Ballast setting metal halide bulbs on fire?

Have a 1000 watt phantom digital ballast I am attempting to use at 60 percent power to run a 600 watt mh bulb. First bulb I tried the filament caught fire and wouldn't turn back on when I fire it up. Second bulb turns on and stays on but smells like it's burning and the colors wonky compared to my 600 watt ballasts running the same bulbs.

Have you checked amperage on both? See what the bulb is rated for. Even at 60% power, the ballast might be rated for more amps than the bulb and it might not work.

Maybe some resistors wired in might help?

just run a 1000w bulb, turned down if you need.

I may be wrong but don't you need a digital ballast bulb as it works slightly different? Memory bit hazey. Could be wrong. Thought people use digilux bulbs?

Interesting, first time I heard a fellow grower's got too much light! Those 1KW ballasts are damn expensive, the bulbs too.

InceptorProventus said:

Interesting, first time I heard a fellow grower's got too much light! Those 1KW ballasts are damn expensive, the bulbs too.

Click to expand...

I was not please spending $60 for the bill yesterday when I paid half that online.

Dude, ballast rebuild kit. You have to get the chord that plugs into the wall, and wire up a capacitor (should come with it). You might have to buy a socket to screw the bulb in, and you'll have to get creative with a hood, but I have about $110 altogether in my 400w MH, which is probably a little more than half of what it would've cost getting it at the grow store, and even cheaper than online.

Just buy an Hps bulb for that ballast (if its one of those ballasts that can run both) and find you a nice space for some extra flowering-- I'm sure you won't mind the extra

Edit: just to let you know, this is what your cost breakdown would be (in dollars):

Replacement ballast (for fixture): $70
Chord to plug in wall: $5-6
Socket for bulb: $7-10
Something for hood: found mine for $8