Ballast question

Hey Now! I am setting up a tent and am using a 600w HPS for flowering. Cant locate the ballast for it (it will turn up or I"ll replace it). I have an old ballast for a 400w HPS - would that ballast work for this light or does it have to be specific to the 600w light? Also, could I just run the old 400w ballast and put in a 400w light in the hood Im using?

respect,
pal

Answered one of my own questions...different connector on the 400w ballast.

You should always match your ballast to your bulb wattage. You can under drive a 600 watt bulb with a 400 watt ballast, but it'll give a really bad spectrum and less light per watt.

If you can work the plugs out, you can run a smaller bulb in a hood. If it was designed for a 600 I wouldn't recommend using it for something wildly different, but a 400 should be fine.

You can get plug adaptors. Most companies use one style, then there is the hydrofarm style.

Cool, thanks... got the 600 ballast so good to go