Putting ballast outside

[OrganicOzarks]

I am working on a new build, and was wondering if anyone has ever put their ballasts outside? I have an area that is covered, and will not get rain or snow. If I can save 1500 btu of cooling per 1k by putting the ballasts outside it seems like the way to go. Does anyone have any experiences with this? Thanks.

 

[Rowdy420]

Yeah it'll work fine if they are covered, definitely one way to keep the heat issue out of the garden.

I've done remote ballasts in green house's were the owner wanted to keep them out of the grow area, takes more resources but, in the end you'll be way better off. Just make sure to visit google about voltage drop formulas if you plan on running any distances over 100ft.

Good luck, Peace

 

[Cappy]

Also be sure of your stealth. Splitting growroom contents gives another chance at detection, if that is a concern for you.

Good luck!

 

[growshopfrank]

make sure that the ballasts have adequate ventilation and try to keep lamp cords as short as possible also if using more than one ballast tag lamp and power lines so you can keep track of whats what it will help if any light maintenance is required
keeping the ballasts out of the room is a excellent detail when designing a well thought out grow imho


PS for safety sake a way of powering down the ballasts should be in the room i usually use a suitable disconnect

 

[ItGrowsHerb]

I put my ballasts in the crawlspace. I even attched them to the underside of the floor joists to keep them off the dirt. It really does cut down on extraneous warmth in the lung/grow room. I was surprised. I don't vent the lights into the crawlspace by the way.

 

[OrganicOzarks]

I am just using the 15' cords that they came with. I might have to bump it up to 25 at the max, but I think I can manage the 15's. So there should not be any length issues. Stealth was my first concern. Where I want to mount these there are plenty of places that I can put them to minimize anyone seeing them. My biggest concern was the outside temps in the winter, and summer. Winter average 30's, summer average low 90's. If that won't be an issue then I am going to plan on putting them outside. Thanks for all of the help!!!!

 

[supermanlives]

long as they aint getting rained or snowed on go for it .

 

[growshopfrank]

a fan blowing on the ballast would help keep condensation down during seasonal temperature changes