What's the best 600W Digital Balast on the market?

[Pinner]

I have the opportunity to go Galaxy or Lumatek. A lot of people seems to be leaning to the Lumatek side as the better ballast. The only downdraw is the variety of bulbs Lumatek can ignite.

Galaxy has a muh wider range of bulbs that can be used with it but apparently back in May of 2006 tested not so good along side Lumatek. Supposedly they have made huge strides in the last 8 months or so.

Real world experience says go with.........................................?

Oh ya 600W MH and either 2 x 600W HPS or 750W or 1000W HPS still deciding on that now.

Pinner

 

[Mr GreenJeans]

Can't say for sure on the Comparo, Pinner. But I do have a 600w Lumatech - blue version - unshielded cable - and it has been great since I got it couple months ago. Very low heat ( I can run it in the cab with no temp problems ) and fast startup time. Noticeably brighter than the mag ballast. Roughly 10-15% less power used. Using it with an Osram Plantastar light - on the OK list from Lumatek and not hard to find or exotic. The local hydro shop feels very comfortable with the warrantee service from Lumatek, that was the final deciding factor for me...

 

[Guest]

Pinner...the Lumatek seems to be top dog right now. I was told there are two bulbs that the ballasts can fire optimally. One of those being the GE Lucalox and the other I forget. Results are awesome so I don't care how many bulbs the Galaxy can ignite. As for digi vs electronic Lumatek talks about their microprocessor control compared to regular digi ballasts but never did the research on that one. As for which size that's partly gonna depend on the application. I like 600's for stationary (no mover) growing. Nice even coverage. I've used 1000's and prefer the 600's now. The 750 watt does look interesting but I'd vote for the 600 or 1000. As for the 'old school' conventional ballasts...you can't go wrong with those.

 

[clowntown]

The 750's sound great on paper but I'm not sure I'd want to get one just yet, even if I had 240v wiring (which I don't), because they're so new and not many bulb companies are making bulbs for them. And that means limited source of bulbs which means you'll likely have to pay a premium for them.

From the limited information I have on the 600's, right now I can't see any reason you'd want to go with anything but the new blue Lumatek's. Even at the 400 level, I can't see why not. 5 year warranty... who else is giving you that? And so far it sounds like they've fixed all the issues with RF EMI. (See my signature for more info.)

Why get something from HID Hut (1 year warranty, no-name), when you can get the Lumatek for just a little more? (Not saying that you're getting something from HID Hut, but just a point I'm making about cheap ballasts for anyone reading...)

I just want to add that this guy, at HIDHUT, does stand behind his ballasts. Even though they only have a 1 year warranty, he will stand behind that and not try to weasel out of it.

I would also like to add, that comparing the Lumatek, Lumenace ballasts to his 600 is night and day. His 600's have the same feel as my lumenace 400's. They are much smaller and lighter than a 600W Lumenace or Lumatek.

 

[Rick_James]

i know this is a stupid question,b but what is the difference between the 120v and the 240v

 

[clowntown]

One uses 120 volts, and the other uses 240 volts.

 

[Guest]

When you run stuff, that's capable of operating, on 240 the current draw is halved. Heavy duty appliances like clothes dryers, water heaters and stoves suck alot of juice. While current draw is halved electrical useage is not but your bill does reflect some benefit. Running grow room lights on 240 allows you to double up. A clothes dryer circuit can power alot of lights.

 

[donniedarko]

I got PM from a guy on the AN forum about the Bloommright ballast's.


I dont know if that other poster was spamming because he spammed a dead link. haha.

Regardless, a weak website does little to inspire confidence in product.

I read you have to wire in something with the Lumatek's, and has anyone taken advantage of the dimming feature?

thanks

 

[SpacedCWBY]

I found a new one on ebay. 400w switchable digi for $130 with a 5 year warranty and free shipping. 600w are $175. I just searched 600w hps digital and a whole shitload popped up. I thought HID HUT had good prices. These guys must be at war.

Happy Whatever folks.

Spaced...

 

[clowntown]

I got PM from a guy on the AN forum about the Bloommright ballast's.


I dont know if that other poster was spamming because he spammed a dead link. haha.

Regardless, a weak website does little to inspire confidence in product.

His name wasn't "BudZad7", was it? Same guy was doing that here, LOL!

I read you have to wire in something with the Lumatek's, and has anyone taken advantage of the dimming feature?

Yeah, you have to wire the bulb, and optionally reflector.

What dimming feature?

 

[SpacedCWBY]

I've seen a couple that claim to have variable power output. They have a small dial that let's you adjust the light. Mostly see them advertised as aquarium lights.

 

[clowntown]

I've seen a couple that claim to have variable power output. They have a small dial that let's you adjust the light. Mostly see them advertised as aquarium lights.

Either I'm missing something entirely, or they're not Lumatek's.

Do you have a link?

I was also unaware that HID bulbs were dimmable to begin with, but it looks like it's been out for a little while now:

http://www.aboutlightingcontrols.org/education/papers/hiddimming.shtml
http://ecmweb.com/mag/electric_hid_lamp_dimming/
http://lightingresearch.org/programs/NLPIP/faqs/display.asp?id=34
http://lightingresearch.org/programs/NLPIP/faqs/display.asp?id=194

 

[Rick_James]

When you run stuff, that's capable of operating, on 240 the current draw is halved. Heavy duty appliances like clothes dryers, water heaters and stoves suck alot of juice. While current draw is halved electrical useage is not but your bill does reflect some benefit. Running grow room lights on 240 allows you to double up. A clothes dryer circuit can power alot of lights.

so in the usa i can user either 120 or 240?

and the 240 has some benefits over 120?

 

[clowntown]

Less amps; more lights on the same circuit.

 

[KillerDemo]

I found a new one on ebay. 400w switchable digi for $130 with a 5 year warranty and free shipping. 600w are $175. I just searched 600w hps digital and a whole shitload popped up. I thought HID HUT had good prices. These guys must be at war.

Happy Whatever folks.

Spaced...

can u find any more 600 watt HPS's for cheap?

 

[clowntown]

Please check out the RF EMI report (link in my signature) first before considering a particular brand / model of electronic ballasts.

I got my Lumatek 600w from MD Hydro for $180.

 

[Guest]

so in the usa i can user either 120 or 240?

and the 240 has some benefits over 120?

Yes...you can run either unit in the USA. The 240's are only slightly more efficient in regards to billable energy consumed. It comes down to how many lights you're planning on running. A 600 on 120 draws about 5 amps. You can easily run 1 light and all auxiliary equipment like fans, pumps, etc. on a normal house circuit (15 amps I believe). You'd still have to check there's nothing else in the house on that circuit. Accessing a 120 circuit is far easier than a 240 outlet in the house but nothing a little wiring couldn't cure.

One of the knocks against a digital like Lumatek is they crap out when there's a brownout but I've never had a problem with my 600's on 240 so don't know if that provides extra protection against this problem. I cringed the first few brownouts but no problems whatsoever.

 

[Rick_James]

ok i think i gotcha, so the 240v circuits in houses are usually the ones for washer/dryer, refridgerator? They have a different type of recepticle?

 

[Guest]

You can not buy a 240 ballast and plug it directly into a typical 240 house outlet. These are specialized plugs typically for a dryer or stove and not a washer or refridgerator as those are 120. They do make outlet conversion units that you can plug into something like a dryer outlet which you then can plug the ballast(s) into. To me 240 really only makes sense when running multiple lights otherwise there's no need. I know at least one digi manufacturer allows you to switch the unit between 120/240 operation but most digi's, and even coil driven units, are dedicated either way one or the other. Coil ballasts can easily be rewired but this is not the case with digi's.

If you've got general 120/240 questions start a different thread so we can keep this one track.

 

[jojajico]

so digital ballast can crap out if there is a brownout? is there any way to protect against this?