Woke up to my quantum ballasts make HELLA NOISE!

[medmaker420]

Imagine yourself sleeping and dreaming about lesbians hopping on trampolines and asking if you want to get an oil massage then

RAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

SCREAMING OUT OF YOUR GROW CABINET!

Still in a daze, trying to look around and see "whats on fire", "what fell over" "what, what, what"... Still trying to wake up and see what actually happened.

Shut down the light and freaking out because I don't have the cash to buy another ballast and at the same time pissed off because this ballast is pretty fucking new (under 2 months).

A couple cups of coffee to wake me up which allows me to think rationally and actually see what happened.

I took the side plate off, the one with the fan on the side. (this is the 600 dimmable btw) and what seems to have happened was the fan warped in some fashion so it was screaming and scraping the side of the fan shroud.

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If this happens to you, here is what fixed my issue.

I left the two bolts on the top and bottom left side on to hold the fan in place and removed the right side bolts. This allows the fan to not "warp" and scrape the shroud. With a bolt on top and bottom of one side it is 100% stable and actually is now quieter than it was when I first bought it.

So far so good.....

fucked up shit though, anyone else have this issue?

 

[Hydro-Soil]

No.... but from the posts I've read, I"m glad you weren't woken up by a loud POP!

 

[lysol]

No but I was thinking of making a lexan box with duct shrouds and putting the ballast inside the air flow cooling my bulbs, to vent the ballast heat and keep it cool... maybe will have to do a DIY project sometime for a ballast cooler, I'd much rather trust an industrial blower then a computer fan, after a bout a few years tops the bearings will bust, happens to all my computers, and amplifier fans in my cars system too

 

[medmaker420]

I am going to be setting up some larger computer fans for this ballast as well. Going to make an intake style setup and allow a more free flow feel to it. The fan inside is decent quality BUT there is always something better that can be used and simply to mod either way.

Source some 600 watt ballasts for under $70 a piece that I am going to mod to work better and cooler for that matter. See how they work out as well.

So far it is working like a champ BUT confused as to why the fan would decide to warp now, it wasn't like anything burnt out or broke, just do to "Heat" or "settling in of the parts" like a house does... Don't get why this happened and can't locate anyone else who this has happened to.

 

[20north]

this sounds terrible ive never hear of a quantum balast tho luckly sorry for your issue g;ad u fixed it

 

[Lazyman]

Well, good that you fixed it, but it was under warranty until you opened it. Bummer!

 

[Mist]

I have the same ballast and have not had any trouble from it. I am a computer consultant so I am aware of the possibility of the fans going out, but figure I will cross that bridge if it comes.
I am really happy with the ballast though.

Did you buy it at a store or order it online? If you bought it locally you may still be able to take it back to the store for a new one as long as you put it back together correctly.

 

[medmaker420]

Its not fuckin rocket science people lol.

If you are on a 12/12 cycle 30 days into a grow would you send the ballast out for "warranty work" or get it handled on your own?

Lazyman, I would assume by your name you odds are would not have fixed it yourself lol...

Working like a champ SO FAR, but seriously not getting why the fan warped to scrape the shroud like that at all.

The thing though Mist, it didn't go out at all. It just decided to warp and scrape the shroud, once I "unwarped" the fan housing it is working great. I think that the housing itself wasn't 100% and over heat it went to one side which then warped the plastic of the fan housing. I can see a ballast being put together and "making it fit", sure it looks like all is well BUT odds are if the metal is warped at all like a 2x4 for instance, no matter how much you straighten it, its warping will end up showing up in one fashion or another.

 

[Mist]

Yea, I went in and looked at mine last night and don't understand why yours warped. It is a weird one for sure, but if you have it working ok for now then let her fly. I understand not being able to send it off to be worked on. I got this ballast because of a bad Lumatek ballast. They(They= my local hydro store) were sending it off for warranty work and then they found out that it was going to be a couple weeks before they got it back and offered me a new quantum ballast. I of course took it so that I could get my grow rolling.
But now I want another one, LOL!
Hell, I had trouble with my sunsystemII magnetic ballasts over the years too. None of them are bulletproof. As with any constant use piece of equipment, after long hours of use it is going to need some maintenance.

 

[medmaker420]

Haven't had a problem since I removed those screws on one side of the fan. Not sure why or how it warped BUT my thought is this

not the best craftsmanship and maybe they had to "force" the pieces to fit like the fan bolts and overtime they moved to the angle they were actual made for.