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Any reflector ok as long as ballast and bulb match?

H

hifivelofive

Hi all, I am hoping you can help me out.
I have been reading this forum the last few months and slowly building my setup.
I have seedlings going under a CFL which is fine for now but I will switch to a 250W or 400W MH soon.

I got hold of a set 250W and a 400W MH ballasts second hand.

I need to buy a reflector and bulbs.

The reflector I like is enclosed, with safety glass and has a 120mm inline fan built in.


It says it is good for an HPS 'UP TO 1000W'.

What I would like to know, is if can I use any reflector setup out there as long as the ballast and bulbs are matched?

http://www.aussieponics.com/index.php?act=viewProd&productId=83

Look forward to hearing getting your feedback!
 
hifivelofive said:
What I would like to know, is if can I use any reflector setup out there as long as the ballast and bulbs are matched?
Click to expand...

pretty much, i wont speak for all reflectors, but as long as it has a mogul(e39) socket it will take 250...400...600 and 1000's.

i would also recommended making sure the lamp cord is in good condition and able to handle those watts, i think they are all 16 gauge wire and up.

150's are usually e26's from what i know.
 
Thanks for the feedback.

I contacted the supplier to ask too.

Turns out, the particular reflector box (Growlush Coolsun 1000W) I was looking at can handle a retro-fit MH but you need to run it with an HPS ballast, making my MH ballasts and standard MH bulb redundant.

So I'll just get an open 'wing' style aluminium reflector or something along those lines and point a fan at it.

I really wanted the glass enclosure though!
 
hifivelofive said:
Thanks for the feedback.

I contacted the supplier to ask too.

Turns out, the particular reflector box (Growlush Coolsun 1000W) I was looking at can handle a retro-fit MH but you need to run it with an HPS ballast, making my MH ballasts and standard MH bulb redundant.

So I'll just get an open 'wing' style aluminium reflector or something along those lines and point a fan at it.

I really wanted the glass enclosure though!
Click to expand...

edit:
im confused, are you saying it has a built in ballast? if so 100 bucks au is cheep.
but it says
"SUITABLE FOR "HPS" LAMPS up to 1000 watts"
up to? so it has a dimmable electronic ballst? for 100 Bucks? i doubt that, im pretty sure this is just a reflector in which case either MH or HPS bulbs will fit as they are both e39/mogul.
 
No it doesn't have a built in ballast. I believe it is just a reflector that can handle a range up to 1000W.

This is the reply I had from the seller:

"The reflector can run a retro MH lamp only but the normal MH lamp; however, the retro MH lamp cannot run with the MH ballast. We suggest you to run a normal MH lamp with the mh ballast you got in hand and get a aluminium reflector for the lamp"

I was a little confused by the wording of the reply. I think they are saying retro MH lamp only in the reflector, not a normal MH lamp.
I dont understand why. They only discernable difference between the two looks to be a tubular shape of the retro vs. a bulbous shape of normal.
 
well the only thing i can think of is that the reflector dosent have the clearance for a standard envelope MH bulb which looks like this...
http://1000bulbs.com/category/400-watt-standard-metal-halide-lamps/

the thing is tho that all horti bulbs come with a tubular or reduced envelope like this...
http://1000bulbs.com/category/400-watt-tubular-metal-halide-lamps/
they are almost identical to HPS bulbs...

i dont know why this guy is suggesting a conversion bulb, those are designed to allow you to use MH with HPS or visa versa, they do not have different sockets at all they are e39 too, both MH and HPS use e39(mogul).
you originally asked if you could use any reflector with any bulb as long as you matched them correctly; ive never heard of this NOT being the case with any reflector at all.
im pretty sure this guy is confused or dosent know much.is it possible he dosent speak english native? why not give them another call?
 
I think it is down to their bulbs.
It looks like most MH bulbs over here are a standard envelope.
At least that's all this supplier has and I think that is why they are saying I can't use it and don't want to refer me to a supplier that sells the tubular MH bulbs.

So if I get hold of a tubular MH bulb it should be all good.
If not I'll sell the shade.

Thanks for the help!
 
hifivelofive said:
At least that's all this supplier has and I think that is why they are saying I can't use it and don't want to refer me to a supplier that sells the tubular MH bulbs.
Click to expand...

This sounds like the blind leading the blind. There are a thousand reasons that a 1000w reflector won't work well with a lower power lamp independent of lamp shape.
 
theres actually a number of threads on cannabis grow forums wherein they test reflectors with foot candle meters on a standard sized grid. at least going from 1000w bulbs to 600w bulbs there isnt any terrible effect on the lights footprint. atleast not to the degree one could declare they dont work well...
theres ways to get the bulb out and centered in the middle of the reflector if it worries you. its my experiance that almost all the reflectors are " up too 1000w hps" reflectors for obvious reasons. are you suggesting he get a parabolic or something?
 
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