Rico88 Posted May 9, 2017 Share Posted May 9, 2017 Greetings from Pretoria!. Recently started my own indoor grow. Total noob at this but i've already learned so much. Any tips and advice would be appreciated... few quick questions.. - I Know of the 3 or 4 main hydro stores. Question is... Do you know of any other suppliers where i can purchase a ballast for cheaper... I've noticed that shops like Voltex sell HID bulbs for allot cheaper than the grow shops. Unfortunately they don't sell ballasts! - Can a 250w HPS bulb run off a 400w magnetic ballast? Thanks in advance. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Thatoneguy Posted May 9, 2017 Share Posted May 9, 2017 Greetings, First off welcome to the Forum. Well done on starting your own grow and we are all still learning and where once noobs too. All you need to do is ask and people in here are super helpful. The cheapest i would say woult be GT hydro i guess for the quality of ballast you get. or build your own but get an electrician to put it together. I know here in Cpt there is a store you tell them you want a 400mh or hps or both set up and they build it for you. it really is just 3 components. NO DONT EVER RUN YOUR 250 OFF THE 400 YOU WILL BLOW THE BULB Its not like your normal home socket where you can plug any wattage in and it will work. A ballast is built to push out 250 or 400 or 600. then only time you can run a 250w off a 400 or 600 ballast is if it is a adjustable digital ballast Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Thatoneguy Posted May 10, 2017 Share Posted May 10, 2017 I can help you build your own ballast on here, if you can get all the parts I can send you a diagram or how my ballast is wired up, You will need Ignitor, Capacitor and Ballast. I will actually do a thread on how to build your own ballast and post it tonight So anyone who is wanting to do it can..... simple hey Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Green Leaf Organics Posted May 10, 2017 Share Posted May 10, 2017 Hi bud Just my 2 cents on this.... that ballast is rated for a 400w hps bulb without a capacitor. While it is possible to run a MH bulb off a hps ballast it's not really recommended as it can be a fire hazard or cause your bulb to fail early and not put out as many lumen. Also if you run a MH bulb you generally take the ignitor off , the ignitor is for an hps bulb. If you were running a hps you don't need the capacitor....it also looks like that capacitor is wired wrong but I may be wrong about that as it's been years since I wired a MH What it looks like to me is that you have wired that up to run a hps bulb and the capacitor isn't actually doing anything and somehow the ignitor is managing to ignite the bulb , from my understanding I think your capacitor needs to be inline like the ignitor to run the mh bulb... I have had my house burn down due to an electric fire a few years ago and may be a bit paranoid about properly rated electronics and that mismatch of ballast , bulb , ignitor and capacitor worried me lol. My electrition is doing work here tomorrow and will ask him if i am remembering all this correctly as it's been ages since I have worked with Magnetic ballasts Cheers Reaf Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Thatoneguy Posted May 11, 2017 Share Posted May 11, 2017 Guys listen to GLO haha he actually has some good advice im going to go back to the drawing board quickly and re think this, you got me 2nd guessing now lol Im actually going to remove this until i am 100% sure Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rico88 Posted May 12, 2017 Author Share Posted May 12, 2017 Thanks allot. Ive decided to get a 400w Magnetic Ballast from Gt hydro with a 400w hps bulb. Don"t have the funds to go digital. I've been vegging about 3 weeks now with a 250w cfl. Ive attached a pic. Started off with bagseed... Only want to flower 2 plants so will elimante the others as soon as i can sex them. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rico88 Posted June 8, 2017 Author Share Posted June 8, 2017 Hey guys. So ive made it through Veg atage without messing up. Now i need some help sexing a plant... I know if i give it a few days it will show better but im eager to start focusing on the plants that matter... The preflowers look bulbish like pollen sacs but are pointy like a female without the pistil... Any help will be greatly appreciated. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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