HPS Lights

murihikukid · June 14, 2016

Hi...I have just obtained two lights ...said to be suitable for HPS Grow Lights... They do not look in the best of condition but I will check them out best I can and tidy them up.......
BUT
I would be grateful if anybody could just verify that these are ballasts for 400W HPS bulbs from my photos attached.... Thankyou..Ron

Worth1 · June 14, 2016

I dont think so.
You need a HPS ballast.
Read through this.
http://www.americanelectriclighting....ng%20Guide.pdf

murihikukid · June 14, 2016

Hi..Thanks...I wonder if I can get my money back?? He said they would work with HPS bulbs ...Never mind I live and learn even at my age although I know the seller would not deliberately mislead me......I saw the "mercury vapour" written on one... and wondered if they would be any good for my Tomatoes... Regards Ron

Worth1 · June 14, 2016

Everything I have read says the HPS needs a higher starting voltage.

I hate these kinds of lights everything is so expensive.

Worth

Cole_Robbie · June 15, 2016

They might make an HPS bulb light up, which is probably what the seller meant by "work," but even if they do, it's not a good idea. I'm sure you'd fry the HPS bulb rather quickly, possibly even make it explode.

150 watt HPS lights are often sold as security lights. You might find some packaged that way.

murihikukid · June 26, 2016

Hi...Somebody dumped two massive lights on me? Unfortunately one is a lot lighter than the other and I found it has no transformer in it ..I believe they came from a work shop but I wonder if they did...
...thats what I was told and apparantly hung by some massive chain ..Anyway I took the huge hood glass out of the heavier one to get at the bulb and I found a 400w Lucalox bulb...Not knowing what they are I Googled and found that GE Lucalox PSL are Premium Horticultural Bulbs...?? HPS????
The other light also has what looks to me as a much newer bulb in it but as I say no transformer ....Why take the transformer ...BUT I have a 400W Transformer from some lights that were sold to me as HPS when they are not as it says Mercury Vapour ......
So I have gone out and taken more photos....
#one light apparantly was working and looks it likes everthing is there......#two light has been stripped of certain parts but are they the crucial parts...in my reading there is a circuit board somewhere that is crucial to the working of a HPS light unit...I am wondering if this "circuit" is directly under the transformer and if it is I am wondering if on #2 light if it is still there ....

Using #1 light as a guide I see that a transformer and three capacitors are missing from #2...I am wondering if the circuit board is still in the unit would it be viable to try and get it going especially if the transformer I have would be suitable for it??

Oh yes he is asking $20 for it ....ONO....not too bad...?

Any help would be very much appreciated....Cheers Ron

murihikukid · June 26, 2016

Here is #2 light???

Cole_Robbie · June 26, 2016

Lucalox is HPS, correct. It's hard to tell from your pic, but that bulb looks old. Hold it up to a light and look through the glass of the bulb. The more burnt and dark looking it is, the older the bulb is. They are best to replace when they get burnt-looking on the inside, as the quality of the light degrades in old bulbs.

Your transformer swap question is over my head. I'll let someone else answer.

$20 is a decent price for one working ballast and one old bulb. Even if the second light is not useful right now, you can at least get a spare ignitor out of it.

murihikukid · June 26, 2016

Hi ..Yes it is a really old bulb ? but the bulb in the other unit looks a lot newer although I have not taken it out yet ...I agree $20 is a bargain and I am learning about HPS lights...I envy tomato growers in the USA cause they have everything at such low prices ...I often wonder if freight within the USA is anything like the cost of International freight...To me paying up to 4 times the cost of a product in freight is ridiculous...

I will ask an electrician about the transformer and see if igniters are available here....Problem is these things are so large and heavy how would I hang them... I got a pleasant surprise the other day when I came across four 70W HPS lights amongst the mercury vapour lights I bought...I removed all the bulbs from these so maybe the bulbs are in the drawer I put the bulbs in....

Cheers Ron.

Cole_Robbie · June 26, 2016

To me paying up to 4 times the cost of a product in freight is ridiculous...

I'd pay $15-25 US to get any light kit shipped to me, maybe 1/10th of the price of the product.

Is there a hidden government tax or import tariff applied to your purchase? That's all I can think of to explain such a high freight cost.

Worth1 · June 26, 2016

Quote:

Originally Posted by Cole_Robbie

To me paying up to 4 times the cost of a product in freight is ridiculous...

I'd pay $15-25 US to get any light kit shipped to me, maybe 1/10th of the price of the product.

Is there a hidden government tax or import tariff applied to your purchase? That's all I can think of to explain such a high freight cost.

Cole it is the shipping and import taxes.
The import and export is anywhere from 5 to 15% depending on what it is.
A 680 dollar camera will cost another 197 dollars alone.
I just sent him a make believe package that had value of 100 US dollars and it cost 262 dollars to send.
The package weighed one Kilogram and was 41X33X3 cm.
Shipper was UPS

Worth

Cole_Robbie · June 26, 2016

value of 100 US dollars and it cost 262 dollars to send.

That's not 5-15%, though, not even close. The tariff has got to be more like 200%.

My former wife is from St Lucia, and import tariffs there for items considered a luxury, like automobiles, were often 100%.

murihikukid · June 26, 2016

Hi..No import tax here in NZ..I just found an extreme example on Ebay......I recall seeing on Ebay a very small pipe elbow for US$1.30 and it had $132 freight on it ...I can only presume that because the USA is so big with a strong internal market ..International trade is not a concern ....I just cannot afford to buy from the USA and its all based on shipping cost ...and they go on about Free trade when it seems a economy based international carrier is what is required....Now I can recall years ago buying many things from America and although shipping cost was high it was not an issue...Was it USPS that had what I would call reasonable shipping costs...Never mind ...Thats why NZ is full of goods from one country ..

I am trans[planting my Tasty Toms today into a new freezer and although I have soil warmth its now the light that worries me...

Cheers Ron

Worth1 · June 26, 2016

Quote:

Originally Posted by Cole_Robbie

value of 100 US dollars and it cost 262 dollars to send.

That's not 5-15%, though, not even close. The tariff has got to be more like 200%.

My former wife is from St Lucia, and import tariffs there for items considered a luxury, like automobiles, were often 100%.

Cole I said tax and shipping.
Go back and read the cost of the camera
http://www.customs.govt.nz/features/.../default.aspx#

pecker88 · June 29, 2016

to the OP, please, whatever you do, unless your an electrician or have experience with these lights don't put them in your house. I would imagine the potential for fire is high.

I think you'd be money ahead by simply going to Amazon and buying a brand new 400, 800 or 1000 watt HPS kit. Simply open the box, hang it and plug it in.

June 14, 2016	#2
Worth1 Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Feb 2006 Location: Den of Drunken Fools Posts: 38,539	I dont think so. You need a HPS ballast. Read through this. http://www.americanelectriclighting....ng%20Guide.pdf

June 14, 2016	#3
murihikukid Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Feb 2016 Location: Invercargill New Zealand Posts: 1,022	Hi..Thanks...I wonder if I can get my money back?? He said they would work with HPS bulbs ...Never mind I live and learn even at my age although I know the seller would not deliberately mislead me......I saw the "mercury vapour" written on one... and wondered if they would be any good for my Tomatoes... Regards Ron

June 15, 2016	#5
Cole_Robbie Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Jun 2012 Location: Illinois, zone 6 Posts: 8,407	They might make an HPS bulb light up, which is probably what the seller meant by "work," but even if they do, it's not a good idea. I'm sure you'd fry the HPS bulb rather quickly, possibly even make it explode. 150 watt HPS lights are often sold as security lights. You might find some packaged that way.

June 26, 2016	#8
Cole_Robbie Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Jun 2012 Location: Illinois, zone 6 Posts: 8,407	Lucalox is HPS, correct. It's hard to tell from your pic, but that bulb looks old. Hold it up to a light and look through the glass of the bulb. The more burnt and dark looking it is, the older the bulb is. They are best to replace when they get burnt-looking on the inside, as the quality of the light degrades in old bulbs. Your transformer swap question is over my head. I'll let someone else answer. $20 is a decent price for one working ballast and one old bulb. Even if the second light is not useful right now, you can at least get a spare ignitor out of it.

June 29, 2016	#15
pecker88 Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Jul 2015 Location: Lincoln, NE Posts: 192	to the OP, please, whatever you do, unless your an electrician or have experience with these lights don't put them in your house. I would imagine the potential for fire is high. I think you'd be money ahead by simply going to Amazon and buying a brand new 400, 800 or 1000 watt HPS kit. Simply open the box, hang it and plug it in.