Swap lamp cord in mh ballast?

[bct15]

My icecap ballast took a dump on me last week so I got a used switchable lumatek ballast off of eBay. The lamp cord does not fit my ballast, so do I just cut the cord and connect like colored wires? Has anybody done this before? Any precautions I need to consider?

 

[3Twinklets]

I feel that I need to caution you not to do that. You could either shock yourself or your tank or short your ballast out!!! Cords are made with a specific wire size.:attention:

 

[Young Frankenstein]

post some photos first

 

[bct15]

There is no way I can fit these together, some mating is required. I assume it is the same as swapping a power cord.


The new lumatek lamp connector

The icecap reflector connector

The connector on the useless ballast

 

[Young Frankenstein]

You could Hardwire green to green, white to white and black to black. The only wire that makes a difference in the green wire thats your ground, the other 2 that go to the lamp don't mater how they are connected as far as polarity. I am assuming you have the correct skills to make a good splice. I would change the wire harness completely instead of splicing them.

 

[Troylee]

Yeah you can cut them and just tie black to black, white to white, and green to green... But put them in a weather proof box that's sealed... Also use red heads "wire nuts"

 

[bct15]

Yeah you can cut them and just tie black to black, white to white, and green to green... But put them in a weather proof box that's sealed... Also use red heads "wire nuts"

Sounds good...I'm going to Lowes in a little bit. I set my ballasts on a shelf above my tank. I have skills in splicing, soldering, and electronics assembly. I was wanting to use wire nuts and electrical tape here rather than solder or crimp because I am thinking about switching to SE radiums in the future and would need to switch the cord again.. I will just place the ballast in a Tupperware to keep it extra water proof. Is there a specific type of wire nut that is best for this situation, what gauge wire should I expect when "operating"?

 

[bct15]

You could Hardwire green to green, white to white and black to black. The only wire that makes a difference in the green wire thats your ground, the other 2 that go to the lamp don't mater how they are connected as far as polarity. I am assuming you have the correct skills to make a good splice. I would change the wire harness completely instead of splicing them.

I believe both the icecap ballast and the lumatek ballasts are both resin filled, would this inhibit the ability to change the wiring harness completely? They are both siliconed water tight as well, I already tried pulling open the icecap ballast to service it myself and came to the realization it would be easier to replace it with a used ballast for right now.

 

[Troylee]

Soldering and heat shrink would be best if you posses those skills.. If not red wire nuts and a box is fine..

 

[bct15]

Ended up crimping, the wire left on the ballast was to short for wire nuts. Works great though. For a 250w hqi do I use 250w super lumens or 250 w on the lumatek 250/400w ballast?

 

[3Twinklets]

OK If you are going to do it after all. You could get some heat shrink to cover it with.