Dimmable Digital Ballasts

[ThePizzaMan]

I have sex with my 600w dimmable Quantum digi ballast. For vegging...the dimmable feature is awesome. The only thing I do not like about it..is that it is a bit loud. I think the fan noise is as loud or a tad louder than my magnetic ballast hum.

either way...go Quantum.

 

[187020]

I have sex with my 600w dimmable Quantum digi ballast.

Oh I come on my plants too!

 

[nukklehead]

I thought I was the only sick bastard here

 

[farmari]

The dimming feature with Quantum 600s is significantly less efficient in terms of lumens per watt, though it's not horribly inefficient.

I tested mine with a watt meter and a lux meter...

In 100% power, it uses 660 watts. (So much for that "digital ballasts save on electricity" sales pitch...)
At 75% power, it uses 450 watts. So it uses 68% as much power to generate 58% as much light.
At 50% power, it uses 375 watts. 57% as much power for 45% as much light when compared to 100% mode.

 

[rangergord]

My lumatek is quiet. No fan although you can get one as an option. It does not get overly hot. Anyone growing in a small space should consider a digital ballast. For example a 250 watt ballast can be dimmed to 125 watts and fit in all but the smallest cabinets. If you are not sure you can fit a 600 watt lamp in your space but want the potential power you can always dim it down 50% if it is just too much.

 

[UNREGISTRD]

Thought Id update this thread...Ive been running the same quantams for 2plus years know and have only had one ballast go bad..It was replaced under warranty from quantam as well.. Great Company!

As of exactly a year ago we put Plantmax bulbs in the room to cut on costs and have seen absolutly NO difference between the hortilux bulbs..

 

[the gnome]

Thought Id update this thread...Ive been running the same quantams for 2plus years know and have only had one ballast go bad..It was replaced under warranty from quantam as well.. Great Company!

As of exactly a year ago we put Plantmax bulbs in the room to cut on costs and have seen absolutly NO difference between the hortilux bulbs..

talking to an electronics engineer about the dig ballast and life span,
he told me heat was the biggest thing, the cooler you can keep the ballast the better off but regardless after 3 years they are ready to poop...
they rarely make the 5yr mark,
if you get one that lasts 5yrs its exceptional.
this was 2 yrs ago and technology may have bettered the situation...?


unreg'd,
afew yrs ago i finally bit the bullet and bought 2 $100 per super horti hps bulbs.
i saw no difference between the cheapo bulbs that came with my cheapo ebay ballast hood/cooltube w/ hps MH bulbs kit.

 

[thrillspan]

been using dozens of Galaxy switchable 1000's for a few years, no probs, very nice to be able to adjust when you're pushing your HVAC to the max and need to dim down sometimes for heat reasons. No failures, bulbs didn't seem to mind being dimmed at all.

 

[hvac guy]

I modified about 60 x 1000 watt dimmable ballast to switch from 100% to 75% or 50% with a PLC, the selector switch can be replaced with a 3 wire connector wired to a PLC. This allowed to dim any or all the ballasts as needed.

 

[thrillspan]

I modified about 60 x 1000 watt dimmable ballast to switch from 100% to 75% or 50% with a PLC, the selector switch can be replaced with a 3 wire connector wired to a PLC. This allowed to dim any or all the ballasts as needed.

That is awesome. Might be a commercial market for that....

 

[cannaera]

talking to an electronics engineer about the dig ballast and life span,
he told me heat was the biggest thing, the cooler you can keep the ballast the better off but regardless after 3 years they are ready to poop...
they rarely make the 5yr mark,
if you get one that lasts 5yrs its exceptional.
this was 2 yrs ago and technology may have bettered the situation...?


unreg'd,
afew yrs ago i finally bit the bullet and bought 2 $100 per super horti hps bulbs.
i saw no difference between the cheapo bulbs that came with my cheapo ebay ballast hood/cooltube w/ hps MH bulbs kit.

i have two original quantum ballasts the 1st generation ones to come out, been running them for SEVERAL rounds over 5 year span, they both work as the same day they came from the box. One ballast went out and appeared as if it were burnt out, in reality, quantum and a few other manufactures put a spare fuse hidden into the quantum ballast where the cord goes, you pop the plastic covering off and remove the fuse and they have a spare one in there, I switched it and my ballast is back to working as new.

 

[the gnome]

thanks for mentioning that cannera,
when i 1st started the indoor rodeo 3yrs ago i bought these cheapo kits from ebay.
they had elec. ballasts.
all of them had exterior fuses with a spare.
they all lasted 8-14months from day 1
when they blew,.. the entire fuse/holder assembly literally melted!

so what you learned about your quantums with the fuses inside them will help a lot of peeps out, i wonder how many brands of ballasts have a fuse inside of them?
I wonder how many have been chunked in the garbage that only needed
a fuse replaced LOL!

 

[cannaera]

i almost threw it out like everyone thinking ah ballast burnt out, well i did some research to find out that little trick about the fuse. some company's will put reset switch or even a double reset switch on the outside of the ballast such as lumatek, but quantum as well as 2-3 other manufactures have the fuse "hidden" inside the ballast from a pop out tab located on the outside near the plug. I will take a pic if i get a chance just to help all the people out who have electronic ballast that you think might be junk, well try this out first before throwing it out.