max distance between mh ballast and bulb?

[SPotter]

I have decided to go with MH on my next tank. My initial plans are to have the ballasts in the stand but I am concerned about the heat produced by them. There is a closet close by that I could mount the ballasts in and would create about a 6-8ft run for the wires. Will this have an impact on the performance of the bulb?

 

[power boat jim]

I have decided to go with MH on my next tank. My initial plans are to have the ballasts in the stand but I am concerned about the heat produced by them. There is a closet close by that I could mount the ballasts in and would create about a 6-8ft run for the wires. Will this have an impact on the performance of the bulb?

No, I had my MH ballasts 10-12 feet from the lights with no problem.

 

[SPotter]

great! thank you for the quick response. Im not sure how much heat 4 x 250w ballasts will produce but whatever I can do to minimize the heat in the stand will be great.

 

[power boat jim]

They will get pretty warm, I used to put mine on a piece of ceramic tile to keep them off the carpet and make sure they had plenty of air space around them.

 

[SPotter]

thats good to know. We have a little crawl space area that is about 4'x4'x4' that I can put them in and I am thinking about putting some ventilation in there as well. house is being built right now so I have the ability to make these changes now with ease.

 

[power boat jim]

thats good to know. We have a little crawl space area that is about 4'x4'x4' that I can put them in and I am thinking about putting some ventilation in there as well. house is being built right now so I have the ability to make these changes now with ease.

I would guess the builder has to put a vent in a crawl space anyway, so you should be in good shape.

 

[SPotter]

i wasnt accurate when I said crawl space. its an unfinished area behind a closet that is underneath the stairs that lead up to the 2nd floor of the house but should still be easy to ventilate.

Thanks again for your feed back.

 

[MstgKillr]

I have decided to go with MH on my next tank. My initial plans are to have the ballasts in the stand but I am concerned about the heat produced by them. There is a closet close by that I could mount the ballasts in and would create about a 6-8ft run for the wires. Will this have an impact on the performance of the bulb?

I'm not sure what the total height of your tank, stand, and canopy will be but I'm thinking of mounting my ballasts on top of the canopy. It will be tall enough and combined with the trim on top of the canopy that you won't be able to see the ballasts without getting on a ladder. This way I won't have to worry about heating up my stand or if the ballasts are properly cooled.

 

[SPotter]

I thought about the canopy but I am concerned about the impact that evap will have on the ballasts themselves. I'd like to keep them as far away from the water as possible.

 

[MstgKillr]

I thought about the canopy but I am concerned about the impact that evap will have on the ballasts themselves. I'd like to keep them as far away from the water as possible.

I'm not thinking of mounting them inside the canopy but on the top towards the center. I wouldn't think that I would have any issues from the saltwater.

On my previous tank, I ran the ballasts in the garage and ran the wiring through the wall. I never had any issues even though my garage gets pretty hot in the summer here is SW Florida.

Does anyone know how hot is too hot? Would the garage be ok considering the ballasts have built in fans?

 

[Timber77]

magnetic ballasts get really hot - like get out a skillet and fry an egg.

not familiar with electronic ballast (assuming thats what you have with the fans?)

i would think the garage would be ideal, make sure to have a drip loop if the ballasts are below the tank for safety. distance is really more dependent on what gauge wire is run between the ballast and the lamps. (same with all wiring , jumper cables etc)

 

[James77]

magnetic ballasts get really hot - like get out a skillet and fry an egg.

not familiar with electronic ballast (assuming thats what you have with the fans?)

i would think the garage would be ideal, make sure to have a drip loop if the ballasts are below the tank for safety. distance is really more dependent on what gauge wire is run between the ballast and the lamps. (same with all wiring , jumper cables etc)

That is not true. I run M80 ballasts, and they are barely warm to the touch. If you are running that hot, I would think it is a bad ballast.

But yes, gauge wire is important. I run 25 foot cables from my ballast to reflector, I believe they are 10 gauge. Sunlight Supply sells(sold) them, so they can handle it.

 

[ireef86]

We built an ato cabinet with a dosing station... It also houses the ballast to our mh in our display tank.

Distance will not be an issue if it is less than 15'. At some point it does lose some juice according to my room mate (electrical engineer) depending on the ballast.

 

[tkeracer619]

Metal halides generally run on close to home voltages and roughly pull the rated watts.

The ballast is mainly used to give the high voltage for startup and then they regulate the voltage and current for the bulb. In simple terms they are nothing more then a voltage regulator and the wiring is no more then heavy duty extension cord.

The run you propose is typical. Just don't use cheap wire. You shouldn't have to worry about ventilation unless they are confined. A room with any size to it will have the surface area to dissipate the little heat they generate.

I agree with James and run m80 ballasts. Magnetic if they are running too hot may have the wrong bulb or might be defective.