[simon]

I run 5x600HPS. The SS1 600HPS ballasts were purchased 5-6 years ago and have been working without a hitch. Or, so I thought.

I've been battling yield issues for the last year. Having isolated every variable and eliminated it, the lights were last in line. For whatever reason - stupidity, arrogance - I never suspected the ballasts. After switching lamps around to no avail and finally getting down to the ballasts, I discovered that 3 out of 5 SS1s were putting out significantly less light.

My light meter measured 1 ballast at ~1/3 the (light) output, and 2 ballasts at a bit less than ~50%. The other 2 are fine. Lord knows how much this cost me in lost product, wasted electricity, strains that I wrote-off, and on and on.

Light meters can be had for ~$50. Please note my misfortune and check your equipment.


Capacitor Testing Procedures posted by junior_grower

Link to inexpensive capacitors posted by junior_grower


Here's how you'd go about installing a new cap:



Open ballast and locate the capacitor. It's the taller, cylindrical object on the bottom. The igniter is the part on top. Loosen the strap and make the cap free to work with.








Cut the wires leading to the wire nut attached to the capacitor and replace. Use new wire nuts once the two wires are twisted together. You may not be able to strip the high-temp insulation with traditional wire strippers. A utility knife works well.



The old capacitor. Put everything back the way it was and you're done. You've successfully replaced the capacitor and brought your ballast back to its original spec. Get ready for higher yield!

Simon

[montehierba]

Not trying to sound like a jerk but you have to keep up with technology if you want to see the same nuggggzzz you see on icmag or hightmes, yield if influenced mainly by strong sources of light and constantly among others but if light if the problem... change your bulbs maybe after a couple crops a bulb or something, 600 watts are great to work with more eevn distribution of lumens and powerwise aswell.

[chidoctor]

anyone wanna suggest a good light meter? i wanna test out my stuff now that you sparked my intrest

[junior_grower]

good advice, and anyone running old mag ballast should change out the capacitor every now and then.

[simon]

Originally Posted by junior_grower

good advice, and anyone running old mag ballast should change out the capacitor every now and then.

The caps are causing this problem? I figured that it couldn't be the igniter, and the odds of the transformer going bad are pretty slim. That does only leaves the cap. I'll see if I can get one tomorrow and test this out.

Simon

[junior_grower]

Yup over time they go bad I have found new ones for my 1000's online for as cheap as 12 bucks shipped. ( i bought 10)

[simon]

Originally Posted by junior_grower

Yup over time they go bad...

I got some new caps today. That did the trick. The ballasts are back to spec. Ordered some extras to have in stock, as well.

The garden is 1-2 weeks from harvest. I keep looking at the plants and wondering how they would have done with some light intensity. I probably lost tens of thousands of dollars over the last year or so. Thank you again for posting.

Simon

[9Lives]

Good post for sure! Definatley something to watch out for...

k+

[GrnMtnGrwr]

Wow, some great info here on a not-often discussed topic that is relevant to just about every grower. Thanks simon, for sharing your experience. Any recommendations for a light meter?

[simon]

Originally Posted by GrnMtnGrwr

Any recommendations for a light meter?

I bought an inexpensive, Chinese-made meter on Ebay for ~$50. It reads up to 50K and it can switch between lumens or foot candles. I don't know how accurate it is, but in our position it seems like the relative readings matter most.

I mostly use the meter to setup the plants, relative to their respective positions under the light. In retrospect, I think it really helped the garden produce as much as it had with little actual light.

Simon