Purple Lumatek Digital Ballasts

[smurfin'herb]

Ok guys, I know theres a few other threads out here that mention things here and there about these new ballasts, but since these are so new and theres not very much input on them, I am putting together this thread for any and all people who have info or experince on/with these Purple lumatek ballasts. It has come to my understanding that these ballasts operate practically all bulbs including hortilux., unlike the blue ones. I guess some good questions to start off with would be...Where can you get these for the best price(im talkin like mdhydro lumatek prices)?......What exactly has been improved on these ballasts(start up time, overall efficiency, weight, heat)?........ Are they at least as reliable as the blue ones?......

New and Improved for 2007! Heres some info i found posted by masterlow57 in another thread. and this is the most info ive seen yet.

LUMATEK PURPLE DIGI BALLASTS
Now works with all lamps
Improved RF shielding
All ballasts now ship with an adapter that enables them to work with both Sun System and Hydrofarm lamp cords; no more need to rewire the socket assembly - a BGH exclusive!
Improved customer service and support from Lumatek™

Lumatek™ Features:
More lumens - up to a 20% increase
Dedicated Voltage - dual voltage ballasts sacrifice performance
Silent - the days of humming and buzzing are long gone
Internal RF Shielding - best on the market
Ultra Light Weight - only 8 pounds
Soft Start - increases lamp life and lumen depreciation
External Fuse System - protects against power surges


Ok theres a lil info, so lets get this rollin guys post away!

 

[george j warner]

hi just for some more info on these ballast for any UK growers .. i emailed lumatek UK .. and they said the "purple" lumatek is for usa and canada only see email

:

Thanks for your interest in our ballasts, the purple Lumatek you are talking about is the Hydrofarm version (USA/Canada). The UK/Europe Version of the same latest spec is Metallic Blue in colour, and they have been available here for some months now.

Let me know if you need any more info.

Kind Regards

Darren

:

there you go anyone in the uk or EU will not be able to get a purple one...

so only look for blues

peace

 

[george j warner]

oh and heres a uk hydro shop that surplies them

http://www.hydrohobby.co.uk/erol.html

laterz

 

[smurfin'herb]

Well clowntown says, in the hydrohut original thread, that bghydro.com has them in 120 and 240v, and i just called today to confirm this. So why couldnt you just have one shipped to the UK and plug it in? You guys do run on 240v over there, right?

 

[Dkgrower]

Greath topic I have looked at them and found very littel info it is the same script you find every where on the net.

Here is a link to a negativ post http://www.icmag.com/ic/showthread.php?t=62747

Hope we can pool some info on this new product .


I

 

[george j warner]

true..but if anything went wrong with it the postage would be sick ...

anyway they say the new one "which is the same as the purple one" is metalic blue not just blue is here so theres no point ... and its has been here for a couple of months now ... the reason you guys are just getting them is coz the lumatek company is actually based in the uk : )

 

[george j warner]

i just emailed them again asking about the bulb issue ... we'll get to the bottom of this lol... i asked about growlux , hortilux , and mixed frequency ones ie sunmaster

will have an answer before the end of the day lol...

laterz

 

[george j warner]

here you go same again ,


Thanks for getting back to us, The Osram, Venture and the G.I.B. range all perform well. The Sunmaster conversion bulb is a poor performer, although the sunmaster HPS does well, the gowlux can be temperamental as the strike power required to ignite is at the limit of E-Ballasts.

Hope this helps

Kind Regards

Darren

there you go osrams ,venture's and GIB's are fine aslo the sunmaster HPS..
growlux screw up and multi frequency bulbs are a bad idea

out all of those the sunmaster HPS is the best ...

laterz

 

[smurfin'herb]

what about hortilux? whats g.i.b.?

 

[smurfin'herb]

true..but if anything went wrong with it the postage would be sick ...

anyway they say the new one "which is the same as the purple one" is metalic blue not just blue is here so theres no point ... and its has been here for a couple of months now ... the reason you guys are just getting them is coz the lumatek company is actually based in the uk : )

So your sayin theres two version of the newest model of lumatek, a purple and a metallic blue? was the last version just a flat blue? Could you please post a source and pic? is there a difference between colors? why are the purple ones more expensive?

 

[dbcooper]

Anyone notice on the 240 version of the 1k'ers it says to make sure your 240 has a ground and not a neutral? I think my old 30amp dryer plug is two hots and a neutral anyone? Oh and someone already posted the purple ballast is us only, the mettalic blue is the euro model.

 

[george j warner]

yer that was moi : ) .

old usa ones are flat blue ...

old uk ones are flat blue also ... before that they were silver




new usa ones are purple

new uk ones are metallic blue (more like turquose)

pic below of the ballasts top ones new uk , bottom ones is old ,, and usa old

hope that explains it

 

[smurfin'herb]

explains it very well. thanks for clearing that up!

 

[webehi]

I have a purple 120 and 4 new blue 240s. The purple one is considerably heavier and runs too hot to rest your hand on comfortably. It is also a few inches thicker width and height wise and my wife says men should not own anything in that color. the blue ones are very light, small, and run very cool to the touch. I got those back in december from mdhydro for 155 each and hydrofarm cool tubes were only 60! I spent every dollar I had and got four ballasts and tubes dropped at my door for under 1000. The ballasts are still the best price you will find anywhere but I don't think they have the tubes anymore.Now that it's summer I can really feel the heat emanating from the 120 and that is something to consider if you are going to run several ballasts.

 

[The Slickster]

Can the Lumateks fire up a Hortilux Blue or even just a Hortilux non-conversion bulb? Asking for the new silver 250 watt ballasts as they are keeping them that color for now currently. Also for the new purple 400's and up?

 

[smurfin'herb]

webehi, i have heard of people saying that the 240v ballasts run much cooler than 120v, even with the older flat blue ones. I think its because on the 240's they have two 120v wires to split the amperage (4.5 and4.5.) so it makes it run cooler and more efficient! But hey if you can prove me wrong, that only benefit this thread! If the newest models of lumatek run hotter (both 120 and 240) than the last models then that would be a good thing for us to know! thx for the input

 

[Guest]

First of all I jsut want to clarify in this thread that the puple is the latest model for the 600 watt. The tourquise/metallic blue is the new version of the 400 watt:

"Hi ---------,

Please be assured, you have the latest model of Lumatek.
Kind Regards


----- Original Message -----
From:
To:
Sent:
Subject: Re: Lumantek - Web Site Contact Form

It is a metallic blue... more like a torquise color. I heard the new ones are purple... but I am not sure.


-----Original Message-----
From:
To:
Sent:
Subject: Re: Lumantek - Web Site Contact Form

Hi --------,

The simplest way for us to check is to ask What colour is your Lumatek?
Best Regards
Darren
----- Original Message ----- From:
To:
Sent:
Subject: Lumantek - Web Site Contact Form

Lumantek - Web Site Contact Form
**************************************************
Name:
E-mail address:
Telephone:
Message: I have been recently informed that there is a newer model out, I am wondering if I received that model and would like to know how I could tell.


Also, yes, the new version will ignite a hortilux, it will also light just about any other bulb i heard of a few it won't but it will spark up your more popular/modern bulbs.

 

[Guest]

I have a Lumatek 600 w ballast I bought a year ago, it's silver in color. How old/reliable are these ones? I am running a Hortilux bulb with it and have been for almost a year with no issues. Should I be concerned enough about this one to pick up one of the new purple ones?

 

[researchOnly]

i just got a purple 600w running a eye hort 15%blue light.... having some heat issues which i never had with my 400w.. i must say the ballast does become hot, but what ballast doesnt....

anyone know how much temperture a ballast can effect a 4x4 area if the ballast is in the grow space...??

 

[smurfin'herb]

I have a Lumatek 600 w ballast I bought a year ago, it's silver in color. How old/reliable are these ones? I am running a Hortilux bulb with it and have been for almost a year with no issues. Should I be concerned enough about this one to pick up one of the new purple ones?

Yea man, the silvers ones had bad r/f interference and quite a few other unsatisfactory things i think. So if i were you i'd just get a newer one, they are soooo much better! you'll thank me!