ballast cord getting warm

  • Thread starter Haggardass
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Haggardass

Haggardass

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I bought a 1000 watt hydrofarm xtrasun magnetic hps ballast, it works fine fires up spent get too hot, but the power cord from the wall to the ballast gets pretty hot when i first plug it in, right up at the wall and about 3 inches down the cord, when i unplug it the metal contacts are too hot to touch, but if i leave it in for more then 15 or twenty minutes it cools back down slightly, the cord is still hot but the Plug itself cools back down, is this normal? I'm trying to explain it as best as I can, let me know if this doesn't make sense i can try to word it differently maybe lol
 
Haggardass

Haggardass

711
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This cord imo is too thin for this ballast, but I've read that the magnetic ballast come with thin cables for whatever reason
 
F

fuzzy

540
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What else is on the circuit?What size breaker is it coming off of?
 
Haggardass

Haggardass

711
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It's on a 20 amp breaker with 15 amp sockets and the only other thing on the circuit is the ceiling fan that is in the room, a 6 inch inline fan, a small oscillating fan and the ballast. The only thing i have plugged into that socket is the light, the fans and stuff are on another.
 
F

fuzzy

540
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Wow,sounds like you may need to divide some of that up someway.Turn off what doesn't need to be turned on for 1 thing,but sounds like you may havea n overload.you need to add up the amps that are coming off everything,split it up and go from there really.
 
F

fuzzy

540
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Always safer to go lareger on your breakers and such,Peace,fuzzy
 
SodaLicious

SodaLicious

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It's on a 20 amp breaker with 15 amp sockets and the only other thing on the circuit is the ceiling fan that is in the room, a 6 inch inline fan, a small oscillating fan and the ballast. The only thing i have plugged into that socket is the light, the fans and stuff are on another.

I had 15 amp sockets on a 20 amp breaker, and they melted. be careful
 
U

Underground

215
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  • Are you tripping the breaker?
  • How far is the lamp from the ballast?
  • How long is it taking the lamp to fire?
My guess is no to tripping the breaker. And being that it's a localized heating, I'd be willing to bet that either the receptacle is worn out or it has poor connections. The heat is most likely due to a poor connection somewhere, or it would be at the load and not some random point along the circuit.
There are different ignitors for different circumstances. If you have a remote located lamp and not the proper ignitor, it's going to cause problems. Whether your fault or the manufacturer's. This can also cause the 2500-5000 volt source from the ignitor to back feed on ballast and local wiring.

When your ignitor is firing, you are drawing full current. Any time you have power to your ballast and your lamp is not lit, your ignitor is firing. Leaving a ballast plugged in while the lamp is not working will cause it to fail prematurely. It's only designed to run a few seconds every day. Because of this, it's easy for them to overheat.
 
Haggardass

Haggardass

711
63
[Plugse="SodaLicious, post: 1060715, member: 29394"]I had 15 amp sockets on a 20 amp breaker, and they melted. be careful[/quote]

I just didn't think i was overloading the circuit I'm only pulling maybe 12 or 13 amps total and had it split up on different plus
 
U

Underground

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PS it's ALWAYS best to individually fuse each ballast according to the voltage/current. It's much better to allow a fuse to pop than an entire ckt to trip. Especially if you have veg lighting or other equipment on that ckt.
 
ttystikk

ttystikk

6,892
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I read this and it sounded like the OP's cord from ballast to wall was too hot to touch? If so, replace it and see if that helps. 20 amps will serve your stated load, but it's close.

Best practice? Put all your big ballasts on 240v circuits. MUCH safer that way.
 
Haggardass

Haggardass

711
63
  • Are you tripping the breaker?
  • How far is the lamp from the ballast?
  • How long is it taking the lamp to fire?
My guess is no to tripping the breaker. And being that it's a localized heating, I'd be willing to bet that either the receptacle is worn out or it has poor connections. The heat is most likely due to a poor connection somewhere, or it would be at the load and not some random point along the circuit.
There are different ignitors for different circumstances. If you have a remote located lamp and not the proper ignitor, it's going to cause problems. Whether your fault or the manufacturer's. This can also cause the 2500-5000 volt source from the ignitor to back feed on ballast and local wiring.

When your ignitor is firing, you are drawing full current. Any time you have power to your ballast and your lamp is not lit, your ignitor is firing. Leaving a ballast plugged in while the lamp is not working will cause it to fail prematurely. It's only designed to run a few seconds every day. Because of this, it's easy for them to
The breaker isn't tripping it's not even dimming the bedroom light when it comes on and the ballast is outside then tent maybe five feet away it fires instantly.
 
U

Underground

215
28
I had 15 amp sockets on a 20 amp breaker, and they melted. be careful
That's perfectly legal and fine. This was most likely due to poor connections or backstabbed receptacles. The configuration of the receptacle will only allow plugs that won't overdraw. Assuming we're talking about listed and legal equipment and not shit that some dumbass homeowner built because they were under the misconception that they were smart enough to "figure it out" themselves.
 
Haggardass

Haggardass

711
63
The breaker isn't tripping it's not even dimming the bedroom light when it comes on and the ballast is outside then tent maybe five feet away it fires instantly.
I read this and it sounded like the OP's cord from ballast to wall was too hot to touch? If so, replace it and see if that helps. 20 amps will serve your stated load, but it's close.

Best practice? Put all your big ballasts on 240v circuits. MUCH safer that way.
I actually bought a whole new ballast it will be here Thursday I'm gonna see if it gets hot as well.
 
Haggardass

Haggardass

711
63
I read this and it sounded like the OP's cord from ballast to wall was too hot to touch? If so, replace it and see if that helps. 20 amps will serve your stated load, but it's close.

Best practice? Put all your big ballasts on 240v circuits. MUCH safer that way.
I couldn't just throw a240 volt socket in a 120 hole could i? I'm thinking no but don't want to assume lol
 

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