How To convert a Low bay into a remote ballast growlight

[Harry Gypsna]

Sorry i didnt see question sooner.
The lamps brightness shouldnt be affected by the length of the ballast-refelector cable, but as was pointed out bulbs output alters as they age. They atart off giving off a slightly lower amount which rises to a peak amount within a few hundred and then start to get lower after that. For that reason it is a good idea to replace your bulbs every 2-3 crops max....you can use the same lamp for a few years theoretically but your yields will degrees more and more over time and you will still be usin the full amount of power....
The length of the lead from ballast to reflector can be too long though...depending on the type/quality of the ignitor this varies from 1.5 metres on the really crap ones to 4 metres on the better ones. these industrial Low Bay type lights we are converting here are generally made with a crappy ignitor as they are after all built with the ignitor a few inches at the most from the lamp. If you can get a suitable ignitor to replace it with it is worth doing.
In a couple of month there will be a new new version of this with built in timer and contactor, and possibly with the reflector end utilised for an air cooled hood

 

[waydee]

Very nice, i've had my eye on these cheap 250/400w lowbays for some time and always thought they were a good deal if you did a bit of diy.

 

[timmy thc]

make sure you use tempered glass i use the artic sun 6" air cooled made by sunleaves it rocks its only 75 degress 8 inches below the light and thats with the exaust blowing on the plants for air circulation and to thicken the stalk once u go air cooled you wont go back

 

[chosen]

Hey!!! I use a farmtek light that about $40 and do the same thing. I love it for keeping moms and vegging. I keep 2 moms and veg out 12 little ones to 7" for my aero setup. Got a medi permit. So, I got to stay legit.

 

[Harry Gypsna]

*****Important safety issue****
It seems my friend who was supposedly an electrician wasnt an electrician but a trainee. The connection between the gear tray and the lead to the reflector inside the ballast box MUST be earthed. If it is not, then should a live wire come lose and touch the reflctor-the reflector will be live reuslting in you possible getting a shock. This has not happened to me, but as this growlight was stolen from me-maybe it will happen to the thieves-and much as it would be karma I wouldnt want dead ppl on my concience, anyway this is important. Anyone who has followed these directions, should turn off their light at the earliest oppurtunity, and re-do the connectioon inside the box between the gear tray and the cable to the reflector. Use a pice of 3 core, do not cut the earth part off at the ballast end as I did before, You make this earth part longer than the live and neutral leads and connect the longer earth lead to the earth connection at the other end of the ballast where the power in cable connects to the ballast..
I dont have this ballast any more, but will make a diagram to insert in the DIY and correct the information for new users, but please pleased please, anyone who has followed these directions, please spend the 10 minutes to make this correction-it could save your life.
I am very sorry for the mistake in the 1st place. I wuill never post anything DIY again, until I am absoloutely 100 percent certain of its safety and have had it checked byqualified persons-preferably several of them.
again, please redo your DIY if you have not got an earth on your reflector.
We really need an in house ICmag electricain-like one fromn each country to be sure about correct info for different countries voltages/wiring reulations. regulations-I dont really care about them as a concept-if a grow gets busted then illegally wired appliances are the least of ur concerns, but when it comes to electricity, doing things so they are up to regulation standards does serve a purpose, namely Safety. Please be careful with any DIY projects and make sure they are at the vey least safe. Do not ever attempt DIY elecrical grow goods if you are not confident at wiring and doing at in a tidy manner(tidier wiring is safer wiring) Grow equipment is coming down in price all the time and ghetto isnt the only option for low cost growing any more. I do DIY stuff for fun and because I want more functonality than most of the stock stuff, but could get a stock system that worked adequately fairly cheaply. diont let finances be the only consideration.

 

[conehead]

KoooooooooooooL Nice job!

 

[bongeyser]

cool thread just wired up a 175MH high bay. Could you convert/wire a ballast that can only use 277 volts to 120 somehow?

 

[star211welker]

can not get thru to dyi remote ballast i am worling on that very thing could help pls

 

[jm420]

where can you find those aluminum sheets?The high bayswork nice as well since they have the ballast enclosure and if your a real DIYer check out your local electrical supply shop A 1000 watt hps replacement ballast kit comes with ballast ,capacitor and ignitor for about 150 US

 

[Strapped]

Awesome info. Anyone know if this will work with CMH?

 

[mattkilla420]

awesome DIY. I just got a 250 HPS i think low bay style and im gonna need to remote it as temps were warm in there today, Im going to leave everything in the ballast box it is already in. I want to make sure i read correctyly so what i would need to do is run a 3wire power cable into ballast. Run positive and neutral to connector and the ground will go where? To a ground somewhere on hood or to the 3wire ground that i am going to use to extend the bulb holder. Then that ground i understand would have to touch something metal near the bulb if i was to not use a reflector. I think i understand this easy enought. The ground basically goes from where i plug it to wall all the way to somewhere near bulb, right? Now i dont have worry about diffusing the capacitor or anyything if i am leaving everything where it is??

 

[Harry Gypsna]

Hi, wow, this is a blast from the past...
Yes you've got it, you need to run a ground from the hood through to your ballast, connected to your 3 core power cord, the metal casing nees to have ground connected to it. If I ever buy another low bay, I will re-do this, but as it stands, the diy light was the one that got stolen-at least they didnt get my canatronics.
That isn't a low bay you have, it is a flood light.
I would probably just hang that as is(if your hanging point can take the weight), being a security light it is made for outdoors, and so the casing will be pretty to resistant to moisture getting inside.

 

[mattkilla420]

well i remoted it. things were too hot its running great now

 

[Harry Gypsna]

nice work dude

 

[mattkilla420]

heres a little bit better shot of fifnished product. Ive got a female piece coming from socket cords at ballast so the socket cable is detachable! just drilled small hole in side of case for cords to come through. It already had one for power cables. Thanks Dude. My first DIY ever.