[river rat01]

i bought 2 unused 400 w MH ballast's from a friend that found them at an estate sale. i paid $100 each for them.

they were still in their original boxes and look to be totally brand new.

they are made by sunlight supply.

i plugged them up and they both 'hum' (i dont have any bulbs for them,) but when i touched the metal case, i get a little zap.

could this be because i dont have bulbs in them?

i hope i didnt get fucked on this deal.

[rives]

I would get a very close look at the grounding in your house or wherever you were testing the ballasts. With no lamp installed, the high voltage pulse to ignite the lamp is going to try and go somewhere and could easily be what got you. However, if the device was correctly grounded, that is where the voltage should have gone.

[river rat01]

ok ,i'll try another outlet.

if you never hear from me again, i didnt make it. lol.

[river rat01]

ok, whew, thats what it was.

i tried another outlet and no zap.

thanks rives!

[river rat01]

.

[river rat01]

oh one other thing, how do i tell if the sockets are made for vert or horizontal?

[rives]

There shouldn't be any difference in the sockets. Different lamps are made for vertical or horizontal applications.

[growshopfrank]

Originally Posted by river rat01

i bought 2 unused 400 w MH ballast's from a friend that found them at an estate sale. i paid $100 each for them.

they were still in their original boxes and look to be totally brand new.

they are made by sunlight supply.

i plugged them up and they both 'hum' (i dont have any bulbs for them,) but when i touched the metal case, i get a little zap.

could this be because i dont have bulbs in them?

i hope i didnt get fucked on this deal.

gotta ask why were you running the ballasts without lamps?
what were you expecting?

universal mogul sockets are white and if you look inside the female threaded part has a smooth top
horizontal mogul sockets are yellow and the porcelain has a notch that should face up for proper orientation of the lamp also the female threaded portion of the socket has a hook that engages the positioning pin on a horizontal lamp

its OK to use universal or base up lamps in a horizontal socket

[rives]

Originally Posted by growshopfrank

universal mogul sockets are white and if you look inside the female threaded part has a smooth top
horizontal mogul sockets are yellow and the porcelain has a notch that should face up for proper orientation of the lamp also the female threaded portion of the socket has a hook that engages the positioning pin on a horizontal lamp

Interesting - The mogul sockets with different configurations for open vs enclosed fixtures are fairly common, but I don't recall ever seeing the yellow ones.

[stagehand099]

Originally Posted by growshopfrank

gotta ask why were you running the ballasts without lamps?
what were you expecting?

universal mogul sockets are white and if you look inside the female threaded part has a smooth top
horizontal mogul sockets are yellow and the porcelain has a notch that should face up for proper orientation of the lamp also the female threaded portion of the socket has a hook that engages the positioning pin on a horizontal lamp

its OK to use universal or base up lamps in a horizontal socket

Huh? What could a socket do to prevent you from using it in the wrong position? As Rives said, the lamp (bulb) is the determining factor in safe burn position.

stagehand