How do i reduce noise???

A slight buzzing beyond that some thinga may need to be tightened up too stop vibration.
Enclosing ballasts is in my opinion a bad idea due too heat buildup which is not only a fire hazard but really shortens operational life.
Insulation in both board and batt form is your friend.

mine hum. the fans are louder than the ballast. humming is normal, rattling is not. my grows are in walk in closets so thats where the ballast are. are you hearing it like in your living room?

well its in a regular i would say 8X7 ft room

I put the ballast in the closet on top of a book. can i cover it with a plastic tubberware thing, maybe cut a hole in the top so the heat doesn't build up?

Ballast makes WAYY too much noise, ill try and tighten some screws...

Do you guys think its the metal handle piece that comes with the ballast making the noise?

On top of book= fire hazard
Covered with plastic = fire hazard

Just isolate it with some foam board or sound proofing material, not directly on your ballast, but section off a small area of your closet with sound proofing material is your best bet.

You're the only one who can tell us where the noise is coming from, theres plenty of things that could be the source. Make sure you don't fuck with it while its plugged in and GROUND YOURSELF before you start tightening things up or dicking around with it. Nothing like 1000w discharge running through your heart to start the day off right.

thx lol will do

Easier solution. Sell that clunker magnetic ballast and buy a proper digital one. More light, less heat, higher efficiency and utterly completely silent.

Sound isolation (proper sound isolation) is very difficult. Building a small box out of two layers of drywall and completely sealing it is going to be the best bet. Lining the box with rockwool insulation would be even better. Its extremely effector at absorbing high frequency vibrations. Even bass, but only down to about 80hz.

legallyflying said:

Easier solution. Sell that clunker magnetic ballast and buy a proper digital one. More light, less heat, higher efficiency and utterly completely silent.

Sound isolation (proper sound isolation) is very difficult. Building a small box out of two layers of drywall and completely sealing it is going to be the best bet. Lining the box with rockwool insulation would be even better. Its extremely effector at absorbing high frequency vibrations. Even bass, but only down to about 80hz.

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what he said^

aw come now, some people dont wanna spend the extra 50 for an electronic. i still want one...you walk upstairs and you just hear bzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz...... from every direction. as far as more light, i thought that no matter the ballast you still put X watts to the bulb, so i dont see how the ballast itself can create more light. the type of bulb, sure. efficiency without a doubt. my 400w magnetos really pull 428 from the wall, while ive seen the digis at 412. so i could see a 1000w pullin 1060 easy. i dont have heat issues with mine tho, the bulb far outweighs the little heat from these. but i use industrial high bay ballast. kinda cool cause if they ever do catch fire, they pretty much self-contained and sitting on concrete blocks and metal racks.

MediMary said:

what he said^

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And then wrap your house in tin foil so you don't get RF interference everywhere, and have fun when you have a problem with your digital ballast and have to send it out for repairs or exchange/buy new one instead of replacing parts yourself and saving mad amounts of cash in the long run.

Not to mention that buying a digital ballast is also more expensive than just sound insulating the one he has. You can line a box with a mattress pad that you can pick up at walmart for $20 instead of selling your magnetic ballast on craigslist or w/e for half the price you paid, and then picking up a more expensive digi and going thru all that bullshit.

ya dont cover the ballast with anything or youll end up gettin it too hot and youll just end up buyin a new one.unless of course you air cool the enclosure in the same manner as you would an an ac reflector.
my opinion get used to the noise and think about the end result.ie. YIELD

hughesresearch said:

aw come now, some people dont wanna spend the extra 50 for an electronic. i still want one...you walk upstairs and you just hear bzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz...... from every direction. as far as more light, i thought that no matter the ballast you still put X watts to the bulb, so i dont see how the ballast itself can create more light. the type of bulb, sure. efficiency without a doubt. my 400w magnetos really pull 428 from the wall, while ive seen the digis at 412. so i could see a 1000w pullin 1060 easy. i dont have heat issues with mine tho, the bulb far outweighs the little heat from these. but i use industrial high bay ballast. kinda cool cause if they ever do catch fire, they pretty much self-contained and sitting on concrete blocks and metal racks.

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It has to do with the frequency that the wattage is being sent to the bulb. It's not constant they bulbs actually flicker or pulse. The big difference is that the digitals are like 1,000 times faster, thus yielding moretime that the light is actually "on". Think of it like a computer monitor. Look at a grow picture with mag balasts...see the "bars" now look at some pictures in my journal. None.

They are also a little more efficient and never loose their power over time like some mag ballests. Well worth $50....

Just a thought

if any of you get high times they did a 4 page report of Digital Vs. Magnetic Vs. bulbs in the march 2011 issue. a magnetic runs at 60Hz while a digital runs at 20kHz as efficient as a Digital is your "bulb life is cut down by 30%" - Hortilux

best / worse part in the whole write up is " Believe it or not. the study done by Hortilux states that " all lamps tested on electronic ballasts had advanced sodium loss and reduced lumens. " Not a big surprise, given the rate at which bulbs are burning out. But the gas loss is an even more disturbing news flash. As it turns out, towards the end of their life- just before the bulbs burn out- a rupture occurs, releasing the gases inside the bulb. this means the sodium, mercury and phosphorous vapors are covering our gardens "
just FYI Hortilux also tested with other name brands like GE, phillips, sunmaster.

So after hearing this before hand and now reading it in the march issue of high times i tend to wonder is a little noise better then the other?

Wow... Are we really discussing boxing in an object that reaches hundreds of degrees?

Walk in there right now and place your hand on the black part and then tell me again how a box lined with mattress pad is in any way a good fucking idea...
www.peopleofwalmart.com

My 1000w Sunlight System Budget Grow II, Sunlight System Cool Sun 6, and Eye Sunlux 1000w HPS lamp don't make more noise than a gentle hum. If yours is doing anything more than this then you need to get it replaced.

My 16" circulation fan makes more noise. Not to mention the 6" Axial fan even with insulated ducting.

If the problem here is a broken ballast.
The solution is most definitely not covering that broken ballast with flammable shit.

I place my ballast on top of an 8" square Pyrex glass dish turned upside down. Not flammable, highly durable, temperature capable, compact, and inexpensive (under $5).

If you are referring to a high frequency buzz then it could be the bulb. Replace it and find out if that is the issue.

Thanks everyone, i will try and tighten some screws.

I bought my lights over a year ago, and have yet to use them, maybe that's why... So i will try and do my best with all of your great expertise.

If all else fails, whats a good excuse for a buzzing noise in the house to my mom???? LOLLLL

I call Malarky.

Your mom isn't aware of the 1000w worth of power you're using every hour? You don't have the woosh of ventilation fans?

I call bullshit on this thread.

An unventilated 1000w system in his mom's house is buzzing... And that's the problem... Sure it is kiddo.

I think hortilux is just pissed because other manufacturers are now producing bulbs designed for digital ballasts and they missed the boat. Who keeps bulbs longer than 6 months anyways?

Snowcrash.. I hope your not suggesting that I advised him to use some kind of mattress insulation? Maybe your referring to the "foam" suggestion earlier. Rockwool is made from glass particles (which is why it's a lame grow medium) and is stable until 800 degrees.

ExDex1x1 said:

You can line a box with a mattress pad that you can pick up at walmart for $20 instead of selling your magnetic ballast on craigslist or w/e for half the price you paid, and then picking up a more expensive digi and going thru all that bullshit.

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I was referring to this tidbit of deadly advice.
Still though, wrapping anything that produces heat in something else to prevent air flow is a recipe for disaster. It'll melt its own components.

Sometimes I just facepalm on this website so fucking hard. I am flabbergast that this has gone on for as long as it has and that the majority of his advice could have killed him in his sleep.

Snow Crash said:

that the majority of his advice could have killed him in his sleep.

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Stupid is as stupid does. If I ever caught my kid growing illegal weed I would seriously knock his fucking teeth in. The police could seize your parents house. But yeah probably a bulshit thread

Digi yes, magnetic no!!