Lighting??Im so confused

[Flyarmy2007]

OK i have been looking into lighting systems cause i have been told a 600w HPS system is the best way to go for my grow closet. Now i know i need a 600w HPS bulb, but what do these ballast things do? Does it cool my bulb or is that a whole other thing i have to buy? I am so lost on all of this any help at all i very much appericated. Thanks.Peace.

[KYbudShredder]

A ballast keeps the current flow thru your bulb constant. Your household electricity(AC) pulses if you will, 60 times per second( This is what is meant by Hertz or Hz) The ballast ballances out this pulse. No it does not cool the bulb that I know of, so you need lots of moving air, FANS....Good luck, we are here to help

[GreenGoblin]

Hey Fly.. the ballast is the part makes the bulb actually work and does not cool it. Check out the section on electronic ballasts on wikipedia..

Electrical ballast - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

I think a lot of people like to cool tube style reflectors and a remote ballast. The cooltube lets you draw air through the tube.. usually about a 6" one.. and over the bulb.. then out of the grow area. That way.. you have no heat issues.

If you look on hidhut.com they have some under the lighting kits i believe..

[Flyarmy2007]

I have been looking on ebay and found a 600w lighting system here.
Now it says its an air cooled grow light so i assume that would mean it cools itself, but i have no idea if i need to hook a fan up to it or something along those lines, or does it just do it all by itself? Now if it cools itself does the ballast like regulate electricity or something?.Thanks.Peace.

[GreenGoblin]

I was thinking something like this maybe? This is only a 400W.. but you get the idea.

400W HPS Digital Ballast, Bulb and Glass Tube Reflector Combo

I bought one with a built in ballast and they are heavy.. so a pain in the ass to raise and lower. In hindsight, the remote ballast would be better in my opinion.

[Flyarmy2007]

Thanks a lot guys you really cleared things up for me and im more confident about this whole lighting situation.

[GreenGoblin]

That one is "air coolable" meaning you need to hookup a seperate fan to pull air over it. I did so with mine and it works well..

Originally Posted by Flyarmy2007

I have been looking on ebay and found a 600w lighting system here.
Now it says its an air cooled grow light so i assume that would mean it cools itself, but i have no idea if i need to hook a fan up to it or something along those lines, or does it just do it all by itself? Now if it cools itself does the ballast like regulate electricity or something?.Thanks.Peace.

[KYbudShredder]

The "air cooled" usually means the reflector(hood unit) has a built in fitting on the outside where you attach a squirrel cage fan and a duct to blow air across the tube. Yes the ballast only regulates the flow of electricity... explained a little bit more in my first reply. Also there are two types of ballasts on the market today...digital and magnetic. Not sure if one is better than the other( I am a CFL guy personally because of space and heat issues, CFL's are all self ballast bulbs.) I do know that the digital ones are a little more pricey.

[Fman]

What ever type of reflector you get, you will need to cool it. A 600watt light in a closet will need a good size fan to keep temps down. There's a formula in the faq section to calculate what size fan you will need. From my mistakes I have learned to then go one size bigger. Im sure you'll find many people here who are on their second or third fans, cause the first ones just were'nt big enough.

[Flyarmy2007]

. So the whole point of the fan is to cool the incoming air into the box so that cooler air is going towards my lights and plants right? and doing the formula i should use a 500CFM fan using Fman's idea of going a size up. Should i mount the fan on the top of my box where i can put an intake or on the bottom of the box for intake, or would the location of the fan not matter at all?Thanks.Peace.

[Fman]

Most people, feel the fan should be in line,with ducting, after the light, drawing cool air from an outside source past the light ,then exhausted outside.( Hope that makes sense. ) check out some of the grow room pics in the gallery. there are alot of good pics of light cooling set-ups You really should have two systems, one for the room, bringing in fresh air for the plants , and one to cool the light. Of course thats just what I think, and Ive made so many mistakes with my room I probebly should not be giving advise.

[ISO2BWELL]

Flyarmy,

To sve yourself a lot of grief, spend some time here on the site in the old OverGrow FAQ and the Greenpassion FAQ. Both are loaded with info to help you understand lighting, etc. Some excellent tutorials in there as well.

I do understand how you feel...and right now it seems to you that all growers talk in a unique language...well, they do.. Don't worry though, you'll catch on quick. Do a lot of reading, spend time with your plants enhacing your growing skills, and that learning curve will steepen sharply...I have no doubts that soon enough you'll be right up to speed.

ISO

[Jimmyspaz]

A few years ago I did a closet grow. I found that an exhaust fan with a passive intake (just a hole for air )worked. The air flow would go- in through hole (near floor level) into fixture, out through fan to exhaust (near top of closet) hope this helps. Also I would try to find a remote ballasted lamp as this allows you to put ballast outside of closet, the ballast produces a fair amount of heat. I learned this lesson the hard way. my first HID light was integral with ballast, and , aside from weight issues, put a lot of excess heat into the closet. I had to take it apart and rewire it, a job I don't advise if you are not experianced in electrical work. Good luck!

[Flyarmy2007]

GP is awesome! you guys rock thanks for all the info