Are Gavita ballasts that much better?

[Bxgrower81]

Hey everybody, I'm looking to upgrade from 600 waters to 1000s, I'm currently using quantum so with no issues, but want to grow bigger plants for numbers wise' but I'm wondering if people believe that a gavita 1000 water will be far superior to a quantum or lumatek as far as performance wise, btw I'm going to be running two flowering rooms flip flop with 2000w in each room

 

[Snype]

Hey everybody, I'm looking to upgrade from 600 waters to 1000s, I'm currently using quantum so with no issues, but want to grow bigger plants for numbers wise' but I'm wondering if people believe that a gavita 1000 water will be far superior to a quantum or lumatek as far as performance wise, btw I'm going to be running two flowering rooms flip flop with 2000w in each room

That question seems to bring people that say they suck to people saying they are the greatest thing. I'm still trying to figure it all out myself as well. I talked to some growers who swear by them and others who threw them out. It's really hard to tell if people have other motives. Maybe the best thing to do is to buy 1 and try it out and report back. I will probably test out 2 of them fairly soon.

 

[Bxgrower81]

Thanks for the info on that, like you were saying I think it would have to be a personal test review because a few of the reviews or big threads were almost like advertisements

 

[oscarthegrouch]

depends.... Are you asking about the pro series ballasts or the digistar? I have a pro 1000 and think its great. The digistar seems to be the same as any other digital ballast though. If I where you I'd just replace the ballasts with pro 1000's as your old ones fail. my only beef is the bulbs cost around $200 where I live.

 

[Bxgrower81]

Yes sorry I was referring to the pro series, thanks I might just get a get a few, I'll debate it for the next 2 weeks then, till I'm actually ready to purchase whatever I'm gonna eventually get

 

[oscarthegrouch]

I would say if your already wired up for 240v then you'll be hard pressed to find a better ballast. Also keep in mind that if your running it at 1150w you'll need to keep it about 3 feet above the plants, so in some situations the height of the room can be an issue. I'm impressed with mine, and if I had to replace it I would not hesitate to buy another.

 

[McKush]

I'm going to get this type of fixture soon from a different company. All the issues with this new technology seem to be related to the height issue like Oscar says above. I've searched far and wide on the interweb thingy too and that is about all I've seen negative on them. The ballast seems to be a very good one. For me I "think" it will interfere less with my tube amps than the old ballasts. Just conjecture right now though, but I'm certainly hoping for less EMI.

The light field seems really flat on these lights. I'm thinking we just need to know HOW to use them is all and I think some growers need to learn to run them at lower settings when they do not have an optimum grow room for this type technology...

 

[Hammerhead]

Gavita pro ballast can't be used on any bulb except De bulbs. You can't really compare them with normal ballast's thats why they make the Digistar line of ballast's.. I have 1 Gavita Pro and 2 E-Papillon. There much better than standard ballast IMO..

 

[Tela]

if you got the ceiling height and the AC, and you know what you are doing, it's a no-brainer

 

[Sativa Dragon]

I am a Techy and when I search for a ballast I want to know if it is low frequency, and also the wave structure of the juice going to the bulb eg: Square wave, it keeps the arc more uniform, low frequency allows you avoid shaking the shit out of your bulbs, and also avoids the high pitch screaming that could interfere with a myriad of devices such as baby monitors cordless phones and anyone purposefully looking for highfreq coming from your residence. And almost every ballast now will have a plug for 220v 240v applications

Peace

 

[Snow Crash]

The Gavita Pro 1000w Complete fixture with the Philips DE bulb offers, as far as I have learned, the greatest amount of PAR for the energy provided. More bang for your buck.

Double ended bulbs cannot be directly air cooled because they require a higher operating temperature. The big advantage with the bulb, aside from the greater PAR values, is the elimination of some interior structures which cause shadowing. They also have just a 5% efficiency loss per year - so while they may be a little more expensive up front they're lifespan justifies the cost. The advantage to having the ballast so close to the bulb/reflector is that the amount of EMI is dramatically reduced. The power cable from ballast to reflector acts like a big EMI antennae so they pull that. Really useful for 10+ light setups.

Really though, dependability is the big factor. I see Quantums returned daily. Yes, we sell more of them than anything, but the failure rate on them has been around 1 in 5. Sometimes worse... Gavita's are super solid and rarely, very rarely, fail. I absolutely would not use a flipbox with them. With the cost of a flip box versus the cost of 2 light system... I'd just get two lights.

 

[Snow Crash]

I am a Techy and when I search for a ballast I want to know if it is low frequency, and also the wave structure of the juice going to the bulb eg: Square wave, it keeps the arc more uniform, low frequency allows you avoid shaking the shit out of your bulbs, and also avoids the high pitch screaming that could interfere with a myriad of devices such as baby monitors cordless phones and anyone purposefully looking for highfreq coming from your residence. And almost every ballast now will have a plug for 220v 240v applications

Peace

Gavita Pro ballasts are high frequency. High frequency is required to run Double Ended HPS bulbs. We did manage to fire a DE bulb on a Harvest Pro... but I'm not sure how.

Most digital ballasts are going to be high frequency. Some of the older Galaxy Grow Amps are low frequency although they have been now phased out. You can still find them around though, look for a box with a white handle. The black handle boxes are HF.

 

[Hammerhead]

I prefer the E-P refector more then the Gavita they have a wider light pattern.


E-Papillon runs at 100 khz and 400v.. I was able to fire the DE bulb on a Lumatek but the bulb does not get what it requires 100 khz @400v this is the major difference from normal ballast.

 

[Sativa Dragon]

There is a ballast available called the baddass that is low freq squarewave.

Peace

 

[McKush]

The Gavita Pro 1000w Complete fixture with the Philips DE bulb offers, as far as I have learned, the greatest amount of PAR for the energy provided. More bang for your buck.

Double ended bulbs cannot be directly air cooled because they require a higher operating temperature. The big advantage with the bulb, aside from the greater PAR values, is the elimination of some interior structures which cause shadowing. They also have just a 5% efficiency loss per year - so while they may be a little more expensive up front they're lifespan justifies the cost. The advantage to having the ballast so close to the bulb/reflector is that the amount of EMI is dramatically reduced. The power cable from ballast to reflector acts like a big EMI antennae so they pull that. Really useful for 10+ light setups.

Really though, dependability is the big factor. I see Quantums returned daily. Yes, we sell more of them than anything, but the failure rate on them has been around 1 in 5. Sometimes worse... Gavita's are super solid and rarely, very rarely, fail. I absolutely would not use a flipbox with them. With the cost of a flip box versus the cost of 2 light system... I'd just get two lights.

That is pretty much what I learned about the technology too, which is one big plus in the Gavita/EPapillon camp for me. Their efficiency is stellar but a bigger plus for me is their light field and spectrum. I'm no expert but they seem to be well designed ballasts for a great grow light source... what am i missing here? nothing i think so i'm getting 2 of them soon.

 

[rives]

Whazzup said that using a flip will void the warranty on the Gavitas.

 

[Dr. Buddington]

I have a number of Gavitas, they are on a flip (made by me, not a company). Some of the ballasts run nearly 80 feet of wire to the bulb. 6 of them burnt out over the first year of operation, all the ballasts affected were the ones with the longest wire runs. All of them were replaced immediately at the shop that I bought them at.
Furthermore I pointed out the possibility of long wire runs being the reason for the ballast failure and asked the store owner to contact the manufacturer. After he had spoken to Gavita he told me that he was reassured that the long wire runs have no effect on the ballasts and neither does the flip box (I turn the ballasts off for 5 min in between flips). I've been using the same set up for 3 years now and past the exchange of the first few units I haven't had any issues whatsoever. I use Hortilux bulbs in all of the Gavitas.

 

[rives]

That sounds like a pretty extraordinary failure rate, considering their reputation. It sounds like Gavita might want to stick with their representative's (Whazzup) advice on flips.

 

[Hammerhead]

I have a number of Gavitas, they are on a flip (made by me, not a company). Some of the ballasts run nearly 80 feet of wire to the bulb. 6 of them burnt out over the first year of operation, all the ballasts affected were the ones with the longest wire runs. All of them were replaced immediately at the shop that I bought them at.
Furthermore I pointed out the possibility of long wire runs being the reason for the ballast failure and asked the store owner to contact the manufacturer. After he had spoken to Gavita he told me that he was reassured that the long wire runs have no effect on the ballasts and neither does the flip box (I turn the ballasts off for 5 min in between flips). I've been using the same set up for 3 years now and past the exchange of the first few units I haven't had any issues whatsoever. I use Hortilux bulbs in all of the Gavitas.

I did not know Hortilux made DE bulbs???? You must be using Digistar ballast not the Gavita pro these can only use DE bulbs. That makes more sence. I have not read any reports about Gvita pro Ballast failing so far.

 

[Treetroit City]

Absolutely love my Gavitas. I would recommend them all day long

I would like to think I could pull 2.5+ per light with Chinese ballasts and hortilux bulbs but I doubt that's the case.