Ballast cable warm advice...

fatc2k3

Well-Known Member
Hi fellow greenfingers ,

I have 8 plants which i had originally planned to flower under my 1000w hps. However 2 days into switching over from my 600w mh , I checked in about 2 hours after the light was due to come on and complete darkness. I changed the bulb over temporarily for 12 hours to the 600w mh .

With funds being low at the moment , I can't get another 1000w hps for another week or two, so I decided to dig out my old unbranded 600w digit ballast and bulb and run both 600w through til the end of this flower.

I've noticed that the cable on it where the cool tube connects is warm though both sides towards the ballast and towards the tube . The original 600w cable that was added temp is fine . It's only at this part of the cable though. The extension cable it's on is a little warm and when I say a little I mean barely warm u can just feel a little heat.

My setup is as follows : 240v

Mains socket 1 》 25m heavy duty extension lead with thermal cut out 》 heavy duty timer 》 4 way contactor relay 》 1x 600w digi ballast (unknown brand) 1 x 1000w lumii digi ballast dimmed to 600w

Main socket 2 》 25 metre heavy duty extension lead 》 8" rvk , oscillating fan

The 600w is connected to a 5 " cool tube and the 1000w dimmed is connected to a 6 " cool tube if that makes any difference.

My concern is the 600w that feels warm where the cable connects , it's not red hot burning up but you can feel it's warmer than the rest of the cable .


Should I be concerned ? If so what should I look to replace ?

I should have also said the warm only runs for about 4" down the cable either side . So the cable to the ballast is warm , the connector is warm and the cable around 4" towards the tube is warm .

Maybe just a case of the old paranoia but safety first
 
Last edited:

rob333

Well-Known Member
Hi fellow greenfingers ,

I have 8 plants which i had originally planned to flower under my 1000w hps. However 2 days into switching over from my 600w mh , I checked in about 2 hours after the light was due to come on and complete darkness. I changed the bulb over temporarily for 12 hours to the 600w mh .

With funds being low at the moment , I can't get another 1000w hps for another week or two, so I decided to dig out my old unbranded 600w digit ballast and bulb and run both 600w through til the end of this flower.

I've noticed that the cable on it where the cool tube connects is warm though both sides towards the ballast and towards the tube . The original 600w cable that was added temp is fine . It's only at this part of the cable though. The extension cable it's on is a little warm and when I say a little I mean barely warm u can just feel a little heat.

My setup is as follows : 240v

Mains socket 1 》 25m heavy duty extension lead with thermal cut out 》 heavy duty timer 》 4 way contactor relay 》 1x 600w digi ballast (unknown brand) 1 x 1000w lumii digi ballast dimmed to 600w

Main socket 2 》 25 metre heavy duty extension lead 》 8" rvk , oscillating fan

The 600w is connected to a 5 " cool tube and the 1000w dimmed is connected to a 6 " cool tube if that makes any difference.

My concern is the 600w that feels warm where the cable connects , it's not red hot burning up but you can feel it's warmer than the rest of the cable .


Should I be concerned ? If so what should I look to replace ?

I should have also said the warm only runs for about 4" down the cable either side . So the cable to the ballast is warm , the connector is warm and the cable around 4" towards the tube is warm .

Maybe just a case of the old paranoia but safety first
wait till your whole wall gets hot ;)
 

Renfro

Well-Known Member
So the cable doesn't get hot when running at 1000 watts or perhaps you never noticed? It would be odd to see the cable warmer at 600 watts than it is at 1000 watts.
 

Renfro

Well-Known Member
You mentioned the cable gets hot at the ends. Sometimes dirty connectors can increase the impedance and cause some warmth. Obviously this would be bad for the output.

It could just be they used 16 gauge wire and went as cheap as possible on the cord.
 
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