How Remote is Remote? A MH Question.

[Dman]

Hey guys/gals
Now that I'm to the MH stage of my new tank. I will be running the ballasts for my Iwasaki's remotely. As the subject line says, how remote is remote? How far away do you think I can put the ballasts from the bulb? Can I put the ballasts in the basement and run them from there?
Dman

[Gordoe]

How long of a run is it? We have 40' MH Pole Lighting that has the ballast sitting in the base for easy access. I would be concerned with the type of wire needed. Size, voltage rating, mechanical protection. (nasty shocks from MH)+

Gordoe

[Dman]

Ballast to Mogul, longest run, no more than about 25 ft. is what I was planning.

[Greg Moore]

Your only real concern is voltage drop between the ballast and the bulb and voltage drop is a product of volts/amps/wire guage..

At 25' your not asking for too much at all from your lamps. I have mine remote mounted at about 30' of cord. I used common lamp/appliance cord to handle the task with no problems at all. Don't use some little speaker wire or anything, get something of at least 16g and preferably 14g. Most regular lamp cord is rated at 240v and comes in 18 guage, a little light (no pun). If you find the appliance type cord, it is usually rated at 600v and is either 16g or 14g, 14 is best albiet a little heavy to work with (like the cord that feeds your kettle).

A better choice would be to buy 2 30' heavy duty extension cords, check them, but they should be either 16g or 14g and will contain a thrid wire you can use to ground the reflectors back to the ballast casing to keep everything on equal potential. Get the more expensive black rubber ones, the cheaper orange vinyl ones will harden greatly over time.

Greg Moore

[Gordoe]

I agree with the sizing Greg, but the type of wire is not appropriate. "Extension Cord" wire is not intended for permanent installations, and does not have the required mechanical protection I mentioned. If I were you I would install regular NMD 14/2 from the remote ballasts to a junction box near your tank, then make joints and install type SJ, SJO, or SJOW flexible cord. When you buy the flexible cord, go to Home Depot and buy short pieces from their clearance area, buy 14/3 (flexible cord counts the ground as a conductor???) This instructions are assuming you want to meet the electrical safety code, like all good reefers do.:)

Make sure your ballasts are being fed from a GFCI breaker...

:fblob3:

Gordoe

[Dman]

Thanks for the input,
I've installed various types of MH lighting but the ballasts were always over top of the light Highbays, wall-paks and the occasional standard. I did play with some Hydroponics a few years ago but the remote ballast was only a few feet away. Gordoe, thanks for the heads-up on the clearance bin, as I was not going to use "extension cord" wiring.

:spin:

Dman

[reefburnaby]

Hi,

Here's a handy guide for ameteur lighting electricians :) ...

http://www.advancetransformer.com/techcenter/hid/hid.pdf

See page 33.

As for type of wire to use, 600V rating is desirable but not required. Metal halide strike voltage is around 225-300V (see pg 58) for 400W and less lamps. So, common Cabtire with 300V rating will work.

Extension cable ? I think Cabtire is cheaper and more reliable.

Hope that helps.

- Victor.