# Dumbest Question Ever: What Does The Ballast Do?...



## ston3pony (Sep 21, 2008)

:confused2: Does it put off heat?


----------



## Alistair (Sep 21, 2008)

The ballast is basically your power supply, and yes, it does put off heat. It is desirable to keep your ballast outside your grow room.


----------



## ston3pony (Sep 21, 2008)

Ah okay that's what I figured. I was thinking it was an amp or a power supply. So, how many people here have burned their houses down with one?


----------



## Funkfarmer (Sep 21, 2008)

You do need to be carful with placement and keeping it well ventilated, so as not to burn your house down.


----------



## thief (Sep 22, 2008)

lol i use the heat from the ballasts to heat the bathroom floor


----------



## howardstern (Sep 22, 2008)

thief said:
			
		

> lol i use the heat from the ballasts to heat the bathroom floor


 
I grow in my bedroom, so I use it to heat the room in fall / winter / early-spring.


----------



## King Bud (Sep 22, 2008)

> i use the heat from the ballasts to heat the bathroom floor


Careful not to overfill the bathtub! *ZZZAP* 
:bolt:


----------



## Kupunakane (Sep 22, 2008)

Yo Ho ston3pony,

  Certainly not a dumb question by any length of the imagination. 
 You have heard the old adage, "The only dumb question is the one that isn't asked". ?????
 Everyone here started out learning, and asked tons of questions. Someone wondered if it was able to be cloned, and someone asked hey what happens if I try to combine these two strains.
 I like to think that once there was this group of people that sat around feeding a small fire, and tossing in some dried burnable material, and the next thing you know the fella sitting down wind was stoned outta his head, and maybe laughing his butt off over something he would never remember. 
 I think you asked a great question, and I'll bet that after that wonderful night that guy asked how did this happen ?  and bingo...... ask away friend.

smoke in peace
KingKahuuna


----------



## leafminer (Sep 28, 2008)

What does the ballast do? Nobody answered this yet. Here goes:
The lamp itself is a low-resistance device when it's in operation, but it requires a high voltage to get started. The ballast takes care of both these things. 
When you start the lamp, the ballast allows a high voltage to get the arc started. 
When the arc strikes, the current is low because the sodium is in solid state. As the sodium first melts and then vaporises, the resistance of the lamp drops to a low level and the ballast now acts to limit the current to the required operating value (the ballast is an inductor, a coil of copper wire on an iron core - inductors act as a resistance to alternating current)


----------



## Muddy Paws (Sep 28, 2008)

Not a dumb question at all, m8


----------



## ston3pony (Sep 28, 2008)

leafminer said:
			
		

> What does the ballast do? Nobody answered this yet. Here goes:
> The lamp itself is a low-resistance device when it's in operation, but it requires a high voltage to get started. The ballast takes care of both these things.
> When you start the lamp, the ballast allows a high voltage to get the arc started.
> When the arc strikes, the current is low because the sodium is in solid state. As the sodium first melts and then vaporises, the resistance of the lamp drops to a low level and the ballast now acts to limit the current to the required operating value (the ballast is an inductor, a coil of copper wire on an iron core - inductors act as a resistance to alternating current)


_Ah! _Thanks miner, I've done work in electrical engineering so that all made perfect sense, I appreciate it.

Do people ever use the heat from the ballast for something like warming a tray of clones or germination?


----------



## leafminer (Sep 28, 2008)

ston3pony said:
			
		

> _Ah! _Thanks miner, I've done work in electrical engineering so that all made perfect sense, I appreciate it.
> 
> Do people ever use the heat from the ballast for something like warming a tray of clones or germination?



Hey that's an interesting idea. I guess if you had a remote ballast that you could easily relocate, that would work. Not for me though, my lamps are shop-type units with a big reflector attached under the ballast box. And the grow space gets warm enough anyway! (laughing)


----------



## Happy-Tea-Bud (Sep 28, 2008)

My friend had a conversion 400 watt lamp. I remember the ballast buzzed a lot and had vents built into it. He kept it on a top shelf with a fan blowing at it. The lamp put out a lot of heat.


----------



## raoulduke2.0 (Oct 1, 2008)

dude that's creepy.....


----------



## Dexter (Oct 1, 2008)

ston3pony said:
			
		

> :confused2: Does it put off heat?



Good Q? I had no idea other than i need them for my lights


----------



## JBonez (Oct 1, 2008)

dunno if this will help or not, but i have a mh/hps switchable ballast, i noticed how much heat it puts off, so i rigged a small fan that blows directly on it at all times, now it never really gets about 86 degrees and is cool to the touch, one day i came home, and braino the wonder wife unplugged it, and it was super hot, so just keep a fan on its heatsinks and you shouldnt have to worry about much heat.


----------



## Fadeux (Oct 1, 2008)

I've always been a big fan of the Lumatek digital ballast. Dead silent, and much less heat than a magnetic. It costs a little more, but worth it to me...


----------

