My used mh ballast is noisy

[rotaryphoneuser]

It all works but mh ballast is humming and it changes pitchs...high and/to low and lot louder than my new hps. How do you know when ballast is going or gone bad?? I'm not sure if it's ok to plug in for long times at a time. Should I rebulid it? Help is needed.

 

[Urdedpal]

Re: My used mh ballast is noisy.

They are noisy but the pitch normally doesn't change much.
It might be on its way out. Ballast do wear out and go bad.

 

[rotaryphoneuser]

Re: My used mh ballast is noisy.

Well.....ballast is made in 1998 and was used on and off for last 8 years, so I beed told. Yeah..it's the pitch changing that worries me.

 

[Urdedpal]

Re: My used mh ballast is noisy.

https://www.mdhydro.com/ht-replacement-parts.html
Email this guy that owns this site. He also builds lights and should be able to help. He also sells replacement parts.

 

[Urdedpal]

Re: My used mh ballast is noisy.

I went ahead and called him for ya, The transformer is going bad,tap with a hammer.
He says that it is not a safety concern, just noise cause of the transformer.
Work it til it fails. Will not catch fire.
That is all the info I can get, hope it helps.

 

[rotaryphoneuser]

Re: My used mh ballast is noisy.

That is great undedpal. I will just use it until it fails.

 

[highflyer]

Re: My used mh ballast is noisy.

I went ahead and called him for ya, The transformer is going bad,tap with a hammer.
He says that it is not a safety concern, just noise cause of the transformer.
Work it til it fails. Will not catch fire.
That is all the info I can get, hope it helps.

That is soo cool i love things that you can fix with a hammer .

 

[tronix]

Re: My used mh ballast is noisy.

DO NOT TAP WITH A HAMMER WHILE THIS THING IS PLUGGED IN, AND ALSO DO NOT ASSUME BECAUSE YOU UNPLUGGED THE BALLAST IT IS DEAD. BALLASTS STORE ENERGY SO THE LIGHT CAN GET ALL THE VOLTS IT NEEDS TO IGNITE THE GASES IN THE LAMP. BALLASTS CAN AND DO HOLD A RESIDUAL CHARGE AFTER SHUT DOWN, TO ELIMINATE THIS, LEAVE THE LIGHT SWITCH "ON" THEN UNPLUG THE LIGHT, AND ALLOW IT TO SIT FOR A FEW MINUTES, THEN TAP WITH THE HAMMER.

Odds are your ballast wont make it through this grow, so do yourself a favor and begin your search for a replacment now.

 

[rotaryphoneuser]

Re: My used mh ballast is noisy.

DO NOT TAP WITH A HAMMER WHILE THIS THING IS PLUGGED IN, AND ALSO DO NOT ASSUME BECAUSE YOU UNPLUGGED THE BALLAST IT IS DEAD. BALLASTS STORE ENERGY SO THE LIGHT CAN GET ALL THE VOLTS IT NEEDS TO IGNITE THE GASES IN THE LAMP. BALLASTS CAN AND DO HOLD A RESIDUAL CHARGE AFTER SHUT DOWN, TO ELIMINATE THIS, LEAVE THE LIGHT SWITCH "ON" THEN UNPLUG THE LIGHT, AND ALLOW IT TO SIT FOR A FEW MINUTES, THEN TAP WITH THE HAMMER.

Odds are your ballast wont make it through this grow, so do yourself a favor and begin your search for a replacment now.

I do have a spare one so I might use that and replace parts on noisy one.