400w MH bulb for 600w ballast?

andy7000 said:

How do you all know that nobody hasnt tried it?
I asked a question and people come on and say what they think might happen.Thats whats wrong with this site.When a person asks a question they get an answer from some people who think they know the answer.I want an answer from a person who has done what i'm asking.I'm not saying most people have tried it,but i'm thinking of it,and i'm damn well sure other people have thought what would happen if they did it.
Now,if you cant answer the question,or link me to a discussion about it,DO NOT POST A REPLY TO THIS QUESTION!

Click to expand...

yes it will work, hold on, mayb it wont, it mite work, try it an let me no. stick a 400 in ur mouth and a 600 up ur arse an see witch 1 glows the britest.

Wow, I had this same question, got here thru Google (not RIU, even tho I'm a member), I can't believe the endless parade of people who tell the OP to "read the post," even though EVERYONE who attempted to answer the question didn't "read the question!"

There should NOT be 3 pages of posts here, without ONE valid answer. Somebody out here has to understand the intricacies of ballast power supplies, no? Is a 600W ballast capable of putting out 100-600W or ONLY 600w?

I mean, I have a couple lamps here in my house, and they don't really care what bulbs I put in them... in that scenario, it's up to the BULB whether to spread 40W or 100W -- are ballasts the exact opposite?

andy7000 said:

Yes.Would a 400w be compatible with a 600w ballast? Simple question, has anyone tried it?will it blow the bulb?I dont know how to put it any clearer.

Click to expand...

i dont want to make you look crazy but what would you think would happen if you overload a bulb by 200 watts?

undertow said:

Wow, I had this same question, got here thru Google (not RIU, even tho I'm a member), I can't believe the endless parade of people who tell the OP to "read the post," even though EVERYONE who attempted to answer the question didn't "read the question!"

There should NOT be 3 pages of posts here, without ONE valid answer. Somebody out here has to understand the intricacies of ballast power supplies, no? Is a 600W ballast capable of putting out 100-600W or ONLY 600w?

I mean, I have a couple lamps here in my house, and they don't really care what bulbs I put in them... in that scenario, it's up to the BULB whether to spread 40W or 100W -- are ballasts the exact opposite?

Click to expand...

thanks for understanding what i had to go thru,to try and get a strate answer.i was sick of this thread.so i did it anyway.i now have a 400mh bulb in my 600 maxibrite ballast.it work no problim.but no differnce to electric.
its not funny,i'm not dead,and i didnt get any help from this thread.so,thank u for the 3 pages of usless posts.i'll keep u post if the house burns down

Just dont blame me when your bulb explodes, kills all your plants, and possibly you and your family.
on the plus side, you saved 25 bucks.

SpruceZeus said:

Just dont blame me when your bulb explodes, kills all your plants, and possibly you and your family.
on the plus side, you saved 25 bucks.

Click to expand...

why wud i blame u?hav u tried it,and gave me any information to back up a fact?i hav, and its running fine for a week now,and nuthings happened.thank u but my plants and family r still alive.do u think id do this for 25 bucks,your full of facts,how do u know how much or what way it has saved me?

I just dont understand why you wouldn't just buy a 600w bulb. I asked my electrician about this and he said its a very bad idea.

SpruceZeus said:

I just dont understand why you wouldn't just buy a 600w bulb.

Click to expand...

maybe i have a brand new 400w mh bulb and my 600w hps is near done,does it matter?i asked a simple question to anyone who has tryed it.
and there u go again,did u ask ur electrican what happened when he had a 600w ballast and connected a 400w bulb to it?or is that an esumption,did he ever try it?

you might as well try it your self if your that curious

there is a very good chance that this will blow out your bulb, i would not advise trying

this is my first post here ... i opened an account just for this .... silly thread

based on my experience only i have to say that :

I USED A 400w hps lamp with a 600w digital ballast for a grow from start to end having no problems what so ever (lamp still has kick in it).

some personal opinions :

I suspect (having nothing to back this up) that you will still consume 600w of electricity per hour instead of 400W as you might hope...

If you have the option to use a perfectly tuned setup is always better to do so in order to avoid any possible faults and aspire for maximum yield !


so .... again for all pessimists, non-believers to conclude this thread and let it rest in peace with a proper answer for other generations of pot-heads to come :


YES YOU CAN USE A 600W BALLAST WITH LESS WATTAGE LAMPS LIKE 400W !


shizle ma dizle !

A year later and i get an answer,
thank you abzcen, i also gave it a go myself, and it works fine, my house hasn't burned down and i'm still alive. I still use the ballast, which works perfectly.

ive been looking for info on this for a little while now...i went to my mate house to get a light and he said its 600w....
well the ballast was but wen i got a look at the bulb it was a 400w grolux... the discharge tube inside was about an inch smaller than in the 600w bulb that he had spare...
i said this too him and he was only dissapointed about not using the extra 200Ws, he didnt think it would ever increase the risk of something fooking up...

but anyway he used a 400w bulb in a 600w ballast for 2 grows...

OK OK OK let me just clear this up for you because it appears that you are extremely slow in between the ears....... it would be in your best of interest not to continue using a 400watt bulb in your 600watt ballast... your ballast is rated for a 600 use a 600 watt bulb... your are drastically hurting your bulb also.... i can almost assure you that your bulb does not put out as many lumens as it did before... ok so now your saved your money on not buying another 600 watt bulb..... but now you can go out and buy another Mh (if you care). Also ... you have a 400 in a 600 ballast... thats .02 kwh your wasting every hour 18-24 hours a day. And lets say there was no problem with doing this.... what would be the point of people selling 250 watt and 400 watt ballast

relevant question deserves a relevant answer..here is mine from both experiance and knowledge. i use 400w on 600w ballast.. have done for years.. most i ever got from one bulb was 3 grows..i paid £13 notes for the bulb. Whenit blew i bought a new one. FFS. it's £13. IT AINT BREAKING NO BANK .the reason i do this is to save on forking out for cooling systems on 600watt bulbs.. my grows are small but large yields are obtained.
The ballast provides the poke to strike the tube.. once it's struck the bulb takes what it needs from the ballast, not the other way round. as far as the bill debate. yup. it will put more money on than a 400watt ballast.. but not alot. and for the initial outlay of a 400w ballast.. id take the rise in bills anyday. good luck
Dave..(electrical engineer)

I was at a grow shop today and wanted to buy a 250w bulb for my 400w ballast and was told that you dont put a lesser or higher watt bulb into a ballast. It will turn on but not emit as much light and break a lot faster.

You can use a lesser wattage bulb in a higher ballast. The ballast only puts out so much electricity that the bulb is asking for. Damn didnt anyone take even intro to electrical engineering in college? Go ahead and try some heat tests. Ive run 400w and 600w in my 1000w ballast for 3 years. No issues with less use of my bulbs and my ballast still runs fine. As far as heat, each bulb put off less. Based off what all these highschool kids have said, no matter the bulb if you put it in a 1000w ballast it will generate that heat. WRONG. Test it yourself. get some actually electric tools and run the tests your self, YOU FINE.

thestonecutter said:

relevant question deserves a relevant answer..here is mine from both experiance and knowledge. i use 400w on 600w ballast.. have done for years.. most i ever got from one bulb was 3 grows..i paid £13 notes for the bulb. Whenit blew i bought a new one. FFS. it's £13. IT AINT BREAKING NO BANK .the reason i do this is to save on forking out for cooling systems on 600watt bulbs.. my grows are small but large yields are obtained.
The ballast provides the poke to strike the tube.. once it's struck the bulb takes what it needs from the ballast, not the other way round. as far as the bill debate. yup. it will put more money on than a 400watt ballast.. but not alot. and for the initial outlay of a 400w ballast.. id take the rise in bills anyday. good luck
Dave..(electrical engineer)

Click to expand...

Most people running hydro shops dont know what the fuck they are doing. Ive talked to numerous owners and they all have different opinions. Its what they have heard on the internet as well! And im not just talking lighting. Im talking ventilation, nutrients, amount of light, amount of water, everything. Unless youve got someone that has grown for 40+ years and has done the tests himself they are full of shit.

No it want work. Put things in where they belong. You could blow the bulb, fuck your ballast up, are even cause a electrical fire.

Yes, you can run a smaller watt bulb. Peeps that say otherwise are clueless.

On a side note, any mag hps ballast can run the same or lower watt mh bulbs, another thing peeps are ignorant of.

Jesus you have extra bulbs and you're not doing this yourself? Wtf man.. if you have a tampon in this time of the month ask your wife or girlfriend to screw the bulb in for you.

Zcomfort said:

No it want work. Put things in where they belong. You could blow the bulb, fuck your ballast up, are even cause a electrical fire.

Click to expand...

What? I sincerely hope you're stoned when you typed this.