My New DIY Dual 250w

[Richer]

Just made this today. Its not quite complete, I didn't have enough screws to finish mounting the lid, and the power sockets (which I will do tomorrow), but both ballasts have been tested on 250w venture bulbs, and it works like a charm.




The box is made of aluminum (wood grain!) that Des bent up for me. The ballasts consist of two M58 (M250) ballasts. The sockets used in the back of computer power supplies was used as the AC power source, the top two sockets are used as quick disconnects to the lamps. The two white control panels on the front are wall mount digital timers. The whole enclosure measures at about 8"x6"x6" (lwh).

Here's a breakdown of the costs (including gst more or less):

Enclosure: 15 dollars
Ballasts: ~75 dollars each (~65 if I went to Westburne, but they ****ed me off) ~150 dollars total
Timers: ~26 dollars each ~52 dollars total
16/3 guage cord: 62 cents/foot. ~12.40 cents (20 feet bought)
Sockets and misc power cords for quick disconnects: ~25 bucks

Total cost for a 2x250watt setup in an aluminum enclosure with two integrated digital timers: ~260 dollars.

It was a bit of work, but in the end, I'm glad I went ahead and did this on my own.

-Rich