DIGITAL OR NOT DIGITAL, THAT IS THE QUESTION....

[Mist]

I just finished setting up the Quantum digital ballast that my local hydro store gave me as a replacement for my Lumatek which had gone bad. And I do like the features that this new ballast brings. I was waiting for it because I was ready to tranfer my seedlings over to the ebb&system in the grow tent. So now it is all set up and running and I have the ballast set at the 50% power setting to get them used to the HID light.
So this will be an interesting test of this quantum ballast. And so far I like the fact that after a couple hours of being on it is cool to the touch, yes COOL!
The housing is even smaller than the Lumatek was and the cooling fan sucks air all the way through the housing. You can't hear the fan either, but you can hear the air blowing out. Not a big deal considering the exhaust fan that is about to be in there.

I ran sun system II 1000 watt ballasts for years and only had a problem with one once. So I am not going to say that they are better or worse than digital. But I do like the low heat and much smaller unit a lot.

Oh yea, I am running a Sunmaster HPS bulb with this ballast.


Mist

 

[PonicallyMade]

finishing a 2nd harvest w/ 9 600w 240v lumateks paired with solarmax bulb and have experienced 0 problems. All bulbs fire at the exact same time and there is really no warmup. Anyone running their bulbs longer then 2 (3 max) flowering cycles is wasting their efforts anyway.

have also ran 3 hortilux bulbs at a time for a few crops and I have had a single 600w fail towards the end of its 2nd bloom cycle. The hortilux lamps are however no where near consistent burns like I'm getting with the solarmax lamps..and do seem to tint out after 2 grows or so.

All in all I have nothing but good things to say about the 240v 600w purple lumateks (own 12)..they are silent, very tiny, and barely get warm.

I'll take that over a noisey, heavy coil any day. If my lumatek fails I get it swapped out for new - rather then have to dick around replacing an ignitor or cap...not that changing a cap isnt a 2 minute job.

coils are tried and true and if I had a bunch I most likely would continue to rock em as the money could be better spent elsewhere, but as a new ballast purchase - no reason not to go elecronic when it comes to 400w & 600w.


just my input and opinion.
pm

 

[dragunn]

i have four lumateks 240.one bulb went out on me after a year.i think there awesome.just warm to the touch.a lot smaller.mounting brackets built in for wall mounting.silent.

i bought one of thouse wireless temperature gauges to check on the room during lights out.doesent work at all.bought a secound model,same brand..works.

just two months ago i bought two duel unit 600 lumateks(120 or 240).rf shielded.but a lot hotter to the touch running on 120.maybe at 240 they might run cooler.

 

[Lazyman]

I just picked up a set of new Eye bulbs (both 1000W MH and HPS) and some new Quantum digital ballasts. Compared the lights to my old coil SunSystems II ballasts, and the Quantums are exatcly 10% brighter (measured at 26" from the bulb, using a cheapie footcandle meter.) They also were brighter much faster, but I don't like the high pitched whine they make (my dog hates it too!)

 

[noone88]

An update, i'm running 4 1000 watt lumatek 120 volt.

One brand new out of the box, 15 days into flower, fried my timer one day. The next day, it blew up my Hortilux bulb.

 

[vancityj]

A 1KW magnetic ballast is $100, versus $350 for a comparable digital ballast. With a digital ballast, it seems your bulbs burn out a lot sooner than they should (within 0-60 days?! wtf?!) due to their being ultimately overdriven to 'achieve fast brightness'; who wants to replace their bulbs, especially a $100 Hortilux, every other cycle? Not me. All the digital ballasts look to be of extremely cheap construction - they aren't worth anywhere near their sticker-price, in my opinion; and they all bleed you too much money for specialized plugs and cords...everything sold seperately, of course. They will interfere with AM radio and some digital instruments. I've used dozens (<100) of 1KW magnetic ballasts since 1992, and all kinds of bulbs, mostly Hortilux, and I've never had a single problem or premature bulb burn-out. You can rock those Hortilux bulbs six times (3-4, preferably) and still yield the same as the first. A guy at the local hydro store told me his buddy flip-flops 12, 'Next-Gen' 1KW digi's...2 ballasts crapped out and they've "replaced the bulbs twice already". It seems that about twenty percent of digital ballasts die quickly...this might be a pain in the ass if you've had them shipped, or the seller won't replace/refund for some reason. I'd stick with magnetic if you're running more than one lamp...at least until prices are similar.

 

[JackTheGrower]

Switchable Galaxy Dual 250 Watt Electronic Ballast for Both HPS & MH Lamps, 120 or 24

Switchable Galaxy Dual 250 Watt Electronic Ballast for Both HPS & MH Lamps, 120 or 24

http://www.hhydro.com/cgi-bin/hhydro/ELECTRONIC_BALLAST.html

Electronic ballasts are not the same as Digital Ballasts. Both ballasts share similar components but the electronic ballast does not have a brain. The electronic ballasts, Future Brite, Lumatek (the list goes on) regulate output voltage and current based upon fixed parameters, where the digital ballasts such as the Life Light Technologies Solar E-Ballast has a microprocessor that controls the output to the bulb. The Digital ballasts also communicate with the bulbs and report their health, a feature the electronic ballasts wish they had.

So what difference does a microprocessor make? It makes a fair amount of difference. Digital ballasts won't attempt to light a bulb if it senses a failure. Digital ballasts are continually monitoring and checking the input and output voltage and current to maximize bulb life, color and illumination (brightness).

I hope this clears up the difference between Digital Ballasts and Electronic ballasts. Digital Ballasts are electronic ballasts on steroids. And the difference can be seen!

I'm thinking about buying the Switchable Galaxy Dual 250 Watt Electronic Ballast. i have two side lights on my light rack.

Anyone use this dual ballast?


Jack

 

[alphaguru]

digital ballast seem to run really bright with a pure color but runs through bulbs quite quicker

and it seems as though they are cooler but not by much in my experience

 

[HIGHGROOVE]

wow all taht being said im getting 2 new 600 magentics....what type do u suggest

 

[vancityj]

As far as magnetic go, the 600W Sodium are typically more expensive than the 1000W ballast core. All magnetic are pretty much the same, imo. I wouldn't worry too much about the brand. You should be able to pick up a bare 600W magnetic ballast for under $100 ($86.57 at 1000bulbs.com; local seller should match price), and either put it in a box yourself, or run it exposed on a brick (no buzz).

 

[green_thumb...]

Man I LOVE my 400w lumatek, no problems what so ever i actually plan to get a couple 1000w lumateks soon. and plan to try the next gen 1000w theyr pretty small too.

Oh yeah I also found out that lumatek is the only co. that supplies all the us military and swat and swat heli's etc with theyr big spot lights and vehical lights and iv also seen a military issue 45w MH flashlight that fire up instantly.

 

[LJB]

NextGen ballasts are at least assembled in the USA.

http://www.randmsupply.com/

This looks like the place to order "blank" (best way to describe) Lumatek ballasts directly from a distributor in the Guangdong province in China.

http://longood.en.alibaba.com/product/227564991-200313049/electronic_ballast_HPS_MH_600W_.html

 

[Seismic]

I haven't had any problems so far with my 1000w Galaxy

 

[JackTheGrower]

I just ordered the Galaxy dual 250w ballast. I am thinking about driving two 250 hortilux blues later on in the season but for now it will be some street type bulbs i have.

I'll post a review of my unit.

My goal is to side light in a 4x4 space because i didn't get the maturity in the side buds the last grow.



Outsides are 250w MH and the center is a 1k Hort.

16 sq ft soil area. Rack is on pulleys so it moves up as the flowers grow.

Jack

 

[green_thumb...]

NextGen ballasts are at least assembled in the USA.

http://www.randmsupply.com/

This looks like the place to order "blank" (best way to describe) Lumatek ballasts directly from a distributor in the Guangdong province in China.

http://longood.en.alibaba.com/product/227564991-200313049/electronic_ballast_HPS_MH_600W_.html

actally if you look at the lil section to the right under brand name thats a long bright ballast these are lumateks "bad ass"

http://lumatekdigitalballast.com/

 

[hoosierdaddy]

I think the reason digitals run through bulbs is because they are running at 20,000Hz cycles compared to the normal 60Hz of a magnetic ballast.

Econolights sells 400w HPS bulbs for about $6.25 each. I would use a new cheap HPS bulb every grow over spending big coin on a gimmick HPS bulb and suffering on subsequent grows.

 

[Pinball Wizard]

...http://www.eyehortilux.com/EYELU600.pdf

 

[JackTheGrower]

Ah HA!

Ah HA!

Acoustic resonance is hard on lamps and may cause
premature failures due to the excessive
vibrations. Electronic ballast users may
need to replace lamps more frequently
over time as this condition will eventually
weaken all brands of lamps — some
sooner than others depending on the
construction of the lamp and the actual
level of acoustic resonance generated by
the ballast.

---------------------

The two 25o watt MH's I have are nothing special but that electronic ballast really has them putting out the light!

Good post PW

 

[Pinball Wizard]

I wish they would have identified "Major Brands" A, B & C...electronic ballasts?

 

[JohnnyToke]

I think the reason digitals run through bulbs is because they are running at 20,000Hz cycles compared to the normal 60Hz of a magnetic ballast.

Econolights sells 400w HPS bulbs for about $6.25 each. I would use a new cheap HPS bulb every grow over spending big coin on a gimmick HPS bulb and suffering on subsequent grows.

AMEN!!!!!

when I grew with 400's, I saw no difference in yield or finished product using the $20 phillips from H Depot vs the $80 eye horti.

JT