Anyone else having problems with Lumatek ballast?

[nightmarecreature]

If worse comes to worse, I'll just buy another one and swap out the broken ballast and I will have a back up.

 

[fishwhistle]

I used to run quantums and never an issue then i bought solis teks and they were even quieter and cooler than quantums,i already have 8 gavitas waiting to be installed when i finish my remodel,ill have to let you know how that works out,lol.
I would highly recommend the solis teks,they will be going in my kids spot to replace the quantums which will go on craiglist or ebay.
My cousin has had so many lumatek issues i lost count,its rediculous,now hes running solis teks with 0 issues in the last year.

 

[SodaLicious]

My local hydro store wants $253 for it. I bought it online for $170 shipped. Thats a huge difference in price.

I prefer the online buying myself for the same reason. At my local store a 1000w lumatek is 650$ without a bulb !?!?!?!?!??!

 

[baba G]

I prefer the online buying myself for the same reason. At my local store a 1000w lumatek is 650$ without a bulb !?!?!?!?!??!

Are you sure on that price? That's way over the msrp...
Your not thinking of the Hortilux ballast are you?

 

[SodaLicious]

Are you sure on that price? That's way over the msrp...
Your not thinking of the Hortilux ballast are you?

Yes I am quite sure!! Here is a picture of the box with the price they wrote on it. Bunch of rip offs, this was a replacement ballast because the other one stopped working, I got it slightly used with the original reciept so I just took it to the store, and this is the one they gave me with the price written on it.... I almost crapped when I saw it.


I have no choice, I either order online, or deal with the local guys..... Online for me now, I had too many issues with poor customer service.


Oh we get a socket set too with that price!!! Not me though, just the replacement ballast

 

[baba G]

That's insane!! A complete 1kw setup at that price is still way high but just a ballast...wow. Open a hydro shop in your town :D

 

[SodaLicious]

I know I should..... Need cash flow for that!! Just an average Joe here.

 

[fishwhistle]

I just saw solis teks at my local joint for 250.00 and that was the price on the box before asking for a discount!
http://www.ehydroponics.com/ehydro-light-package-adjust-1000w.html?&cid=558

 

[altitudefarmer]

I am planning to give induction lighting a run. Start-up cost is ridiculous, until you see the 10-year warrantee... the savings are absurd. I would LOVE to stop shelling out money to hortilux every couple weeks.

Nicolai Tesla for the win, I'm hoping!

 

[iscrog4food]

I have 4 purple Lumateks from my days living in a non med state and they are still working fine and have more than paid for them selves. That said the best 2 brands of ballasts on the market are Phantom (If your hoods are hydrofarm) and Solis Tek (If you have a sunsystems style hood). Both of these brands will run different wattage bulbs (400, 600, 1000), and will run either MH or HPS without any adjustments. Both will run on 120 or 240 with no adjustments, and they are both rock solid platforms which run quiet, and fire every time. The Solis tek even work with a flip box without having to do the 5 min timer delay between flips that you have to do with most digis.

 

[Kron Don]

I have 4 purple Lumateks from my days living in a non med state and they are still working fine and have more than paid for them selves. That said the best 2 brands of ballasts on the market are Phantom (If your hoods are hydrofarm) and Solis Tek (If you have a sunsystems style hood). Both of these brands will run different wattage bulbs (400, 600, 1000), and will run either MH or HPS without any adjustments. Both will run on 120 or 240 with no adjustments, and they are both rock solid platforms which run quiet, and fire every time. The Solis tek even work with a flip box without having to do the 5 min timer delay between flips that you have to do with most digis.

Doesn't matter what reflector you have, just pay 12 bucks for the adapter and just rock the Phantom :)

 

[iscrog4food]

To be honest I think the solis teks are better than the phantoms. They will work with flip boxes and have the "Solis boost" function which runs the 1000's a bit stronger than a standard ballast. Also I find that the reset buttons on Phantoms don't really work but the ones on solis teks do (If your lamp doesn't fire the first time). In any case both are fine ballasts.

 

[Kron Don]

The "solis boost" is just a big of joke as the super lumens or anything else they call it. Just burns your bulb faster, not like its going to push out 1100 watts. I have always thought since they started coming out with the super lumens feature that it was a joke, Dimming them down is a nice advantage but as far as saying your going to get more light out of your bulb/ballast by turning it to super lumens; well I don't buy it. I'm not hating on the Solis Teks, don't hear much about them honestly, but they are just like Lumatek or Galaxy with the "boost" feature and that I do think is a joke.

 

[budboy299]

Actually Don you are right and wrong. The bulbs are different than filament wire bulbs in that you can push additional power to them. They are built with a safety factor in them so they will handle it for the most part. Is it good for the bulb...nope. Will it kill the bulb faster...hell yeah. (But then most farmers throw out there bulbs long before the rated time anyway) You definitely can overdrive a HID bulb that is a ceramic tube bulb (HPS and MH both are), But I doubt it is really worth it in any way. The other factor, is overdriving a lamp is hard on the bulb and I personally would never want to do anything that could cause one to burst. I had one burst once, and tiny fragments of glass melted into my pond liner....imagine if it had been over carpet or something far more flammable!

 

[iscrog4food]

I never use the solis boost feature personally but it is there. I was just trying to point out the differences in the ballasts. The biggest advantage is that the Solis Teks will work with a flip box because phantoms you have to have a 5 min dead period between flips. That is not a problem really though you do loose 5 min/day of flowering time (5 hours over a whole cycle). What sucks about the dead time is when the power goes out or you have to adjust the timing of other stuff it can throw you off. All said and done if you are not running a flip the two brands are comparable (And even if you are I would say go with the light fixture to avoid the cost and additional fail point of using an adapter.).

 

[Theoneandonly Z]

Lumateks are on back order! word is they are waiting for components at the moment. NO DATE GIVEN on when they will be back. I was a big fan of lumiez too.... looks like i will be investing in other ballasts... we will see what sunlight has to bring to the plate soon. new catalog available this month!
Z

 

[Kron Don]

Just saw the lineup of new reflectors sunlight is going to be dropping. We gonna have the:
-Epic Relfector (98% reflective Silver German Aluminum) Bigger than the "Ocho" (Magnum XXXL 8")
-Irradiator (Imitation Radiant Reflector?)(26" X 26 X 10 (8))
-Dominator (38.5" long X 29.5" wide X 9.3" (8") tall
-Sun Star (Non German aluminum reflective material)
And they are Introducing the HORTILUX BLUE 600w :) The ONLY Hortilux BULB I will use or recommend! =P
They remodeled their Galaxies to look like car amps as well.

 

[Theoneandonly Z]

Ya i was checking thier new gear last night. I might have to get the xxxl magnum special edition! Just cuz it would look super dope in my reflectix room haha

 

[Kron Don]

Im not big on the larger reflectors but it looks dope as hell hahah

 

[iscrog4food]

Fuck that reflectors are for newbs. Go vert or go home :)