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UPS for an Hps light ? URGENT

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redleb961

Member
Hey Everyone ,

I need some help setting up my lumatek 600w ballast and bulb , taking in consideration that we get power outages 1 to 2 times per day for about 1 minute max (third world stuff) .

Hps bulbs take time to warm up and cool down , so the best solution i could think of was some sort of UPS back up battery .

I thought of installing a delay timer for when the power goes out and comes back on for about 15-20mins before the hps turns back on , with a couple cfl’s connected to my 900w-1500va ups , but still is risky for the hps ballast and bulb , because we sometimes get 2 to 3 outages one right after the other (always for a minute) .

I would like to know if anyone has ever tried connecting an hps ballast to a UPS . Does it have enough power to keep the hps on when the power goes out ? Even if the ups wattage is greater than the ballast .

Would be much appreciated if anyone would be able to help on the subject .
 
Douglas.Curtis

Douglas.Curtis

Autistic Diplomat in Training
15-20 minutes of dark is not going to bother the plants or stress them into a reaction.
I strongly recommend the use of a 5-10 minute delay timer. It will allow the lamp to cool and prevent most re-spikes from attempting to re-light the lamp while it's hot.


It's also the least expensive option. :)
 
C

CrushnYuba

Well-known member
A ups definitely wont power a hid. A few well placed leds on backup is the best you can do. But really if the outages are a few minutes, it doesn't matter. There are lots of time delay relays out there for the amperage you use.
 
R

redleb961

Member
Thank you all for the replies . I actually missed your posts since i never received email notifications .

Well i wanted to ask , does the 600w lumatek ballast have a
 
R

redleb961

Member
Well i wanted to ask , does the 600w lumatek ballast have some kind of security system that waits a couple minutes before turning the bulb back on ?

Ive tried a 900W cheap UPS that i have (not even pure sine wave) , and it worked , flickered a bit though . Was thinking of buying a Pure sine Wave but they cost around 500$ so thats a bit much .

I also tried to turn the ballast off and back on again a minute later , and it didn't turn on immediately , it waited a couple minutes then came back on .

Does that mean that the Lumatek ballast has some kind of security system that waits for the bulb to cool off ?

If yes , i could just plug a big CFL on the cheap 900w Ups that i have , and when the power goes out , the CFL would still be on ! But would one lets say 100w CFL be enough to keep the cycle going for 4 plants ? (placed in the center)

I could (or maybe not if not necessary) , get a delay timer as well . When the power goes out , the HPS would wait around 15 minutes then turn back on (thats if the ballast doesnt have a security system)

Let me know what you guys think .
Your help is much appreciated .
 
Defacto

Defacto

Member
Douglas.Curtis said:
15-20 minutes of dark is not going to bother the plants or stress them into a reaction.
I strongly recommend the use of a 5-10 minute delay timer. It will allow the lamp to cool and prevent most re-spikes from attempting to re-light the lamp while it's hot.
It's also the least expensive option. :)
Click to expand...


They already told you what they think.:smokey:

You certainly can design a UPS to power a HID but not for less than $500 that you seem reluctant to spend.
 
R

redleb961

Member
Douglas.Curtis said:
I strongly recommend the use of a 5-10 minute delay timer. It will allow the lamp to cool and prevent most re-spikes from attempting to re-light the lamp while it's hot.


It's also the least expensive option. :)
Click to expand...

Your option is the best and like you said least expensive option . Ive been actually thinking about doing this long before thinking about buying a UPS , just wasn't prepared for all the wiring .

Anyways , about the delay timer i suppose the timer must be plugged to a contactor in order to do the wiring .

What i actually have is the Green Power 2RT 2-Way Relay timer to plug my 600w hps light to . It is basically a contactor with timer for high inductive loads .

Now my question is , can i just get a Delay Timer with contactor and create a wire with a plug on one end , and from the other end of the contactor a wire with an outlet to plug the HPS light on ? The first wire with the plug will be connected to the Green Power2-Way Relay ?

Here is the link to the Relay and timer that i have :
https://www.onestopgrowshop.co.uk/p...ctors-eco-switch-w-grasslin-timer?taxon_id=29
 
Chunkypigs

Chunkypigs

passing the gas
Veteran
Just test your ballast by unplugging it after the bulbs hot and plugging it right back in.

All my digital ballasts automatically wait for the light to cool, I have three different makes and they all relight fine in after about a ten minute cool off.
 
C

CrushnYuba

Well-known member
I love the h3y2 that redleb posted.. I use those in all sorts of stuff.. But they aren't rated for huge loads. You might want to use it to flip another larger relay, or omron does make larger time delay relays.
 
R

redleb961

Member
I already tested it . I have the Lumatek 600w digi ballast .

Plugged it and waited 15mins approx for the bulb to get Hot .

Unplugged it and waited 1 minute .

Then plugged it back and the bulb didnt turn on till about 5mins later .

I sent an email to Lumatek and here's what they said : The Ballast technology allows for the following intervals between attempts: 1-5-5-5-5 mins so if too hot to strike after 1min, it will try again after 5 mins and so on. The ballast will attempt to re strike the lamp at those intervals, if the lamp doesnt strike it then waits to the next interval.

But they also said : any restriking is not good for the lamp longer term .

So i still have to take into consideration that we get 1-2 power outages a day . So the ballast will have to restrike the bulb every single day which is bad !

Im looking into the Delay timer .

Ill have 2x50w led panels as a backup when the power turns off, which my 900w ups can handle , till the 15min delay timer turns it back on safely .
 
R

redleb961

Member
CrushnYuba said:
I love the h3y2 that redleb posted.. I use those in all sorts of stuff.. But they aren't rated for huge loads. You might want to use it to flip another larger relay, or omron does make larger time delay relays.
Click to expand...

Would you be able to help with the wiring ?
I can get one tomorrow .

Any specs to look for when choosing the Delay timer ?
 
Douglas.Curtis

Douglas.Curtis

Autistic Diplomat in Training
A working delay will do fine for your situation. Expect to change your lamps more frequently, but other than this you'll be fine. There are growing number of installations which turn off various lamps throughout the day.

May your preparedness be up to the opportunities which come your way. ;)
 
R

redleb961

Member
Douglas.Curtis said:
A working delay will do fine for your situation. Expect to change your lamps more frequently, but other than this you'll be fine. There are growing number of installations which turn off various lamps throughout the day.

May your preparedness be up to the opportunities which come your way. ;)
Click to expand...

Thats what im trying to get , except ive worked with contactors , relays or delays before so i have absolutely no idea how to do the whole wiring .

And yes , i feel like this setup has been nothing less than complications , but never giving up ;)
 
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