HPS without ballast?

Hey growers!

I have been growing for almost a year and have purchased 2-400 watts from htg grow supply and 2-400 watt 6'' inline grow lights off ebay.

the 2 from htg are standard light with the 3-panel reflector at the top with the separate (heavy) ballast.

the 2 inlines from ebay just have a white and black cord coming off.

im familiar with splicing the wires into a cord, but am curious as to what i can expect by bypassing the ballast? or should i not bypass the ballast and purchase a separate one? if so from where?

does the ballast save on the energy it uses? or perform some other function?

ive tried googling, but i must be using poor search phrases...

thanks for any info!

sg

you cant use an hps or mh bulb without a ballast.

all depends on what you are looking for in a ballast as to where to buy.

it depends on the voltage your running to it, if your running it on a reguler house plug you need the ballest to amp up the voltage to run the light
If you ran it off of an industrial 600volt plug you wouldn't need the ballest to amp up the voltage and you could just run it off of the socket
but if your getting into serious electrical work its best to get an experct

i will be using a standard household outlet. i need a ballast that will make it all work.

the cheaper the better.