Best Brand of Digital Ballast?

[nelson1100]

My friend who builds LOTS of grow rooms uses those orange quantum ballast's and he NEVER gets a call back:heart
peace,
Nelson.

 

[ookiimata]

Thanks, Quitters! That's exactly the kind of first hand proof I was looking for.

I think you meant "respectively." I have degrees in writing and English, sorry. Can't help myself.

 

[Cloud 99]

Theres an article in the new hightimes i think(new) and another mag i cant remember the name of that has an article that says Sunpulse lamps are the only bulbs that are truly compatible with digi/electro ballast.The hightimes article even states that hortilux themselves tested and found their own bulbs among others to be incompatible with the high frequency of digi/electro ballast.They admit that in this test the Sunpulse was the only bulb to be compatible.this is why bulbs have such a short lifespan when compared to mag ballast.Also they state that HPS is altogether not compatible with these new ballast especially.Theres an article also in the October 2008 issue of Maximum Yields mag.I havnt read it(max yields article) myself but the HT article references it.

 

[barneyfife]

well the tread was about the best digi bal was it not?
i for 1 have zero probs with the nexgens ballats. but have been runnin super hotis in them.
but after the run i have going now my bulbs will be 6mo old and thats when i swicth them out.
and as far as bulbs go ima try a run with the digilux bulbs. there built to run with the digi ballast. and have a much higher lumen output. im stoned rigth now having hard time writing and reading.
but i think they are supposed to put out 176,000 more lumens than the horti. and there alittle cheaper.






'

 

[OldSchool]

Hey, quitter
What method did ur friend use to make that determination and persons qualifcation ? This is not asked of U as an insult anything of that kind, just looking for answers, dog.

 

[crom]

Good stuff Farmers. This thread was a good idea. I think its pretty awesome if the translation of power/watts at different settings is close to the actual watt setting on the dimmer like Quitters suggested. I do have interest in OldSchools' questions for reference purposes.

 

[OldSchool]

Last letter from Owner of Lumatek

I found this from another forum,date unknown. I did find the new generation e-ballast from lumatek, does come with a "Micro Processor CPU-ed" ya Haa, that cool, because that would mean I have it.



"My name is Jason and I am the founder of Lumatek Electronic ballasts. We try to stay away from these forums but I think this is important. Some customers are currently experiencing problems when using some 600 watt lamps. I do want to point out that the Hortilux Solarmax Grolux issue applies to ALL brand of electronic ballasts.

The lumatek ballast is a true Eballast. It has a micro processor cpu. This cpu allows the ballast to make adjustments according to the lamp that is being used. A eballast can compensate for degrading bulbs and slight power fluctuations. It can also sense the exact specifications of the lamps it is using. the Lumatek ballast is up to 27% brighter than a core and coil ballast. We do have one problem with this technology the cpu can not detect the lamp until AFTER the initial ignition. Once the bulb is lit the ballast can then take over and drive the bulb to its exact specifications. Industry specifications for a 600 watt hps lamp call for a 4000volt ignition pulse. This is what Lumatek and all other digital ballast use for a starting voltage. Hortilux ignition used to be 2000-3000 volts even though this is less then the ignition pulse of the Lumatek we did not experience any problems with the Hortilux I have lots of customers with Hortilux lamps that are over a year old However about 6 months ago we started to notice an increase in Hortilux failures. We also noticed that the font of the text printed at the base of the bulb had changed. When we tested this lamp we found that the ignition range was lowered to 1500 volts. These new Hortilux lamps are different then the ones we originally designed the ballast with and have a higher frailer rate. The problems that customers are having are NOT a ballast problem they are a bulb problem the Hortilux 600 watt is not designed to industry specifications regarding ignition pulse. Furthermore it is also manufactured with a special gas in the arc tube that no other lamp maker in the world uses. The Hortilux lamp design is unique. We are currently adapting our ballast for this bulb it may require a switch to lower the ignition pulse for Hortilux.
Solarmax and Growlux lamps are the opposite problem these lamps require a 5000-6000 volt ignition pulse Again the standard ignition for a 600 is 4000 volts. The Lumtek ballast can light these bulbs with the 4K pulse for a while however over time the lamps degrade and they require more and more voltage to start after a few months the bulbs will not ignite in any digital ballast. "

No mention of pwr saving with the dimming feature. I'll keep searching, as time allows me too.

Peace

 

[Valid215]

I have not actually hooked any meters, but when I had the Quantums running at a lower setting over the summer months, I did notice the power bill to be cheaper. But there are too many variables to narrow it to just the ballasts. So no hard evidence there.

 

[freddagreat]

quantum 1000. can't go wrong.

 

[Nobodynobody]

I read a few post. Lot of good info about digibals and how they work a bit. Well on with what i think about brands.

Own NextGen 1000w and I see them way nice when i saw 65F of cord length to move it away. They seem to say it toss 30% more light. Good with Gen as one guy said earlier changed the power to make max usage. Does not make NOISE in the electric lines as easy.

2ed option about Nexgen from another personal person i know. He took back 6. Then i bump into him with another 3 1000w. I then started to ask the owner of the shop about this.

all i got is Nexgen coming back left and right on him now. Lumtec dont come back often but is dim able and makes noise in the line. Sure you get the extra 10-20% more light.

phatoms from HF seem to save 20% on power. No super lums. But silent, reliable, NEVER COME BACK and dim able to save power.

My next pick is phatoms because i dont want to be taking things back plus i rather save $ in the long run. Lumtec be my 2ed for the super lums

 

[BudGood]

I'm going to chime in here regarding Quantums. They DO use a corresponding amount of electricity to the dimmed setting, it's been verified with my own Fluke clamp meter, and I think I'm qualified to use it, lol.

From what I remember, Lumateks still use the full 1000 even if they're dimmed. Plus you can run Quantums on standard flip flops without the need for PLC's.

Quantums are all around good, everybody I've recommended them to has nothing but praise for them.

 

[OldSchool]

Thats Great GoodBud, glad to hear it,
would U mine sharing the readings at different settings with us. Flukes makes great meters. So, question since ur a qulified man to use a "fluke" instrument. E-ballast are not truely 100% digital only the processors & CPU, correct.? A e-ballast basically works the same way as Mag, but being at a higher hrtz allows the transformers and components to be smaller, eballast puts out analog signal until the processor comes into play where its constantly monitoring the bulb. So what U are saying is Quantum Ballast is a true digital ballast including the ballast ? Ur talking around 15,000/20,000volts as digital
signals ? Please let me know ur thought's, about these questions

Peace

 

[crom]

Hell yeah great info Farmers! Keep the info coming! Quantum sounds pretty good. I haven't looked into those yet. How's the warrenty on those?

 

[ookiimata]

Sweet. Quantums are a great price as well. They also list in the product description that their dimming feature reduces electric footprint and power bills. That sounds much more comforting than some of the other brand's description of their dimming functions. In combo with Budgod's and Quiter's independent tests, I'm really liking the sound of Quantum.

Crom: Quantum's site says three year warranty.

 

[OldSchool]

Quantum Add

I found this on "Quantum home site, under thier 1000w dim, 6th par,line 4.

"You can increase the power to your ballast as your garden grows and demands more light, and save yourself a substantial amount of money on your power bill over the length of your crop cycle."

Wow,!
Peace

 

[Buddy Hemphill]

fuck lumatek

I have a 3 month old 400w and when I took it back to the store the clerk told me lumatek had to SEE the ballast before they would replace it...

WTF?!

I told her I didnt buy it from lumatek...I bought it from her...:mad0229:...she said that she had been sending so many back she didn't want to get stuck if they didn't warranty it....so again, I say...

WTF?!?!?!?...

Has anybody else heard any shit like this?

 

[crom]

Wow Buddy that's pretty lame. Maybe a pissed off email to Lumatek can fix the issue? Most companies want to please the customer. Maybe they will pay for shipping and all if you email them or call?

 

[ibTheMan]

I have had great luck with LumaTek and b n that with a 1000w you get 1000w,superlumens,and a 750w and 600w ballast all in one.
Plus you get 1000w for $300 shipped all day on ebay.

 

[Buddy Hemphill]

Wow Buddy that's pretty lame. Maybe a pissed off email to Lumatek can fix the issue? Most companies want to please the customer. Maybe they will pay for shipping and all if you email them or call?

yessir....waiting on them to open...

if this is their policy, they need to provide retailers with a few sets of loaners....or just trust their retaliers and avoid this shit....

of fuck off and not get my business.

Lotsa people tryin real hard to get my money....lol...If I get burned on a part...oh well....if I get burned on the RETURN of it...well thats a whole different ball game..

 

[DonJuanMatus]

so glad i didnt go with a lumatek, i was real close to getting one....my vote goes to galaxy digital ballasts they've been running non stop for over 2 years never a problem...id never buy any other ballast but a galaxy again