Hi guys
just popped up to feed my girls and i fitted a ballast last night given to me by a friend for a 400w mh, unfortunately i think i put a hps bulb in by accident ,
i just found this
Click to view attachment
is it safe or do i get rid of it, i've got a 300w cfl to swap for it until i get another

Did it go bang?

dunno, came on at 4pm and i only went up there at 7pm but the lights were running fine

It still works?
What's the difference with MH and HPS?, I thought most ballasts do both.

not the old ones, not sure but one for mh and one for hps iirc

any ideas guys, dont want to risk leaving this running over night.......

And it definatly wasn't there before? When your mate gave it to you and you just didn't notice it?

dont think so, i'm sure i would have noticed it, i've just changed back to the 300w enviro to be safe anyway

You are kidding right?

no, honest question, haven't got a clue about these things, never seen it or happened to me before
is that a no then, got rid off now to be safe

That`s some discharge of some kind, heat/energy to rip aluminium like that surely?

got really last night and put a hps in instead of a mh

Glad you got rid. I used to test PC power supplies from the field for a while, sometimes a faulty power supply that had already gone BANG would do it again. Fecking scared the pants off me every time. Anyway, a few times a small fire would start inside the PSU so I would advise getting a new one for sure.

Loftmonkey.

I got that bit dude we all make mistakes,well i do,a lot Just couldn`t sleep at night just in case


Might be totally fine though.

scared the shit outa me when i saw it
thanks for the advise

no i just couldn't leave it another night, i wouldn't be able to sleep either, doubt it is fine, looked fucked to me
cheers for the replies and advise

Its the capacitor xasing thats split, has it been dropped or something?

Get a replacement capacitor, can't tell from the pic but it looks like the capacitor isn't earthed (nut and bolt on base)

Earth it next time

If you have a HPS ballast and want a MH then this is for you

HQI lamp

http://www.lamptech.co.uk/Spec%20Sheets/Osram%20HQIBT400.htm

no the nut/shaft had snapped off the ignitor on the right in the pic it was only plastic, but the capacitor was ok,

it's old i know and everything apart from the ignitor was fixed down until itsnapped

They have a plastic case which is missing from yours the plastic does breakdown over time and you end up with the shell

It look a bit dodgy to me, is everything fixed down?, does it have a cover?

sorry EM2, was editing my post when you posted

Best bet is to replace it you need a 40uF like this

Capacitor

ok i took the old capacitor off my old ballast and replaced the broken one,
Click to view attachment

the only difference is the replacement capacitor has 2 of each...brown and blue..wires coming out of it so i put both into the relevant holes...
is this right, it comes on ok but i dont want to fit it until i have some reassurance from here

and yes when i can afford it i will upgrade

Not all do.
lumatek digital do both, BAL just does HPS. I have seen magnetic ones do both, but I've seen HPS only ones too.

I think HPS requires a ignitor, whereas MH doesn't...

Its fine mate

It has two because one is a supply in and the other takes the supply elsewhere

You could have pulled one set out but theres no difference

Thanks EM2
that's the answer i was hoping for, i thought about pulling it out but it wouldn't budge and i didn't want to risk breaking it so i just put both wires in the relevant holes...if that makes sense

Maxibrite does both.

makes sense alright

Its made in China

No probs

EM2