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digital ballast questions
- Thread starter P-NUT
- Start date
JohnnyToke
Member
the majority of the 1000w digital ballast are defective as in poorly designed. I purchased a new Evolution this summer and it worked 1 day before blowing the internal fuse. After driving all over town to find a fuse to fit it, I installed a new fuse and it immediately would blow. I sent it back to Sunlight Supply for warranty and they shipped me a new warranty replacement. I was down for about 10 days during shipping time. I installed the warranty replacement and it lasted about 2 days before doing the same thing. I shipped it back and asked for a refund, they asked me to try the infinity model. They sent it. I hooked it up. It died within a week.
I finally told them to keep their digitals and authorize the retailer to just refund my money. I purchased a magnetic and haven't had any issues since. right now, I have it shelved as i'm using 2 x 400 magnetics instead as i'm trying out the 400w cmh bulbs. I did stick with sunlight supply on the magnetic because they have excellent customer service. My magnetics are warrantied for 5 years.
I have friends who have had a little better luck with the Lumatek 1000 however they still had to have it repaired under warranty after 4 months use. after 4 months, it refused to come on.
if you are dead set on using a 1000w, I would get a switchable magnetic ballast. there are some peeps here that have good luck with the 400 & 600 digitals. Lumatek's new one is probably your best bet.
the 1000's are unreliable and I wouldnt waste your money on them. if you decide to get one, I would for sure pickup a cheap (ebay) used magnetic to use as a backup for your digital. you will most likely need it....
regards,
JT
I finally told them to keep their digitals and authorize the retailer to just refund my money. I purchased a magnetic and haven't had any issues since. right now, I have it shelved as i'm using 2 x 400 magnetics instead as i'm trying out the 400w cmh bulbs. I did stick with sunlight supply on the magnetic because they have excellent customer service. My magnetics are warrantied for 5 years.
I have friends who have had a little better luck with the Lumatek 1000 however they still had to have it repaired under warranty after 4 months use. after 4 months, it refused to come on.
if you are dead set on using a 1000w, I would get a switchable magnetic ballast. there are some peeps here that have good luck with the 400 & 600 digitals. Lumatek's new one is probably your best bet.
the 1000's are unreliable and I wouldnt waste your money on them. if you decide to get one, I would for sure pickup a cheap (ebay) used magnetic to use as a backup for your digital. you will most likely need it....
regards,
JT
i already got hydrofarm radiant 1000w systems but the ballasts are loud as f#ck and I hoped to get something silent. by the way when your friends got a replacement how did that work? go to the store and exchange for another? having it shipped is not an option for me.
JohnnyToke
Member
we both had to ship them off for repair/replacement. I was down about 10 days. my friend was down 3 weeks.
sucks when they go out and you have no backup. my sunlight supply magnetic doesnt make much noise at all. I have a couple 1000's and I have a couple 400's. the only noise coming from my grow area is fan and wind noise from the oscillating & vortex fans.
regards,
JT
sucks when they go out and you have no backup. my sunlight supply magnetic doesnt make much noise at all. I have a couple 1000's and I have a couple 400's. the only noise coming from my grow area is fan and wind noise from the oscillating & vortex fans.
regards,
JT
i have read that digital 600's put out almost the same amount of lumens as magnetic 1000's. has anyone else heard or researched this. at the moment i have a digital 600 and a magnetic 1000, both which have been working great but the 600 stays a lot cooler than the 1000 even with the air-cooled hoods
CanadianGrower
Member
I had same issue electronic ballast, used for 1 week then all of a sudden it shits out and stops working. at the time im waiting for my warrenty return. MAKE SURE YOUR BALLAST HAS WARRANTY. How unreliable are these, why can they not build these properly? They seem very unreliable.
Last edited:
Grendelkhan
Member
I have been using futurebrite's 4x1000w ones and they have been running great for the last 2 years. When the ditigal ballast first came out there were alot of problems with them. I think that alot of the problems have been worked out. That doesn't mean that they are perfect but if you get one that has been made fairly recently i think that you will be fine.
khan.
khan.
CanadianGrower
Member
What goes wrong with them? What shorts out or burns out on the ballast.
I've got two Galaxy 400's that have been in use almost every day for the last two years with no problems whatsoever.
I have two new Lumatek 600's that I got a couple weeks ago. One of the ballasts went out sometime during its second light cycle. I took it back to the hydro shop where I bought it and it turned out to be the fuse. I told the hydro store guy that I didn't want anything electronic that went out so quickly, regardless of if it was only the fuse, so he gave me a new ballast. Now the ballasts have been working fine for two weeks, which doesn't mean much.
The rest of my ballasts are Sunlight Supply magnetic 1,000's. They are work horses and I never have problems with them - no noise either. I recently bought another 1,000 and I went with magnetic. The hydro store guy strongly recommended against the digital 1,000's and said they still had some issues to work out with them.
PC
I have two new Lumatek 600's that I got a couple weeks ago. One of the ballasts went out sometime during its second light cycle. I took it back to the hydro shop where I bought it and it turned out to be the fuse. I told the hydro store guy that I didn't want anything electronic that went out so quickly, regardless of if it was only the fuse, so he gave me a new ballast. Now the ballasts have been working fine for two weeks, which doesn't mean much.
The rest of my ballasts are Sunlight Supply magnetic 1,000's. They are work horses and I never have problems with them - no noise either. I recently bought another 1,000 and I went with magnetic. The hydro store guy strongly recommended against the digital 1,000's and said they still had some issues to work out with them.
PC
B00st3d
Member
Ya its funny to me how so many people on here go out and buy Lumatek thinkin its the best, its just a name brand you see and hear about but not the best. For all the people that say they are so great , theres 10 more complainin about what crap they are. Yet look around and find ppl hatin on Galaxy, you wont find many. If im not mistaken Galaxy runs on a frequency that caters to alot more different types of bulbs where as the lumatek will only fire up a limited range of bulbs. Not to mention they are much more likely to burn out. I have three 600 and one 400 galaxy and Lumatek wasnt ever even a thought for me. Plus I use sun system Cool Sun reflectors and they are meant to work with Galaxies anyways. Theres also absolutely no interference with radios, cells, internet, etc.. with the Galaxy , wish I could say that for lumatek.
GGL Ballasts are the best on the market. THey are distributed by Humboldt Wholesale. They push more lumens than any other ballast. Humboldt wholesale went out and found someone to make a superior digital ballast and now they have it. BTW, they also have a 750 watt ballast that is equivalent in lumens than a magnetic 1000w. (it is not correct that a 600 digi is the same as a 1000 magnetic.)
As your local store to get them in. THey have a three year no hassle warranty. You should get a replacement if there are any problems. My advise is to go as simple as possible. 240v, with no power switch. The new ones dont have a power switch. THe intellivolts (120/240v) have more components that could fail. These ballasts can also be run on generators.
As your local store to get them in. THey have a three year no hassle warranty. You should get a replacement if there are any problems. My advise is to go as simple as possible. 240v, with no power switch. The new ones dont have a power switch. THe intellivolts (120/240v) have more components that could fail. These ballasts can also be run on generators.
