digital ballast questions

[McChris421]

i am ready to purchase my ballasts and wanted to go with digital but i cant get the link to Clowntown's Digital Ballast RF EMI Report to work for me. I have used it before to check for interference on certain ballasts but now it wont work. Anyone have any advice on which ballast to go with? I am looking at getting 9 600w. Thanks for the help

-McChris-

 

[~SYK~]

Lumatek Purple Ballasts.

VERY Low RF problems.

Hope it Helps.

SYK

 

[Haps]

Magnetic ballasts, ZERO problems.

edit, to add;

If you need 9, better order 10, as a functional matter, no matter what digi you choose.

 

[~SYK~]

Magnetic Ballast - Energy Loss due to Heat

Digital Ballasts - Some have RF problems.

The thread wasnt about Digital vs. Magnetic - the poster simply asked for a recommendation (based on experience I am guessing) of which are the 'best' digitals.

I was told to expect a failure rate of between 3 and 5% when installing my ballasts. I am happy to report that I did not experience a SINGLE ballast failure (and I have more ballasts than most) - I did however, have two lamp cords fail during my install -- WTF?

Hope it Helps

SYK

 

[joluvs2gro]

I use magnetic ballasts and from what I have heard and read online the digital ones have a higher failure rate, they don't last as long, but they're pretty! I go with all commercial type that run off of 120. I have a couple of friends that are electricians that swear that the magnetic ballasts will last a long time, they say they go into warehouses/factories and remove/upgrade/change/ old magnetic ballasts that are atleast 15 years old that have been running atleast 12 hours a day, some are running 24/7/364 and they still keep going. All I have EVER HEARD ABOUT THE ONES SOLD AT THE HYDRO STORE IS THAT THEY WILL LAST FOR ABOUT 7 GROWS AND THEN DIE.

 

[3RL]

I just finally made the plunge into the digital ballast world. The new Lumatek 600 is 120v/240v and comes with BOTH cords... 189.99 Not a bad value.

First off, and something I dont read too much about is the FLICKER. Peering at the bulb thru my digital camera shows the magnetic ballast flickering ALOT. huge noticeable gaps where it goes "dark".

The digital ballast is either not flickering, or flickering so fast I cant notice it.

Doesnt this equate to X amount more light over X amount of time????


The thing is completely silent, no more buzzing BS. I had a 1kw that was starting to buzz LOUD.

Now the thing about heat tho, uhmm.. this 600w LUMATEK, is putting off alot more heat than my 600w gro pro, and thats with a fan pointed right on top of them both.

Got a cheapo generic HPS bulb to go with it, no compatibility issues so far... knock on wood.

Also took my zune right up to the lumatek and was flipping through radio stations, not all of them were clear, but the more popular stations were. And I'm still watching HDTV OTA with no interference roughly 12' from where the ballast is.

At the end of the day, what do I think? Digitals. I'm making the transition, phasing out the mag ballasts.

 

[Gunnarguchi]

ive only been using magnetic ballast so far but have thought about replacing them in the future with digital cause of the higher lumen and less heat and noise

i actually though that digital lasted longer than magnetic due to less wear and tear parts
but never to late to learn new stuff

 

[niacinamide]

Anyone have any experience with BallastWise electronic ballasts made by Dexin International? I know they are made in China and likely to be lower quality than other offerings but the price cannot be beat.

I may just try using one of the cheaper lower wattage ones to see if they work with ceramic metal halide bulbs as they claim. However, they do require 5 KV rated lamp holders. Anyone know a source for 5 KV rated lamp holders in medium size?

 

[dongle69]

Make sure you get one that is UL listed!