OK, so there has been suggestion that I create a journal detailing my attempt to assemble an (incomplete) HPS light kit... and since I am pretty sure I introducted 1000bulbs.com here, I am creating a journal to help those who need help now and those who may follow.
Note: my HPS light kit is "incomplete" in that if only a ballast and bulb are ordered, more is required for the light to be operational. What is needed follows.
If you ordered a ballast and bulb from 1000bulbs.com, the bare minimum that you need are a socket (in my case a mogul socket), at least 14 gauge wire (or better, of course
), a "male" plug set, and about 8 wire nuts (a plastic cap that screws onto wire connections to protect you from them and them from the you and the outside --> do not use tape for wire connections!). For the wire, you may use an extension cord or if you buy some, make sure it is rated to at least 15 amps and 1500 watts (14 gauge); this wire will work for ballasts up to and including 1000w's.
Anyways, I have attached (I hope!) a picture of the ballast itself because the first thing I will address is the wiring. There are a few things you should notice as we get started...
Coming out of the ballast, there is a wire that should be labelled "120 volts." There are three other wires, labelled "208 volts," "240 volts," and "277 volts." Most houses in the US use voltages of 120v. If this is your case, keep the "120 volts" wire separate from the other 3 and tape those together. If not, do the same thing but keep out the corresponding voltage (your house's voltage will be one of those 4). You WILL NOT need the 3 other wires during the rest of the process. Notice on the bottom left of the included picture that there are 3 wires (looped over to save space) taped together; these are the 3 wires you WILL NOT need.
Around the middle-bottom of the picture, there are two wires taped together. I have isolated these to help me remember what I am doing. These two wires are the "120 volts" wire and the "com" wire. These will connect to the power cord. Whe connecting the power cord, cut it to the proper/required length and splice it until the green, white and black wires show. White goes with the "com," and black with "120 volts." I have not done this step yet because I don't have my power cord and plug yet. The green wire of the power cord will be addressed later.
In the top right corner is the ignitor (the 3 wires connected to it are the only ones which one needs to mess with to use the light). And to the left (the bigger white thing) is the capacitator. The two wires connected to it are already set so they are not to be touched!
More to come in a little while. Sorry it might be wordy and there may be some spelling issues...
Feel free to post questions, suggestions or comments. Thanks!