1000w bulb in 600w ballast?

[ogtommy]

it will work. just not at optimum efficiency. x amount of wattage has to run through to heat up the gas to emit x amount of lumens. You are giving it a reduced and i mean drastically reduced amount. now, in a pinch, ok, but for long term use your plants are being neglected. might as well use a halogen lamp, or even an incandescent. the point is, that bulbs need to be built a specific way to work at optimum efficiency. that is to not only push out x amount of lumens but also at the right spectrum. fucking with the wattage will reduce this drastically.
Just DONT plug a 400 watt bulb into 1000watt ballast. LOL!!

 

[killermoats]

Lets think about this...

Lets think about this...

I will be doing this on my next room because I have 8 extra 600w ballasts and I don't want to buy 16 new 600's and then 16 new 1k's. (Note I build custom flippers so twice the bulbs)

As an engineer I know that-

1000w bulbs in 600w ballasts will not cause any safety issues, There is no chance of fire or damage to the ballast.

The 1000w bulb being powered by a 600w ballast will not be as efficient as a 600w bulb to a 600w ballast, (This is because of the element size and the power needed to arc the HPS or MH)

For all who state "Don't play with electricity" - Meh Don't be afraid of simple concepts, Worse case a bulb breaks.

And for who stated that "they may not even fit in the others socket", You are not correct. All standard hoods, reflectors, and sockets use an E39 socket (aka Thomas Edison 39mm), often the base is referred to as a MOGUL base.

Conclusion: Not optimal, but yeah it will work.