[robotwithdreams]

Can someone please telll me what are the dangers of running a 400 watt bulb on a 250 watt digital ballast? Seems to work fine, uses little more than 250 watss but puts out considerable more light (light meter).

So what can go wrong? Bulb failure? ballast failure? fire? What do u guys think?

[yerboyblue]

Probably ballast failure as it's running a different load than designed for. I couldn't reakky say for sure. I wouldn't worry about a fire though.

Nevermind, I stand corrected by GSfrank! Bulbs exploding are pretty sweet tho, I know I've dropped a couple.

[growshopfrank]

under no circumstance would i ever recommend using any lamp other than the one that the ballast is designed for but if you used an enclosed(with tempered glass)reflector it would increase the safety factor.
the 400hps in a 250hps ballast would probably affect the light spectrum(like running a dim able ballast dimmed) and a possible reduction in lamp life and FWIW Ive never seen a HPS arc tube burst unlike MH arc tubes

back in the day some wild men would run 175MH lamps in 250MH ballasts and get some crazy output but they were swapping lamps at 6 week and still some blew up defiantly not a smart move

[grow_right]

despite all dangers of burning out the ballast or worse, that 400w bulb will only produce the watt total of the ballst, such as your 250 watter.

Originally Posted by robotwithdreams

Can someone please telll me what are the dangers of running a 400 watt bulb on a 250 watt digital ballast? Seems to work fine, uses little more than 250 watss but puts out considerable more light (light meter).

So what can go wrong? Bulb failure? ballast failure? fire? What do u guys think?

NEVER do this.

Never put a bulb bulb rated for one wattage in a ballast rated for another.

I have seen it with my own eyes, bulbs completely melted because some idiot thought it was a good idea to play around with shit.

Anyone that recommends doing this is an idiot.

Electricity is not something that should be played around with by people that dont know what they are doing. Unless you are cool with potentially burning down your house, and have fun explaining that to the police.

250w bulbs are like 15 bucks, no excuse to do it the wrong way.

[DankSide]

Originally Posted by Iron_Lion

NEVER do this.

Never put a bulb bulb rated for one wattage in a ballast rated for another.

I have seen it with my own eyes, bulbs completely melted because some idiot thought it was a good idea to play around with shit.

Anyone that recommends doing this is an idiot.

Electricity is not something that should be played around with by people that dont know what they are doing. Unless you are cool with potentially burning down your house, and have fun explaining that to the police.

250w bulbs are like 15 bucks, no excuse to do it the wrong way.

Agreed.


Ballast and bulb wattage aren't to be just shrugged off - they're rated that way for a reason. While some electronic ballasts may be able to handle the change better - it isn't worth the risk of safety for you or your plants.


If you see a sign saying 250watts only, would you try to plug 400watts into it?

[cvssufferer]

Yeah I agree totally!

When it comes to growing stick to the rules...especially where safety is concerned. Insurance companies would have a field day I am sure. Burn your house down growing cannabis (illegally I mean) then I am sure they wouldnt be paying out!

[supermanlives]

well its dumb anyhow. dont mix and match. use proper bulb and ballasts.