digital or mag ballast

[Taproot]

I will be purchasing 2 new 1000 w ballast.my concern is that the ballast will be in a unfinished basement. will the digital ballast be okay in this enviroment ? I,m interested in Quantum 1000 ballast.my concern is dust affecting the fans. I,m trying to head off potential problems before I make a purchase. what,s the safer buy? mag or digitals. Taproot

 

[Mighty Seed]

Digitals will be fine anywhere a magnetic would. I have even mounted my digis in attic spaces that get over 120f. Go digital, its worth it.

 

[pinecone]

Digitals will be fine anywhere a magnetic would.

You can't run a CMH bulb on them.

Pine

 

[stonedar]

You can't run a CMH bulb on them.

Pine

he's going 1000w so CMH isn't an issue for him

2 1000w digitals $580
2 1000w magnetic $280 switchable $260 for HPS

 

[Taproot]

if the digitals will run fine in basement with no problems. thats the way I want to go. I have used mag ballast before,but this seems to me the future. also how far can quantums be located from bulb? next gen claims 75ft. taproot

 

[pinecone]

he's going 1000w so CMH isn't an issue for him

Missed this - agree that digital is the way to go.

Pine

 

[MIway]

Basement or no... will the digi run fine is the question. Likely, yes, but more likely to have issues/concerns over a traditional c&c.

If you aren't planning to dial down your bulbs & don't have issues with a 40 lb hunk of metal... then a c&c would be 'best' for price & ease of use/compatibility.

Digi's are still 'improving' each year... you just mentioned 'no problems' twice, so c&c really seems the way to go... ;-)

 

[Taproot]

thanks again. I plan on a winter start and getting everything in order.Taproot

 

[OjoRojo420]

I've been running the same digital 400 and 600 ballasts for the last four years without a single problem!

And they run both MH and HPS...

Vertical lights and digital ballasts make a very PORTABLE and light set up. Mine were hooked to 110V but are now working with 220V. Most digital ballast are self adjusting to input voltage.

I could swear that they are brighter running with 220V... LOL

Ojo

 

[krunchbubble]

digital, hands down.....

no comparison.....

may be more of an initial investment, but your bulbs last longer from not having such a hard start on mag ballasts.....

 

[Lowman]

Quantum is easily one the best digital ballasts units out there....and using them in the basement won't be an issue. The only problem I have with digitals is that some bulbs don't work in them. I have a digital and a mag ballast in my flower room because of this problem.

If going all digital....ensure the bulb will work with it.

 

[jm420]

one benny to mag ballasts easy to fix, parts are cheap ,and easy to come buy.if your digi goes out for some reason you'll be fighting with a store or fighting with some on line company.Just a thought

 

[Bud Bug]

Depends on your budget. If you go with cheap boxed ballasts that most stores sell these days then they'll be cheaper than the digitals but probably wont last as long, at least the capacitor.

If you go with a good quality copper coil magnetic (Advanced/Sylvania/Universla/etc..)with a good quality cap/ignitor those will be much more expensive but will last way longer.

Digitals are good but just make sure the store will deal with the warranty properly. As long as the store is not crooked and is dealing with a proper wholesaler then exchanges within the warranty period shouldn't take more then a few days if not a straight exchange for a new one.

 

[stoney917]

just make sure the digis dont effect other equip i had one it fucked with my ppm3co2 controller so i use magnetics...plus they are fixable on spot

 

[CANNATOPIA]

I have used both & they both work well. It is all a matter of preference. There are many good ballasts out there. The notable things (to me) between the two when making a purchase is Weight , Noise and Heat. The Digital Ballasts have the Magnetic ballasts beat in these three areas, (in my opinion) which is why I chose to go with digital.

 

[Marshall]

read the other guys thread in the design forum about his digi not working.

I run mags. Easy to troubleshoot, have replaced a few caps over 3-4 years thats it. never had to return, and wait

Plus I can run any bulb I want.


Yeah you here people claim they have 10 digis with no problems. But you also hear people who do have problems. How many do you hear have issues with mags? not many

 

[MIway]

Worked in a WH that had 140 a firing... saw 1 c&c replaced... it arced at the plug... faulty component... and they had some shit ass cheap, open faced boxes firing.

Saw 6 digi's replaced... all sorts of reasons... all Luma's... got some sort of deal...???


That is a 6:1 failure rate in comparison... over a 5 month period... over a hundred ballasts.

And yeah, at my house... my 3 quantums never failed... but a whole bunch of Lumateks did at the WH, so... which should one base their opinion off of...???

Its a fact that the digi's have problems... period. ;-)

 

[Bud Bug]

Worked in a WH that had 140 a firing... saw 1 c&c replaced... it arced at the plug... faulty component... and they had some shit ass cheap, open faced boxes firing.

Saw 6 digi's replaced... all sorts of reasons... all Luma's... got some sort of deal...???


That is a 6:1 failure rate in comparison... over a 5 month period... over a hundred ballasts.

And yeah, at my house... my 3 quantums never failed... but a whole bunch of Lumateks did at the WH, so... which should one base their opinion off of...???

Its a fact that the digi's have problems... period. ;-)

I got 3 week old Quantum in front of me that's fried, waiting for a RMA. Made some noise when it was plugged in and poof.

 

[CANNATOPIA]

Electronic high-frequency ballasts increase lamp-ballast efficacy, leading to increased energy efficiency and lower operating costs. Electronic ballasts operate lamps using electronic switching power supply circuits. Electronic ballasts take incoming 60 Hz power (120 or 277 volts) and convert it to high-frequency AC (usually 20 to 40 kHz). Electronic ballasts are more efficient than magnetic ballasts in converting input power to the proper lamp power, and their operating of fluorescent lamps at higher frequencies reduces end losses, resulting in an overall lamp-ballast system efficacy increase of 15% to 20%.

Electronic ballasts have a number of other advantages over magnetic ballasts. Electronic ballasts are readily available that operate three or four lamps, allowing the use of a single ballast in 3-lamp and 4-lamp luminaires. This reduces both installation and field wiring labor costs, and may negate the necessity of tandem luminaire wiring as required by the 1992 Energy Efficiency Standards for Residential and Nonresidential Buildings (Title 24). Electronic ballasts are designed to operate lamps in either series or parallel mode. The advantage of the parallel mode of operation is that a single lamp failure will not affect the operation of the remaining lamps controlled by the same ballast. However, ballast losses will increase slightly in the parallel mode. Other advantages of the electronic ballast include reduced weight, quieter operation, and reduced lamp flicker. Electronic ballasts are directly interchangeable with magnetic ballasts, and they are available to operate most full-size and compact fluorescent lamps.

http://ateam.lbl.gov/Design-Guide/DGHtm/electronicvs.magneticballasts.htm

 

[simon]

I started converting my whole op to digitals about a year ago. There's no way I'd go back to magnetics.

Simon