will MH ran on HPS setting reduce lumens?

[Snow Crash]

imho warranties are excellent for peace of mind.....
until you have to use it.
because when your eballast goes down 5wks in bloom and it 2+ weeks to get the new one under warranty,
albeit for free, your still screwed.
so would you rather have a few back up spare parts for your lamp/ballast?
or a warranty and no lite for weeks while $3000 of buds is rotting in the dark?

For what it is worth. The site I linked will send you a replacement ballast, with a return label free of charge to send back the broken one, as long as the item is covered under warranty. Shipping time can be a bitch, can't do much about that, but they can work out a shipment from any of their warehouses or retails stores across the country to avoid anything more than a day or two.

Not all online retailers take care of their customers like this though, so it isn't universal. Weeks of waiting won't happen, but sometimes shit happens.

I totally get your side of things (especially with the CDMs). I guess the comparison there is that a high frequency e-ballast is compatible with the new double ended lamps that produce a solid 15%+ more photons than traditional single ended lamps. With just 5% lumen depreciation per year of use these lamps offer more ppf over more time than anything else available right now (at least at a reasonable price). All they need is a double ended fixture and bulb and you have a scalable system that can grow with the garden.

 

[Granger2]

Consider the lumen difference between HPS and MH. Por ejemplo, 1000w SunMaster HPS initial lumens 150,000.
1000w SunMaster MH initial lumens 80,000. Other brands are on par with that.

I don't see the advantage of MH except for the possible tighter node spacing, but at what cost? Good luck. -granger

 

[stoned-trout]

I have had some mag ballasts last 15 years before letting them go,,,good luck having a digital one last that long... ya I replaced some stuff but still..whatever works for you,,, while my new car was under warranty. I did my own work cause the hassle was greater dealing with dealership than just doing it myself...discount hydro took care of me when I had issues ,,,fast shipping too,, I got 2 bad ballasts ,, one went then a month later another one...easy peasy same deal as snow crash detailed...I think you got like 30 days until defective unit has to be back or you get charged..i sold my e ballasts to a friend when I set him up...will get more in spring most likely and keep mags for backups

 

[the gnome]

For what it is worth. The site I linked will send you a replacement ballast, with a return label free of charge to send back the broken one, as long as the item is covered under warranty. Shipping time can be a bitch, can't do much about that, but they can work out a shipment from any of their warehouses or retails stores across the country to avoid anything more than a day or two.

now that's a jam up outfit SC,
I wish more companies would get the it that kind of cust. service gets a following and follow suit.
and given time I think many will.

but personally for me I try to be self sufficient
i hate any kind of down time past an afternoon or a quick trip to the hardware store
so it's back up parts for me

 

[Former Guest]

the site I mentioned I've ordered from twice and if you order something that is not coming from hydrofarm, then it takes about a week or less using their standard shipping. hydrofarm takes an extra week

My first order I didnt' realize that and one product was a hydrofarm product so I called them and wanted to know why they were holding all my stuff waiting and they shipped it that day and it arrived two days later. the other shipment came the following day. the second time around I just odered nonhydrofarm and it was 5 days from time of order.

is there a thread for reputable online companies? or ones that people can warn others about?

 

[MJPassion]

Caps are much easier to replace than trying to figure out what new ballast to try next... my opinion of course.

As for the original question...
I understang that HPS bulbs are driven at a higher frequency than MH. By using a MH lamp in a HPS ballast the lamp is over driven and shortens the life significantly. I can't say about lumen effency in that sort of set up but I would presume that an over driven lamp would produce more lumens, not less.

 

[rives]

Caps are much easier to replace than trying to figure out what new ballast to try next... my opinion of course.

As for the original question...
I understang that HPS bulbs are driven at a higher frequency than MH. By using a MH lamp in a HPS ballast the lamp is over driven and shortens the life significantly. I can't say about lumen effency in that sort of set up but I would presume that an over driven lamp would produce more lumens, not less.

Magnetic ballasts all run at line frequency (60 hz).