Checkerboard zig zag lighting has been done for years. With a custom lighting controller/flip/loadcenter, you can have any number of lights and ballasts on. With 20 lights, 10 per greenhouse, you can control lights, with a PLC, to have all the lights on, or half on, or even 2 on, then 2 more, then 2 more, etc, until all 10 or 20 are on, time delayed. But if you decide to hot flip half the lights in each greenhouse for 6 or 12 times a day, the contacts will arc more and burn out sooner, better to power off ballasts, even for a few seconds, every flip cycle, with a PLC you have do an off/on cycle in 1/100 sec.
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plug n play flip flop detailed DYI
- Thread starter 00420
- Start date
MyGreenToe
Member
Thought I would add some pics of a pair of 2 ballast flips I built a while back. I ran the one I kept for over a year with no problems, and plan to use it again once I move and set up my new legal garden.
Psycho Paul
Member
Thought I would add some pics of a pair of 2 ballast flips I built a while back. I ran the one I kept for over a year with no problems, and plan to use it again once I move and set up my new legal garden.
What's that ipod lookin damn thing at the top on that box? lol. is it a timer?
I want to make one to flip-flop 2 600w bulbs between a single ballast. I need to do some more reading.
MyGreenToe
Member
The "ipod" is a really nice timer with built in battery backup.
MyGreenToe
Member
This is the thread you want if you are looking into building a flip like mine:
https://www.icmag.com/ic/showthread.php?t=35561
https://www.icmag.com/ic/showthread.php?t=35561
Psycho Paul
Member
uggggh ive been reading all of it and its confusing for my application,
All of the different designs, DIY's, yada yada, has me completely confused now.
Some of them only have one power cord coming out of them, some have multiple cords coming out of them, some have male ends coming out, some have female ends coming out, IM LOST.
How come your design has 3 cords coming out of it, and the one in the link has only 1 cord coming out? Where does the timer come in on the design you linked? Im fucken confused man. lol.
I need to build a simple flip flop for a single 600w galaxy ballast.
Shouldn't that be pretty easy?
i think im even more confused now, than i was before i started reading. im lost :<
KING_JOHN_C
Member
i am definitely going to have to build a flip flop with 1000w relays.
