Does this work? Cheap way to get more light?

[KarlJay]

I went back to Amazon to order my 2nd 600W HPS system and found the seller was not selling them right now. Started looking for another brand/option/seller... and I noticed this:

Amazon: The Splitter by Sunpulse

It's a spliter that claims to convert 1 1000W ballast to run two 600W bulbs. might be dimmed, but some go over wattage, so it might be full.

The price of the 1000 vs 600 and all the other costs, should mean that you save money on this. Not to mention the advantage of having lights from two points helps to spread the light out.

 

[Weed420]

I wonder if it lowers the life of the ballast trying to run 2-600w's. More resistance running 2 bulbs which might overload the ballast.

 

[Jimmycricket]

Notice it says it needs to be used with a certain companies ballast and a certain companies bulb?

Steer clear of this,

Keep in mind if you try to do this with a ballast that is not from stated company its quite possible the amps and gauge of wire used in that ballast are not sufficient to carry 1200 watts, if that is infact what this device does and you can burn out a ballast, or (and very probably) start a fire.

If you want 2 600watt bulbs go get two 600 watt ballasts, if you want 1000 get a 1000 watt ballast. Take it from someone who has worked as an electrician and handyman for a good bit. This is a bad idea.

 

[KarlJay]

Notice it says it needs to be used with a certain companies ballast and a certain companies bulb?

Steer clear of this,

Keep in mind if you try to do this with a ballast that is not from stated company its quite possible the amps and gauge of wire used in that ballast are not sufficient to carry 1200 watts, if that is infact what this device does and you can burn out a ballast, or (and very probably) start a fire.

If you want 2 600watt bulbs go get two 600 watt ballasts, if you want 1000 get a 1000 watt ballast. Take it from someone who has worked as an electrician and handyman for a good bit. This is a bad idea.

That's along the lines that I was thinking. One other issue is that when I did some price shopping, I found that I can get 2 600's for about the same price as 1 1000W.

My 600W system is shown in my grow journal (link in signature) I paid about $170 complete. The local shops were in the $300 range. So if you add this up PLUS the cost of the splitter, you might not be saving anything.

 

[Jimmycricket]

600s are actually more efficient per watt then a 1000. For whatever reason they just use each bit of electricity better and output more lumens and par per watt.

Local shops tend to really raise the price on lights for w/e reason. Nutes they give me decent deals on and its about the same as online, maybe even cheaper as I tend to get a bit of a frequent customer discount. But lights always seem to be double or possibly even triple price.

 

[KarlJay]

600s are actually more efficient per watt then a 1000. For whatever reason they just use each bit of electricity better and output more lumens and par per watt.

Local shops tend to really raise the price on lights for w/e reason. Nutes they give me decent deals on and its about the same as online, maybe even cheaper as I tend to get a bit of a frequent customer discount. But lights always seem to be double or possibly even triple price.

That's exactly the reason I went with 600s because someone said 2 600s were better for several reasons: Per watt output, net coverage, placement of lights without a light mover...

I very much understand business and costs, etc... It's VERY hard to compete with online. I've purchased so much online that I don't hardly think twice about it. The last few computer things I wanted right now, went to local store, they were out of stock.

Online takes a bit more time planning, and has a bit of risk, but otherwise it's hard to beat.

Even the local shops don't even bother to compete. I guess they charge what they charge hoping people don't check prices, don't care much about prices, or they give a story about quality.

 

[Jimmycricket]

I will say this for people who don't realize.

You can get pots SUPER cheap from local nurseries.

The same 15-25 gallon giant pots that cost small fortunes at home depot or hydro stores. Nurseries sell to you for 2-3 bucks each lol.

heavy items (excluding lights for some reason) will often be competitively priced at stores compared to online. But small items like ph meters you simply must buy online.

I was able to buy a nice new hannah ph tester for like 20 or 25 bucks online. In the hydro shop they wanted like 80-120.

However the cheapest place I can even get blackstrap molasses or bat guano or gypsum is the hydro store or home depot.

Lastly I found a really really great place to get your seaweed for cheap in bulk. Its a mystical place called the beach , my mom and I went there a few months back and just loaded up trashbags with all sorts of seaweed .