How hot does your 400 watt HPS ballast get?

[Sport Farmer]

I'm just wondering how hot these jenks are really supposed to get.

Any tips on keeping your ballast cool? Heat kills!

 

[Jnugg]

I'd say mine is anywhere from 85-90F,warm but not hot.

 

[ZeusOGrefugee]

mine is always cool to the touch, but i have fresh, cold air flowing on it at all times...

 

[Sport Farmer]

Mines fairly hot.. You can touch it .. but if you hold your hand there for a sec it starts getting to hot to touch... maybe i need to fan up on the shelf where its at.. Hmm...

 

[br26]

you can get the fan option for the hood, that is, if you have a hood. or just go the other route and get a duct fan with some power. ventilation is definately the key here. you don't want air sitting and getting hot. the best way though, is air being drawn from the ballast and bulb.

good luck

 

[Sport Farmer]

Oh, i have that on my hood. Using a rotary fan & Metal duct that blasts up to the attic space thats so conviently located in my closet. Built my own custom cover for it so i could bolt my fan without ruining the original cover.. Works great. The ballast sits on the standard shelf thats in every closet..
Maybe i should put it on the ground by the fan ... Not sure yet..

But, ya know.. its a closet with a 400 watt bulb and a ballast in it.. Heh Theres not much a i can do without calling an electrician and a wall demolition crew over

 

[Vermonster]

The ballast gets very hot and should not be in your growing space. I would make every effort possible to move it out of the closet . This can be done fairly easily by running the cord through a hollow sheetrock wall or two; i would obvioulsy need to see the setup, for more accurate info. If you are going to leave it in there make sure you have good ventalation and i would attempt to put it in the highest spot possible, assuming that heat rises you could then just vent its heat out and it would never effect the temps in the room below. The simple answer though is HOT.

 

[Sport Farmer]

OK, i could throw it up in the attic but thats gets pretty damn hot in the summer.. I guess I'm gonna have to figure out a way to get it out of there. I was already thinking that..

But thanks for chiming in and giving your 2 cents. I will take your advice and get it out of the closet. Thanks for the response.

 

[Bermyboy]

Is this a regular ballast or digital and also is diigtal really that much cooler?

 

[Aroma]

I leave my ballast up in the attic just above the grow space its really cool up there, i also vent up there using a inline fan, i may have had to add a longer lead between the light and ballast but it works well.

 

[Sleepy]

i have a fan blowing on mine 24/7.

its cool to the touch.

i'm in the basement, so temps are usually pretty cool, though.

can you draw cooler air from the space outside the closet??

intake at bottom, exhaust at top??

 

[Blunt_69]

Best suggestion is to move the ballast out of the room. Get a vented hood for your light.

 

[inc0gnit0]

Mine is in it's own metal box stored in a portion of the grow box. An old filing box with a lid on it. I cut two 3.5" holes in opposite ends and installed a 4" computer fan. The idea is to cool it just like your grow box. I spliced into the intake for my closet and exhaust into the same ducting as my grow closet. Works like a charm a little extravagant I know but I had to do it. Ate at me till I tried it. With a little ingenuity I was able to hide the ballast ducting. I had to add 1 additional fan but it's still an efficient way to cool a ballast.

 

[GotTheBlues]

Mine is hot, but not burning hot. You can easily keep your hands on it for a long time. There is no airflow to it because its remote and is a 400 wattHPS.