[BigSwole]

This is what I've been up to, got these ordered up and they came in Monday, these things are sweet.

Got 4 digital ballasts on the way I ordered last night. With these housings accompanied with digital ballasts I'll be able to switch to mh or back to hps by just changing the bulb around.

I'm excited about em!

 

[mattman]

look sweet. they 400watt? would love to see them when there all hooked up

 

[BigSwole]

Yep, I'll be running 4 400w hps. I'm gonna buy some mh bulbs to have them as well.

I have my converter box which eats up the rest of my Genny, I would eventually like to have 6 400s and a fan. I have the $ set aside to build the fan but I need to buy another boat first. Still looking for the right boat ATM!

 

[mattman]

DANG!!! that sounds like it will be awesome. Are you going to go full fan or one of the troller fans? I will have to check into what a converter box does. Do you have to run capacitors with a digital ballast? Im looking to get some HPS and not really sure if i want to go with a digital ballast or just a regular one

 

[BigSwole]

Oh no, not going to build an airboat.

Will still have an outboard just going to have a troller fan in place of a trolling motor.a lot of the places I shoot are covered in grass and hgdrilla. Troller is only getting me so far, and fighting the weeds is aggravating.

Converter keeps the trolling motor battery fully charged all night long so its never losing power.

And no the digital ballast has everything needed in it. Its really simple and about 25 lbs per setup lighter. Plus I was able to get the digital ballasts for 75$ a piece. The magnetic ballasts weren't much cheaper than that so it only made sense to spend a couple dollars more and go with the digital style. Also I'll be saving weight and won't have as much to worry about.

 

[whaknstak]

Can you elaborate on the converter? What kind and how did you hook it up?

 

[BigSwole]

I thought I did a build thread on the converted box I built but I guess I forgot to. I've been super busy!

Well the converter charges at 60 amps but stays under 14 volts, what a battery will max put out. Supposed to anyways.

Because it stays under the battery limit threshold it doesn't risk damaging the troller. A normal battery charger charges at higher than 14 volts. Which can burn a trolling motor up.

A 55lb thrust trolling motor pulls around 50+- amps under full load at full speed. So if the battery was 100% dead it would slowly charge it while giving you full power because essentially your running off the power the converter is putting off. If the battery is fully charged then you will run off the battery and the xonverter will keep it at 100% charge.

Only cutting on and keeping the battery at 100%

So instead of multiple battery's and switching them out and dealing with diminishing power. To the tune of 125$ I have a fully charged battery all night long, as well as weight savings from not having another battery.

Best thing for a troller ever invented IMHO.

 

[BigSwole]

It is a simple normal a/c "extension cord plug" and has 2 wire clamps. One positive and one ground. Hook + to + and - to - from converter to the battery and bam. It does the rest of the work!

 

[whaknstak]

Got any pics

 

[moe3637]

is thosw housing the same size as the 150 watt housings ? did u have em made or order ? where did u order from ?

This is what I've been up to, got these ordered up and they came in Monday, these things are sweet.

Got 4 digital ballasts on the way I ordered last night. With these housings accompanied with digital ballasts I'll be able to switch to mh or back to hps by just changing the bulb around.

I'm excited about em!

 

[BigSwole]

I got them from Tim Escott out of Indiana, with TJE Designs.

But no these housings are not the same as the 150 housings as far as I know. These housing will allow you to run hps and mh bulbs. Most housings I have seen are not big enough to run both types of bulbs.

Tim has also made some low profile housings which look pretty sick.

The welding on these housings are first class. I am still blown away at how good he can weld.

 

[NuffDaddy]

Those look great. Looking forward to seeing them hooked up. I'm gonna have to look into a converter. If you think about it you break even with only needing 1 battery instead of 3 to last the night.

 

[BigSwole]

My digital ballasts came in today!!

Too bad I was on my motorcycle and had no way to get em home. (Everything gets shipped to another address)

And tomorrow is my 3 year wedding anniversary so I won't get a chance to play with em tomorrow either. Then Friday morning I'm going out of town!!!

Always get the cool toys when I can't play with em!

 

[BigSwole]

OK, my digital ballasts came in last week.

Left Thursday after work headed to Alabama/Tenn area and we just got back.

Went and picked em up and got em home to unbox em and they are pretty cool. Not much to em you can see, and I'm not breaking the seal for a picture...yet.

They all came with their own power cord.

I'll be making another box for these ballasts. My idea is to find a way to make the box removable. That way I can switch these ballasts from boat to boat.

My plan is to have some housings on my duck rig in the summer time that way when I am out on the shallow rivers or in ponds I have a way to run hps lights without the hassle of all the lbs on the deck as I'm trying to watch the weight. And I'm not removing the housings from the other boat.

Anyways enough talking here is a picture of em.

 

[NuffDaddy]

Cool. Can't wait till you gut them hooked up. Guys usually use tool boxes for their portable boxes. This is mine. I only have 4 150watt HPS in it so it's small.

 

[BigSwole]

I will be doing something similar to that. However I have to find a box that will fit all 4 comfortably.

I hooked up one today at work in the shop and then again tonight in the yard. Way better coverage than the economic housings and they don't have the shadow that is cast at an angle like the stock econos do.

These digital ballasts are sweet. It cranks the bulb up right away. No hesitation and they get to full glow a lot quicker it seems.

A good investment I believe

 

[mattman]

I just ran across this thread again and was wondering if you ever finished it? Im still considering HPS but am alittle gun shy just because im not quite sure how to hook em up

 

[NuffDaddy]

I just ran across this thread again and was wondering if you ever finished it? Im still considering HPS but am alittle gun shy just because im not quite sure how to hook em up

They are pretty simple to hook up...At least the 150w ones I got. All the wires are color coded and just hook them together.

 

[mattman]

oh nice to know i was looking at the one 150's from encolight but wasnt too sure of the remote ballast. Do you have a fan in your box or dont your worrie about overheating? also capacitors? Im thinking 8 hps with remote ballast. Not sure if i wanna go digital or not, and since each light comes with a ballast already i dont think i would change them too much. Also not to sure if I could get 2 1000watt digital ballast and hook up 4 lights to each one or does every light need its own ballast?

 

[NuffDaddy]

Every light needs it's own ballast as far as I know. I got HPS kit off eBay. It came with ballast, capacitor, and ignitor for 4 lights. It was less than $100. The ballast box is nice. Keeps about 50lbs off the front deck and I can take the box out of the boat easy to keep it out of the weather. I put a small fan in it because it does get really hot in there. Fan keeps it pretty cool. Send me a PM if you want if you need help setting them up if you decide to go that route.