Lighting my house on fire.

[badfish]

I was in a LFS and was asking about DYS metal halide setups today. The employee told me they only sold pendant style fixture's. He said that a lot of companies are having claims filled againts them for people's houses burning down. He said water splashed on the electric ballest and that started the fire. He told me he stopped carrying those products two years ago. I mentioned the name Ice Cap and he said he was not saying name's but he stopped selling them too.
My friend is who is going to wire it is a certified electrition in the union. Is their any truth to what this guy said? Should my friend be ok to handle the job?

[keithjackson]

I could be wrong, but don't the pendant style metal halides also use electronic ballasts?

[niko5]

If someone is going to put ballasts where they can easily get water splashed on them and they STILL file a claim they are just flat out idiots.... Just about anything you buy.. If you splash water on it it is going to stop working or catch fire... just my 2 cents..

[T Sandman]

Ya, I guess the point is, Don't splash water on it. And then they have the marbles to sue the company.

[kansas1051]

most people keep their ballasts seperate from the canopy anyway due to heat consideraitons.

[Sloth]

So I should take my ballast out of my refugium then? I was using it to heat my water.

[gromulin]

You were using it to heat your water? I have it in there to cool the ballast. Go figure.

[Sloth]

yeah, I think your LFS is full of bunk. If electroic ballast were such a hazard under NORMAL USAGE, they would be recalled and millions of buildings around the US would have to be retrofitted with new lights.

Under no circumstances a ballast be allowed to get in contact with water or excessive moisture. And if it does, its not the ballasts fault that it shorts out and sparks up.