help with used gear

Hi, I purchased a bunch of used equipment with the hopes that some of it is usuable and that I got a good deal, I got 3 1000w hps bulbs, a ghetto looking 1000w ballast, a multi port air pump/stone with all the tubs, 2 light timers, a huge roll of mylar, tds tester, ph/temp tester, a bunch of used bottles of nutes and some hydroton rocks (i think thats what they are).
Pics:

Heres a top view of the ballast and then a photo of the label on top of that:
http://i31.tinypic.com/2vsi1xw.jpg
http://i30.tinypic.com/2yyqxxk.jpg

The 3 bulbs I got:
http://i27.tinypic.com/2rpz702.jpg

Air pump
http://i30.tinypic.com/24q4cut.jpg

Hydroton and net cups:
http://i25.tinypic.com/eapgcj.jpg

Testers, timers and tubes:
http://i31.tinypic.com/2v99ldf.jpg
On the tds/temp tester it says "HM Digital TDS-3", on the PH/temp tester it say "Martini instruments PH55

Various nutes:
http://i32.tinypic.com/t6ul29.jpg

Light fixture (he included all the pieces of the reflector that go with it too):
http://i27.tinypic.com/de8wfl.jpg



Tell me what you guys think , the ballast is pretty sketchy looking, I hooked up one of the lights to it using the fixture and only ran it for a few seconds to see if it worked and it did but if I remember the ballast was making some noise or something. Cant remember which light I used either, I think it was the hortilux superhps on the left..

yea id say use the hortilix.

with big old balasts you gota remember thet they temd to hum....... sometimes it sounds kinds loud, but its usualy normal.

all in all that balast doesnt look to bad, as long as there arent any loose wires...... shes fine, just looks old and raggedy.

I wanted to wipe the bulb free of any finger prints before I attempted to try it out, is ok to just use toilet paper? Or what should I be using?? I heard that fingerprints can make hotspots on the bulb and burn it right out..

mercury187 said:

I wanted to wipe the bulb free of any finger prints before I attempted to try it out, is ok to just use toilet paper? Or what should I be using?? I heard that fingerprints can make hotspots on the bulb and burn it right out..

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the oil from your hands can heat up on the glass, to much oil and she can pop.........

just use paper towel and isopropanol alchohol (99.9% rubbing alcohol) and let the bulb sit for around an hour (just to dry out).

FFFFUUUUCCCCCKKKKK USING THAT BALLAST!!!!!!!!!!! is it open like that,if it is,throw that fucking thing away now,you could toast yourself with that seriously,bare electronics is bad enough,on a BALLAST.....i wont even go into it,get rid of it

its its got a case,thank god,i just would be so fucking para about using that,i know you probably got it on the cheap,and theres nothing wrong with that,unless itll fry you,which,that could(the ballast delivers a very large ampage when igniting a HPS bulb,something in the region of 4-5 amps,this WILL kill you,a single amp and a normal voltage is enough to blow you across the room,this is my understanding

all else looks hunky dory,check the bulbs themselves,they are only 'good' for about a year of use,then they start to decline quite rapidly(or so i understand anyway)

Bluemax said:

FFFFUUUUCCCCCKKKKK USING THAT BALLAST!!!!!!!!!!! is it open like that,if it is,throw that fucking thing away now,you could toast yourself with that seriously,bare electronics is bad enough,on a BALLAST.....i wont even go into it,get rid of it

its its got a case,thank god,i just would be so fucking para about using that,i know you probably got it on the cheap,and theres nothing wrong with that,unless itll fry you,which,that could(the ballast delivers a very large ampage when igniting a HPS bulb,something in the region of 4-5 amps,this WILL kill you,a single amp and a normal voltage is enough to blow you across the room,this is my understanding

all else looks hunky dory,check the bulbs themselves,they are only 'good' for about a year of use,then they start to decline quite rapidly(or so i understand anyway)

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thats prighty bad man, throw away a $200 balast because it doesnt have a fucking case? i gota say thats brutaly wasteful. or your just rich....

want a soloution? go out and buy a $10 sheet of 4x8 1/2 plywood and make a box. cut two holes for the wires. put the balast in the box.

30~ mins and $20 for plywood + nails and you have a perfectly good balast.

the ballast delivers a very large ampage when igniting a HPS bulb,something in the region of 4-5 amps,this WILL kill you,a single amp and a normal voltage is enough to blow you across the room

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this is COMPLETELY TRUE. a single Amp with 1 volt of electricity will kill you, and it takes around 4 amps to arc the bulb when it first starts. you can take 100 million volts of electricity and just get buzzed, but take 1 amp and DIE.

For me, this balast would be totaly safe, simply because i wouldn't go within 1 foot of it when its running, and it would be isolated outside the grow room.

3/4 of the case is intact just get some sheet metal like the for sale signs the Realtors use to finish the cabinet

If its out the way and you cant go near it when your super stoned,its ok,like i said,i would just be super para about using it,you could build a case sure.

Best bet in the long run,is just buy a digital ballast,they dont degrade,after a year and half mag+coil ballast start to get real crappy,drawing more electricity for less output.tis worth the investment

yeah I saw a couple digital ballasts on my local CL for 100$ a piece, I believe the ad said they were both brand new...

What about the hydroton is that going to be ok used? I could wash it off real good in the sink...

Also, what about the nutes, any of those good for hydro?

yeh wow u got anice selection of nutes there,they should be fine buddy

i think so,yeh just make sure its all nice and clean,you probably want to get some new grow media,pebbles i mean,those ones look used to me,but i dont know if you can use them again

mercury187 said:

yeah I saw a couple digital ballasts on my local CL for 100$ a piece, I believe the ad said they were both brand new...

What about the hydroton is that going to be ok used? I could wash it off real good in the sink...

Also, what about the nutes, any of those good for hydro?

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yea man, all the nutes are good.

the main thing you have to do with hydroton clay is get all the roots and rot out, i use hydrogen peroxide for this. it just bubles any organic matter right out of the hydroton.

To know if you got a good deal you have to say how much you paid.I read where you said the ballast was worth 200 clams,that was probably 15 years ago.You can get a 600 watt digital that is safer,quieter and uses less electricity with bulb new for 300 all day.They have the cheaper hps/mh combos on egay for a couple hundred.

i paid like 280 usd i think it was for everything.....