How to Silence and COOL your Ballast like a PRO

Ok so today I will show you how to silence your ballast like a pro. If you are in need of a cheap and perfect way to silence and cool your ballast. You must look no further.

Before we begin the material we will be needing are...


1. A rubbermaid container big enough to fit your ballast in, with a fair amount of extra space in it (the more the better)

2. Lots of old clothing, Blankets, etc.

3. Cardboard and masking tape. (I love working with this as much as possible because it really simplifies working since you don't have to saw anything. You can really accomplish a lot in no time!

4. A drill with a 1/4" bit or some other sort of hole poking device close to 1/4"

5. Two large PC fans (salvaged outta bosses old comp)

6. An old model train variable transformer

7. A little skill!


Ok so now that you have everything you need. Lets get started!

First we are going to pop open our rubber maid container and stuff a good 6" of clothing in the bottom (pack extremely tight)




The next step is to cut a small hole in the front of the container so that the two ballast cords can get though. I don't have any pics for this step but its pretty self explanatory!

The next step is to build a cardboard enclosure for your ballast. whats that you say you thought the ballast was going in the rubber maid? Nope! well it is sort of but you want your ballast to be air cooled right? yes. You want this to be airtight! COMPLETELY SURROUND THE BALLAST WITH CARDBOARD, EVEN THE TOP THOUGH ITS NOT SHOWN IN THE PICTURE. DON'T WORRY!





The next step is to take Our PC fans and make an intake and outtake to vent and cool our ballast. This is a simple step, constructing two shafts that are of equal level with the lid of the container.

Pc fans



Intake and outtake vents!



Overhead shot of the intake and outtake vents (also have my variable DC transformer attached.





AFter you have the fans and your transformer(or other way to power the fans) hooked up turn it up to your desired fan speed to make sure everything is working.

The next step is to drill many small holes in the lid where the intake and outtake shafts are. You also now wnat to came as many clothes as your muscles can stand around the cardboard structure you have created (as shown)




Put your lid on with your holes in it, plug your ballast and your transformer in and your done! You should feel the hot air flying otuta that bitch without a sound! ENOJY EVERYONE

fire hazard?

nah man not unless you mess something up. I havent had a problem.

This is a very bad idea, if those fans were to fail one day and you weren't around... you can just imagine
I'm sure it will problems on really hot summer days too, all that heat is going to make something fail.

Fuck that man!! Def fire hazard. just cos you havnt had issues doesnt make it safe!! Bad idea!!

I dont know how people have issues with noisy ballast mine just sits there and plays quietly. Maybe its a digitl one , im not sure but it came with setup.
Quiet and cool.

that has to be the most dangerous muffler i have ever seen. If you use this you WILL burn your house down! be smart there are a thousand better ways to build this!

Sorry dude, but you are way over thinking that. As an electrical engineer I am appuled at that attempt. It is a extreme fire hazzard. Dont even want to get started on why. Should be obvious.

wow... thats gotta be one of the dumbest things ive ever seen... if your ballast is noisy, change it! naturally ballasts run a little warm but thats why you keep it in an open space somewhat away from your space, or near your exhaust fan in your space.

WAY! WAY!! WAY!!! overthought and super dangerous no one attempt this.

you should be trying to silence exhaust/intake fans. thats where the noise should be coming from, not a ballast.....wow i am still in awe at how dumb of a post this is.

Wow this is unbelievable....

No offense man but that is most unprofessional looking diy i have seen on here. Cardboard and masking tape? If it was made with wood and insulation than maybe it would be pro. Thanks for the diy though, we can all build off of your idea and make improvements.

Burn your parents house down 101.

change the name to "How to burn down your house along with your plants like a pro!"

i like my ballast being warm because it keeps my plants warm...

"how to burn your house down 101." ROFL!!!!!

Just looking for ideas to make things a bit quieter and came across this thread. Wonder if the house insurance will pay out on this one? Get a Lumatek if you got some spare coin. That's a real shocker of a "pro's" way of being quiet!!!

I'll just keep my ballast covered with oil soaked rags near the furnace.

I cool my ballasts by immersing them in my res once an hour.

And another astronaut was born, One small step for mankind. lol.