missed that one. Only makes sense that they had them since I got the ballast there lol.

Thank you again.

 

[maharaji]

Great thread! and yes let's all be careful with hydro store sellers , they 'll try to make beleive they are war allies but just want to unload costly shit...

Cheers!

 

[GreatLakes THC]

Great read.

GreatLakes THC

 

[stagehand099]

I have an old 600 watt ballast that has 2 caps totaling 59 uf in it and I wondered if I need to replace exactly the value (uf) of these 2 caps or can I use a 64 uf cap for a 600 watt ballast that I found on Ebay? Anyone know a good place to buy 600 watt HPS caps? Thanks.

stagehand

 

[pinecone]

http://atlaslightingsupply.com/cap_ignitor.html

cheapest site to order caps from always run dry film.

Does anyone know what sort of capacitors switchable ballast require?

Pine

 

[Cannaseur Kid]

Light meter

Light meter

Do yourself a favor and purchase an inexpensive amp/voltmeter. This is what an electrician does when testing the operating quality of ballasts, lighting systems etc. Look for a voltage drop. All electrical components break down sooner or later. Thankfully the magnetic ballasts are easy and cheap to fix.

 

[Dovepistil]

Cannaseur's got it. Don't waste time and money replacing good parts. The cheapest digital multimeter capable of measuring capacitance that I find in a quick search is $20 at Amazon
http://www.amazon.com/Sinometer-DT9205-8-Function-32-Range-Multimeter/dp/B0006FKF5Y/ref=pd_sim_hi_3
Every magnetic ballast I've seen has a schematic diagram pasted to its steel core. It tells you the correct capacitor value. Use this value, not the value of whatever cap you find. You are unlikely to get the correct part if you specify a cap for a 600W HPS or a 1000W HPS. Values vary with manufacturer. You disconnect one cap wire (doesn't matter which) and measure the resistance across the cap. It should measure way up in the high Meg ohms or more likely "OL"- too high for the meter to measure. If you see a resistance in the K ohm range or less, replace the cap. Then measure the capacitance. You should see the micro Farads specified in the schematic (should be same as that marked on capacitor case) +/- about 15%. If off more than that, replace the cap. Yes, use dry type.

Heat is your enemy here. The engineering rule of thumb is that component life doubles for every 18 degrees F that you cool it. Another rule of thumb is "If you can't hold your thumb on it, it's too hot." My reflectors have forced air cooling. I mount my ballasts in a box with the ballasts arranged so the air flows through them. They are arranged so that the capacitors are "up stream" and get the coolest air. The sealed ballasts, covered with fins on the outside, are opened up to air flow. The plain end is removed. The end with wires is removed and pulled away from the case so that air can pass thru the insides of the unit. The cool air passes through the ballasts, then the lamp reflectors, then outdoors. Of course, things are wired up so that it is impossible to have a light on without also having the cooling fan on. On grows without forced air cooling, I mount ballasts vertically on the wall, ends opened up, capacitor end down, so that air is moved by the "chimney effect" and cool air hits the capacitors first. I have tested my ballast capacitors now and then and have yet to find one gone bad. This is more than likely because I see to it to keep them COOL.

 

[Tr33]

I'm surprised not mre people knew about this.
The moment your light start to look yellow your Cap is going bad.
be careful a fully charged Cap can kill. They can blow up and more if not discharged properly.

 

[reddy1]

i did this a few months back, i replaced 1 first just to see if their was a difference to the other light, bulbs were same age, my eyes and my girls eyes were able to pick out the difference, it wasn't a significant difference but you could tell. worth the 15 dollars or whatever i paid. how often should i change them?

 

[Andyo]

Does anyone know what sort of capacitors switchable ballast require?

Pine

I biult 6 switchable ballasts i have to use 100 uf for the 1000 HPS and 85 uf for the HQI-T MH 1000
All i did was use 4 x 25 uf and one 12 uf yes i know it makes 87 uf cant get 10 uf anywhere i put double pole switch between 1 of the 25,s and the 12 uf easy. I checked with BAG electronics who make the ballast its exactly what they do.And they use a 12uf.A

 

[asdmo]

I have an SS1 it hasnet been yielding much and i was wondering if it was either the bulb or the ballast, Which capacitor did you use? I have SS1 600 hps 120/240v

 

[chimei]

Trying to figure out which capacitor is for what and a place to purchase them.

I have a Sunlight supply 400 watt switchable ballast. (MH+HPS)

When I opened the ballast there were two capacitors tied to the ignitor.

The details on each capacitor:

#1:
Paralax Power Components
25 uF +/- 3%
400 VAC 60 HZ 100C max
005-3260-MF

#2:
Paralax Power Components
33 uF +/- 3%
240 VAC 60 HZ 100C MAX
005-3703-MF

If I only use HPS mode on the ballast. (Been using CMH bulbs for years now, not going back to MH) Do I need to replace both capacitors above? Or are both used weather you use HPS or MH on this ballast? I cannot find any place with these capacitors, and everything I have read people say to use DRY capacitors, but when I went to Paralax Power Components website, the pictures that look like these caps, claim they are OIL filled.. These caps in this ballast are going on 8 years of use.

The caps I have are NOT round, they are kind of ovalish, and the case looks like aluminum metal.

They look like the caps on the left in this link: http://www.sunlightsupply.com/hort/products.aspx?request=CAPACITORS&title=Components&type=product

Funny thing is that page says those are replacement caps for Sunlight supply, 24 MFD for 400 watt MH, but mine is 25 uF, and 55 MFD for 400 watt HPS, and mine is 33uF!

Now that I think about it, I wonder when I switch the switch to HPS, if it uses BOTH caps, which when I add them together it is 58 uF. That would be closer to a 55 uF cap they list. And I am wondering if I had a 400 watt HPS non switchable ballast if it would contain 1 55 uF capacitor..

When MH is switched on, I wonder if it uses JUST the 25 uF capacitor.

Can anyone point in the right direction and answer my questions?

Would love to be able to replace a cap, or both to avoid spending a couple hundred for a new ballast.

Thanks

 

[BIG JT]

First off I would like to say that the above test procedure can only be done with an analog ohm meter, the fluke or any other digital meter won't cut it. Always make sure the Capacitor is discharged before testing resistance or you'll break your meter. Capacitors are equipped with bleeder resistors inside that allow it to drain the charge when power is turned off. If the resistor goes bad, your capacitor will hold the charge and must be shorted either with two screwdrivers or a pair of needlenose or you'll get bit. I learned something new in this thread and will be buying a cheap light meter to make sure im not screwin myself. Thanks

 

[pokergod]

Went to the shop and picked up a 64uF cap for my 600 watt hps, swapped them out in less then 2 mins. New cap + New hortilux bulb= mucho lumens! I take a look at the old cap and it is a 55 uF, the ones they use in 400 watt hps, WTF. I bought my hps brand new from the shop, did they screw up when they assembled it? Heres a question, what would happen if I put a cap rated for a 1000 watt hps into a 600 watt hps ballast?

 

[Ligyron]

Two weeks ago I was afraid to even open a ballast box up -- now I'm an x-pert at replacing everything. Built a new one from scratch and fixed two others. Only 3 parts to a HPS mag ballast, really: transformer/reactor, capacitor and ignitor. Then plug and socket. Took me awhile to figure out the wiring-up bit and staring at pics online was no help at first-- like looking at a live octopus after awhile. Ignitor was the hardest part with three connections -- two of which involve three wires each. Then somehow it hits me and just makes sence. Plus, the wires are marked somehow on many. . .

Dovepistl has a good point about heat. Any real reason to stuff everything in a box? Can't one just leave everything exposed to the air, being careful with water which one should be box or no?

 

[BrnCow]

First off. big caps CAN KILL YOU! Second, the perfect uf replacement value is less critical than the working voltage. The uf value needs to be close but not exact. The working voltage can be higher with no problems unless you get ridiculous with it. Most electrical supply houses carry something close but don't mention exactly what the HPS ballast you are buying it for is being used for. Lights are standard fare for electrical supply houses to sell. Might check Ebay also. Mouser electronics will likely have anything you need if you can figure out their website. Put one of the values in the search to get there.

 

[MrShpongle]

Anyone know of an online source for these where I an buy them one at a time? Atlas Lighting Supply only sells 1000 watters in boxes of 10, and I only need two. The link to Wormsway that was posted earlier in the thread doesn't tell you the capacitance or voltage for the 1000 watt rated cap. I tried Mouser and Digikey online stores and couldn't find anything. The local hydro store wants $35 - for that I should get two, not one!