Infamous $20 HPS

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Wiseguy_Chef said:
whent to that web site, did not find no 20 dollor hps. cheapest thing i found was one of them u need to hard wire.

I think it is something to do with the way their website redirects links. The first time you click it, it goes to the main page. If you click the link immediately again, it will take you to the specific $20 lamp.

Try again, when the web page comes up, come back here and click the link a second time.
 
ok heres a few pics i hope you can see what i've done.. the one i have apart in the pics has a cord from an old lamp and it works fine.

1- two ballasts seperated from the sockets
2- where i added longer wires to the ballast
3- where i added a power cord
4- whats left after you remove the ballast casing
5- just a pic of how i mounted the lights

im not a photographer so the pics aren't good but i hope they help.

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slowmo77 said:
ok heres a few pics i hope you can see what i've done.. the one i have apart in the pics has a cord from an old lamp and it works fine.

1- two ballasts seperated from the sockets
2- where i added longer wires to the ballast
3- where i added a power cord
4- whats left after you remove the ballast casing
5- just a pic of how i mounted the lights

im not a photographer so the pics aren't good but i hope they help.

Thanks Slowmo. Great post--a picture is worth a thousand words.
 
slowmo77 said:
ok heres a few pics i hope you can see what i've done.. the one i have apart in the pics has a cord from an old lamp and it works fine.

1- two ballasts seperated from the sockets
2- where i added longer wires to the ballast
3- where i added a power cord
4- whats left after you remove the ballast casing
5- just a pic of how i mounted the lights

im not a photographer so the pics aren't good but i hope they help.

that is what I am looking for.. thank you hemp godess and slowmo77

yep this one I'm look for!! this one is perfect.... than having a 1000w hps..
 
I saw a vapor fixture that you can buy a reflector individually for. Might be a little easier than tampering with electronics if it's not your thing.

But, if you can handle it slowmo did give a nice pic tut. Thanks slowmo!
 
vapor fixture? where ? in light forum or DIY main forum?
 
On the website on the 1st page papa. Go tothe very first link and scroll down to vapor fixyures. :aok:
 
DomsChron said:
On the website on the 1st page papa. Go tothe very first link and scroll down to vapor fixyures. :aok:

front page?

dont seeit? gimme link please I have hard time find it..
 
Hey Dom, Thats the 25 dollar one, lol. That one has more conduit entry points. Still very cheap none the less. And thank you guys for bringing light onto us all, i am gonna try and get me 4 of them babies. And i have already figured out the reflector, those clamp on "painter" lights at wally world, or depot or almost anywhere else, just like the ones in my grow journal pics. Just make the hole bigger and voila! Nice!!!
 
yup i am geting 3 for now..........lol............can't wate to flower, u can't beatem at 20 bucks a peice, at that i found them in town, so i don't order off the web...........
 
Ohhh nice!! Wish I could find em in town,i hate web ordering. Did you find them at a "Big Brand" store,like lowes or depot?
 
na bro, they are electrical distributor shop. got a buddy that works there. was going to get a 250watt for over 125 but just got 3 of the vapor fixtors. for 22 each. so i am happy.
 
I received my 2 lights today. After opening and examining them they are made well and bigger than I imagined. Now for the bad news. I have discovered why they are so cheap. What they are using for a ballast is basically an auto-former. I know most people won't know what that is but basically it is a very cheap and inefficient way to make a ballast. These 150 watt lights will take 384 watts of power each to run. 61% OF THE POWER THEY USE IS LOST IN THE BALLAST. I found this out by reading the power tag on the fixture 120V at 3.2A (V x A = Watts). There is also an information sheet on their website that lists the power factors for their ballasts (bottom left corner of their web site) list as Ballast line data sheet. 4 of them will use more power than a 1000 watt HPS running on a digital ballast and put out less light than a 600 watt HPS.
 
Rogue said:
I received my 2 lights today. After opening and examining them they are made well and bigger than I imagined. Now for the bad news. I have discovered why they are so cheap. What they are using for a ballast is basically an auto-former. I know most people won't know what that is but basically it is a very cheap and inefficient way to make a ballast. These 150 watt lights will take 384 watts of power each to run. 61% OF THE POWER THEY USE IS LOST IN THE BALLAST. I found this out by reading the power tag on the fixture 120V at 3.2A (V x A = Watts). There is also an information sheet on their website that lists the power factors for their ballasts (bottom left corner of their web site) list as Ballast line data sheet. 4 of them will use more power than a 1000 watt HPS running on a digital ballast and put out less light than a 600 watt HPS.

you get what you pay for pretty much :fid:
 
Rogue said:
I received my 2 lights today. After opening and examining them they are made well and bigger than I imagined. Now for the bad news. I have discovered why they are so cheap. What they are using for a ballast is basically an auto-former. I know most people won't know what that is but basically it is a very cheap and inefficient way to make a ballast. These 150 watt lights will take 384 watts of power each to run. 61% OF THE POWER THEY USE IS LOST IN THE BALLAST. I found this out by reading the power tag on the fixture 120V at 3.2A (V x A = Watts). There is also an information sheet on their website that lists the power factors for their ballasts (bottom left corner of their web site) list as Ballast line data sheet. 4 of them will use more power than a 1000 watt HPS running on a digital ballast and put out less light than a 600 watt HPS.

There is always a catch, isn't there? :)
 
Rogue said:
I received my 2 lights today. After opening and examining them they are made well and bigger than I imagined. Now for the bad news. I have discovered why they are so cheap. What they are using for a ballast is basically an auto-former. I know most people won't know what that is but basically it is a very cheap and inefficient way to make a ballast. These 150 watt lights will take 384 watts of power each to run. 61% OF THE POWER THEY USE IS LOST IN THE BALLAST. I found this out by reading the power tag on the fixture 120V at 3.2A (V x A = Watts). There is also an information sheet on their website that lists the power factors for their ballasts (bottom left corner of their web site) list as Ballast line data sheet. 4 of them will use more power than a 1000 watt HPS running on a digital ballast and put out less light than a 600 watt HPS.
So any idea where to get a better ballast that will run both of these?
 
Their are plenty of places to get ballasts the problem is a good one is going to cost you more than 4 times the price of the light. :)
 

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