DIY Ballasts?

[RubbaDub]

I want to add a second grow space so that I can dedicate my current one for veg and use the new one for flowering. Being on a budget, but familiar with electronics I was thinking of buying a couple of ballast kits such as this: http://www.htgsupply.com/viewproduct.asp?productID=45693 to power a pair of CMH bulbs. I'd like to hear from anyone who's built their own ballast as to how well that worked out for them. Any comments?

 

[eLiguL]

I want to add a second grow space so that I can dedicate my current one for veg and use the new one for flowering. Being on a budget, but familiar with electronics I was thinking of buying a couple of ballast kits such as this: http://www.htgsupply.com/viewproduct.asp?productID=45693 to power a pair of CMH bulbs. I'd like to hear from anyone who's built their own ballast as to how well that worked out for them. Any comments?

If your comfortable with wiring then go for it. It was a lot easier than I thought it would be. Just remember to ground the socket as well as the ballast and your good to go.

SugarbearII has a wiring diagram in the link-o-rama that I used for reference.

 

[RubbaDub]

Hi eLiguL,

Thanks for the reply. After seeing the diagram at HTG's site, I realized that it can't be too hard. Thanks for the tip on the wiring diagram in the link-o-rama section. It's for MH, but still handy in case my current MH ballast ever needs work.

 

[yamaha_1fan]

If you look to the left, you can even see where I left up the wiring instructions as I had 9 ballasts to wire, I taped the instructions to the wall.


Its worked out pretty good for me. There has been some debate on how my ballasts are grounded though, since they are mounted to a wood board and not in a case. The transformer itself is grounded but some say thats not good enough and others say it is.

But the DIY ballasts from HTG are the way to go.

 

[FreezerBoy]

I got my kit here http://www.businesslights.com/hps-ballast-kits-c-190.html

No socket included but, it came stealth AND the core, cap and ignitor were pre-wired. That left me with seven uncapped leads, three of which were voltage lines I wasn't going to use. That left four uncapped leads, two comm, one 120v and one unmarked that could only go to the lamp because everything else was spoken for.

 

[eLiguL]

Hi eLiguL,

Thanks for the reply. After seeing the diagram at HTG's site, I realized that it can't be too hard. Thanks for the tip on the wiring diagram in the link-o-rama section. It's for MH, but still handy in case my current MH ballast ever needs work.

Link to HPS wiring diagram

 

[RubbaDub]

I just ordered a couple of the 400W HPS kits from HTG. Looking forward to trying those out.

Yamaha_1fan - that's a pretty impressive setup. I was thumbing through my Cervantes MJ Horticulture book last night and noticed that he had a pic of another one, very similar to yours.

 

[Cali smoke]

I'm in the same boat u are rubbadub, going 400w cmh on a budget so I purchased a diy ballast also. One question though, where can I purchase the long bulb socket connector cord? I plan to put the ballast on the outside of the grow tent.

 

[RubbaDub]

Hi Cali Smoke

I'm sure there's a few places that you can get them, but here's one for you:
http://www.htgsupply.com/products.asp?categoryID=3&subcategoryID=98

 

[NiteTiger]

Hey Rubba, I have an HTG supply 1kw kit and 400w kit, and love 'em! The instructions that come with it are so easy to follow that my kids put the 1kw together themselves

I'm very happy with them, and constantly recommend them.

Good choice!

 

[Cali smoke]

Hi Cali Smoke

I'm sure there's a few places that you can get them, but here's one for you:
http://www.htgsupply.com/products.asp?categoryID=3&subcategoryID=98

Thanks RubbaDub, to use the 10ft. socket cord set, would I need to cut the cord so I can hook it up to the diy ballast?

 

[yamaha_1fan]

I used Romex to wire everything up, including going from the ballast to hood

 

[JohnnyToke]

the htg supply kits are great. I have replaced a 400 hps and a 250 hps. stealth packaging and fast shipping.

I recommend htg.

regards,
JT