Cheap source for MH ballasts and fixtures

[Crit21]

There's a police property website that auctions unclaimed property seized during busts. There are two warehouses where the stuff is kept--NY and LA.

One of the things they have a continuous supply of is MH lighting equipment. They have everything up to 1000W ballasts and reflectors. You guessed it--it's from people raising the #1 California cash crop. Every now and then they have 175, 250 and 400W ballasts. Some of the fixtures are like new. You bid like eBay, except there are no last-second bids. The auction will continue for 10 minutes after the last bid. There's such a huge supply of these that you should have no trouble getting what you want. The exact shipping cost is displayed before you finalize your bid. They're also very good about describing the condition of the stuff.

I've gotten PCs, laptop, scanners, jewelry, hard drives, software, laser and inkjet printers, 17" Dell Trinitron monitors, seko watches, etc., etc., etc. for next to nothing. I haven't been disappointed yet. Everything was well-packed. The monitors even came encased in expanding foam.

The site is www.propertyroom.com, or www.stealitback.com.

[Crit21]

Oh, to find the MH lighting, look under Home and Garden, then Commercial Nursery Supplies. It's funny how the reefer trade can help the reef trade!

I just checked the listings. There are only a few ballasts tonight--they look rusty and the powere is unknown. Give it a week and wait for a bust and things will get better.

[CastleRock]

Cool sites:) thanks!

[murfman]

propertyroom link does not work

[Crit21]

I just tried it--it works.

www.propertyroom.com

[murfman]

wierd, first link doesnt work, second does. they both appear to be spelled correctly.

[bigfoot610]

first link has a comma after .com :)

[Crit21]

Ahhhh, the old dot com comma trick

[murfman]

goes to show you that you should read ALL the way to the end ;=)

[COreefer]

My opinion in this hobby is you pay for what you get...if you try to buy "cheap" ballasts, your are going to pay more for energy and the life of your bulb will be lessened. I'm not saying to go out and buy the biggest and the baddest, but cheap in price typically equals cheap in quality.

[calvin415]

Have to agree with Eric, best deal I've found is oceanencounter.com; got my HQI setups for 225 and SE setups for 160. Not dirt cheap like these, but they are built and intended for aquarium use.

I will say those reflectors are a steal of a deal!!! ;) Thanks for the link!

[Crit21]

Well, you do need to match the bulb type and wattage to the ballast. You wouldn't want to put a 150W double-ended bulb on a M102 pulse-type 150W ballast. You'd use a M81 for that.

Aside for differences in parts quality (affecting the life of the ballast itself), I will say that any ANSI-rated magnetic ballast will operate pretty much the same as another of the same rating. Go here to see what I mean: http://www.aquarium-lighting-guide.com/metal-halide-ansi

[Crit21]

Take a look at Deuce67's photo gallery. Find the pic called "M81". That's the generic ballast he set up for his 150W HQIs. He's an electrician.

[Crit21]

Of course, this doesn't include electronic ballasts, which are probably well worth the money.