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

[globel]

I would not buy a ballast online or from a place i do not plan on going back to. Ballast go bad alot.... don't let the shop owners fool you. I suggest finding a retailer that has a good return policy. My local shop has replaced countless number of bulbs and ballasts for me on the spot no questions. He just packs it up and sents it back to the manufacturer. LUCKLY FOR EVERY ONE. My local hydro store is apart of a VERY LARGE FAMILY OWNED chain thers a GRIP of stores and they all have VERY VERY good policys on returens and stuff. Here is a place to see if they have a store neer you.

http://www.familyhydroponics.com/store_locator.php

Also Ballast... lumiteks are ok but i have had a few blue ones go bad, without evean poping the fuse... Galaxies are ok but stay away from a 400 watt becuase i have never had a galaxi 400 last more then 3 months, i have had a few. Sunsystem coil balast SUCK BALLS every one i have purchesed 4 tottal have cought fire, all at diffrent times and some @ diffrent locations. But there is LIGHT at the end of the tunnel. There are these new ballast very hard to find. there digital 120/240 ballast. called Global Greenhouse Humbolt Holesale i think is the distributor. I think all the family hydroponics stores carry these ballast. I have never had a problume with any of these ballast. i am comming up on a year with my first set of 6 on the 12 of april =) time for new bulbs. Very soft start nevery had to reeplace a bulb in 12 months of opperation. QUALITY i have ran them on both 120 and 240 with no issues =) best ballast i have ever used, also no emi I use my cell phone in my grows all the time and we got fm radio going in there most of the time to. it sits on the tops of the cold ballast. frezzeing cold.

i think i found a family hudroponics ebay page and they sell the ballast from there. I wouls still go to the local store to get a ballast.

http://cgi.ebay.com/GLOBAL-GREENHOU...AST-1-600_W0QQitemZ160100763861QQcmdZViewItem

 

[Guest]

my Lumateks...both the new version and older one 600 watters are having mad issues starting up both the Sunmaster MH and HPS.....my Hortilux is starting up with no problem...how do people do with this other then checking on it everytime the lights come on to see if they lit up?

I've been told all Lumateks work well with GE Lucolux or Sylvania HPS bulbs as Lumateks were initially 'tuned' to European Arc2(?) specifications. Supposedly the newer ballasts have been 'tuned' to work with a wider range of bulbs. I have heard many people use Hortilux with great success in Lumateks. I use the GE's and am very, very happy with the performance but next time I'm going with the Sylvania's as I can get them for $50. The place I bought the ballasts from definitely steered me right regarding the GE's and will follow their recommendation to use the less expensive Sylvania's.

 

[Guest]

Oh yeah...I've been running 6 240 volt Lumateks on 12/12 for about 9 months now and not one problem, no RF interference...nothing but great performance and I've seen them online for as low as $180. Combine that with Hydrofarms new Daystar AC hood with hinged glass and you've got the best combo IMO. The new hoods are sweet. They run the cord through the top (not routed through the duct adapter) and with the hinge it's perfectly sealed, no air leaks and great for CO2 with easy cleaning. I got my hood with cord, socket and glass for $125.

 

[researchOnly]

BGHYDRO = Masters at fucking up an order.

co-fuckin-signed..!!

nice website, shitty service, what u see is not what u get!

 

[alih92]

What do you guys think about HTG on ebay (the store's) 600w and 1000w ballast kits are they hard to setup?

 

[ItsGrowTime]

Seen lots of good reviews on HTG but my one and only order was screwed up. They sent me something different than what I ordered but in worse condition than new. Now I realize it wasnt even that good of a price (was first grow) in the first place.

 

[slackerbri]

What do you guys think about HTG on ebay (the store's) 600w and 1000w ballast kits are they hard to setup?

I've seen the 600w setup, it was pretty easy. Simple, cheap and pretty quiet.

 

[slackerbri]

You guys should check out www.igrowhydro.com

Very cool people out of MJ friendly Santa Barbara. They have a few stores in SoCal as well.

I've been to their Long Beach store and its top notch. They had everything I needed and dropped some education on me saving me money. Just based on their knowledge aside from their reasonable prices I will send most of my business there.

 

[OsWiZzLe]

Get the Lumatek Purple Ballast...not the Silver or Blue..but Purple...its the best of em all

 

[Guest]

Get the Lumatek Purple Ballast...not the Silver or Blue..but Purple...its the best of em all

Why is it the best???

 

[OsWiZzLe]

its the newest generation that has all the kinks worked out

 

[clowntown]

Get the Lumatek Purple Ballast...not the Silver or Blue..but Purple...its the best of em all

Yeah! I poooorpooool is da best!

 

[Guest]

I have a 400W Future Brite. Not had a minutes trouble with it. Zero noise, runs cool, restarts just as advertised. They make a 600 and 1000 too.


Check this link out if ya want to see it
http://www.bestgrowlights.com/site/403863/page/786225

 

[masterlow37]

Lumitek Digital Ballast

Lumitek Digital Ballast

its the newest generation that has all the kinks worked out

I thought that was the case with the "BLUE" ?

 

[OsWiZzLe]

Blue is the 2nd generation...Purpz is the 3rd

 

[clowntown]

Shit. I didn't know you were serious about the purple. I thought that was a joke. HAHAHA. Now that I realize you were serious, ..... LOL.

What exactly were the changes between the blue and purple? The "purple"s description on BGHydro seems to indicate that it's now much lighter, at 8 lbs. My blue one must be a good 20 lbs.

 

[OsWiZzLe]

I bought both of mine 600's from BGHydro...the dude who worked there told me that the Purple units were the newest ballast from the factory. He said the Purple one was the 3rd generation and that the blue was the 2nd generation. I didnt ask him what the difference is though..shouldnt have sparked that Bleezy in the parking lot lol

 

[clowntown]

Thanks for mentioning the purple thing... didn't even know about it until today. Does it really feel like 8 lbs? What about the size? Does it still have the proprietary Hydrofarm plug? Can you take some pictures of it?

BTW, I think the purple would make the 4th generation... with the dull silver being 1st, polished / shiny silver being 2nd, and blue 3rd. But whatever.

Too bad the new Lumatek 1k's are 240v only. Just like the 750w's. Or are they planning on releasing a 120v in the near future?

 

[masterlow37]

The Newest Lumateks

The Newest Lumateks

New and Improved for 2007!

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

Hope that helped & heres a picture of the new purp: http://www.planetnatural.com/site/image.html?sku=lumatex-ballasts

 

[clowntown]

Ah! Better bulb compatibility! That makes sense, considering they still had issues with certain bulbs in the blue version.

Improved RF shielding? Didn't they claim it was 100% OK? What were the improvements that were made, and what were the shortcomings of the blue version?

I really like the adapter thing!

Wow, thanks a bunch masterlow37!