holy so me and my girl noticed a wierd smell comin from the ballast. i bought it used and i opened it up and two of the connectors were melted to shit. the ballast was very very hot. i know that ballasts are supposed to get hot but not this hot i dont think. i put sum new caps on and left the front cover off. im gonna see if it melts again i guess. does this normally happen with most ballasts when they get old or is this just mine. the wierd thing was i bought two and the other one did the same thing... ill try to post sum pics tommorow as i have no batteries... any ideas on what could cause this?
Good thing you noticed it in time. My ballast is in a remote location and I would never know if it caught on fire until I saw the flames
good catch by your lady, kurupt! :thumbsup: please, please, everyone growing indoors: invest a few dollars in a fire extinguisher and keep it nearby.
absolutely, I got a smoke alarm right outside my growroom on the ceiling and a fire ex on a shelf outside my growroom, def 2 main components.
I keep a smoke alarm in the same room as my ballasts. I have 6 of em humming along so a smoke alarm is a good thing
I actually have a detector velcroed next to the ballast then one above the cab in the same room then the others spread out as usual. Good catch and keep a close eye on that thing!
Growing is so fun..so EZ... BUT Lying in the hospital...or worse...damn Korupt, ALL y'all....PLEASE take care of the basics BEFORE you get in too deep. 1,000 + watts on a #14 wire: not OK (IMO). I would suggest either downsizing the lamp OR running a dedicated 20A circuit on #12 copper. Consider all this as a heads up. :qbluewacko:
Awesome last post!!!! I'm confused as to why the breaker didn't trip :icon_confused: most hydro shops around me will service and repair those lamps and ballasts for not much, I'd start there. Its cheaper than a new lamp, and MUCH cheaper than being in the county hole. If everything in your area is pulling from a 5amp breaker? your going to have to run a dedicated line from the box. I did as such for my 1000w deal, to avoid these things. I still wonder why the breaker didn't trip. You gotta' get this figured out.
who said 5 amps? STONER things can get plenty hot before they trip something, thats why electrical fires happen. damn aluminum cheap ass couldnt afford copper gutter trash! cudos for being cheap JK Homes! aluminum wiring keeps firefighters in business ok im done, thanx folks
I said 5amps, 'cause I'm not the Electrician, but my stoney Brother is, and I pick up jargon from him. He's the one I trade buds for electrical work. I won't do much more than hang a ceiling fan without his input. And you are correct. That old school Aluminum wiring does help keep me in a job. It always goes in peak heating, or peak cooling weather. I hate extension into a wall, 'cause I've got to tear halfo of it down now. If any of my copped jargon was wrong? the hazard from poorly wired appliances and over worked, poorly sheilded wires in the building stills hold merit. I listen to car talk alot, too.
