Avoid Cheap Ballasts

[nici]

Just a quick warning against using cheap no name ballasts. Pulled this one apart due to some odd behavior..... Take a look for yourself!

 

 

 

 

[Quick bloom lights]

Main cause of fires. Always be careful with the ballast.

[Gazza2001au]

I have never looked inside of a electronic digital ballast but i would have figured all that black shit is just for insulation because we grow in humid enviroments its to protect the electricals from corrosion

[nici]

There's a difference between insulation and kindling! All it would take is for the ballast to overheat and it would be goodbye house

Edited March 27, 2017 by nici

[Gazza2001au]

There's a difference between insulation and kindling! All it would take is for the ballast to overheat and it would be goodbye house

 

 

It's not flameable all that black glue looks like a resin, electrical boards that are used around water environments often get coated in resin for the above mentioned reasons

[nici]

I'm not disputing the use of insulation resins on pcb's and connectors on the more well known brands, however this is one of many no-name Made in China ballasts which shows the lack of quality control. The black 'resin' in the photos melts like butter and smells/smokes like burnt rubber when introduced to heat which defeats the purpose of being used for an insulator/ingress control. I don't know about others but I'd rather not take the chance if I had a choice.

[Gazza2001au]

Yeah it may melt so do capacitors and ignighters in mh and hps control boxes but its not flameable so there wont be a fire, i agree the quality in your pics looks low i could even see partly one of the boards, what brand control box is this?

[N3ro]

im more concerned with digital ballasts turning a whole house into an antenna broadcasting the location which would easily be detectable. no RF insulation is a cunt.

 

I was drooling at the nanolux ballasts for a while until I started reading they lit up a house like a radio station.

[Frazz]

................. with digital ballasts turning a whole house into an antenna broadcasting the location ..............

oh  f*%k  no! ... quick grab yer tin foil hats folks here we go again ...

[Gazza2001au]

So far i have read digital ballast become a problem when your running 3+ lights putting out rf, is there some sort of rf blocker users can set up?