Cheapest/Decent 1000 w mag ballast/bulb/reflector combos.

[Chronic Monster]

Hi farmers :)
I going to be doing a grab and go, looking to pick up some 1000w ballast bulb/reflector combos. There are a ton of products out there on the cheap, which a simple Google search will bring up.

but I was hoping to get some first hand reviews on cheap magnetic ballasts/ bulb/ reflectors. I am sure at least a couple peeps before me have got some good products and bad products at the lower end of the cost spectrum. Hopefully someone can steer me towards a decent product on the super low low:)
ill be Doing a SOG with high numbers using horizontal lighting, after this run probably ditch the cheap reflectors and and just use the ballasts for vertical lighting and smaller plant numbers/ larger plants.

I know a good reflector will pay for itself in harvest time,but I would rather spend cash on a extra couple ballasts than nice reflectors. On a real tight budget this round.
thanks everyone + Rep for any good answers.:bong2:

 

[TreFarmer]

Hey CM.. check your PMs.

 

[dankworth]

My whole room was done on the cheap like you are proposing. I bought used super sun 2 reflectors at the used hydro store for like 75.00 apiece. GREAT reflectors if you have the ceiling height. I guess everyone is all spun out on those bigass new reflectors that light up the walls so well.
And I bought digilux lamps from plantlightinghydroponics. Shipped, the 1k lamps ended up being like 62-63.00 apiece. I like these lamps better than hortis at this point. Digilux has banging metal halides too. But I just saw a plantmax lamp ad in some recent trade magazine that makes me want to look into them more, they have some new lamps that may be pretty cool for the price.
I bought those janky CAP ballasts. No ability to wall-mount, and no ears to protect the lamp cord from getting pulled out of the ballast when I trip over a cord because the ballast is on a 1' tall platform to keep it off the floor. And it was really easy to end up bumping the switch from HPS to MH. But I have tight quarters.
The formula to compute how much profanity will be needed is like
[(Fucking bullshit x number of lamp cords) x the 15 minutes needed to wait for the lamp to cool down after you pulled the cord out so you don't hot-start the lamp] + the weight of the item you were carrying at the time.
I am still working on this formula.
And if you need a recommendation on how to pull around 1500 cfms/minute for around $100, I have a ghetto solution that works well.
I wish I had more answers for you right now. I have been in your exact position. Hope this helps right now.
Oh and I bought two 12k btu ACs off of craigslist a little over a year ago. One for 40.00, one for 60.00. Out of season used ac purchases are so cheap.
One of the only reasons I didn't go under years ago is having a girlfriend with excellent credit. Those are really handy. I highly recommend them. None of my other equipment came with a functioning v----a.

 

[Indicas4me]

Ebay is good,I picked up my new 600 watters there a few months ago.Went with a new Digilux to try the digital age and a cheap magnetic one as well.Both are working great,but I did buy the expensive eye hortilux for one of them.The other bulb I bought was the digilux bulb as they recommended it for there digital ballasts.The 600 watts are working well,especially for my stock electric wiring I have.Hoping to see a big improvement in my electric bill as well.

 

[Indicas4me]

Heres my cheap setup with my digilux 600,just some dirt with cheap nutes and a little light.:bong2:

 

[SonOfDaMourning]

go to "htgsupply", they let you customize your kit. for a 1000w digital cooled youll probably pay 350 shipped give or take depending on your combination(you can choose magnetic ballast also). its cool cause you save on the cooltube or hood if you buy it as a custom kit, and you can add yoyo hangers for a discount also.

 

[Indicas4me]

OOPS my bad,I just looked again to be sure and its a Lumatek with a Lumatek bulb sorry.

 

[dankworth]

So your intent is prolly to get your money up as fast as possible. I have an idea that you maybe could use.
A while back, I really needed to generate some extra results. So I doubled up on my clonage, and had two batches. I unplugged all the timers from my flowering room, running it 24 hours a day. I then built a 2-tier ventilated light-tight cabinet.
Crop A would kick it in the dark for 12 hours in the cabinet while Crop B was getting lit up for 12 hours. And every 12 hours like a bitch, I would switch the plants out. So with the same equipment, and a cab I built for like $100, I doubled my output.
I will never do that shit again. I couldn't really go anywhere or do anything for a little over 2 months. But I couldn't figure out any other way to generate the extra results.
This idea may not be viable with tables for SOG, unless the table was on casters and you had a wide doorway. But if you had a big enough flowering room, you could put the light-tight cab in the flowering room and wheel a table in there.
If this doesn't help you, hopefully this helps some broke mf in need. But one would really have to commit to the lifestyle to get through it.
I know of no other way to get that many extra p's with the same equipment.

 

[Chronic Monster]

@tre. thanks bro:)

@dankworth, lmao so having a girlfriend with good credit is a must huh.. :D

@sun, dope site, :
217.99. has anyone used that particular product before or got a better/ similar deal on something they can vouch for :wondering
thanks again sun... what brand ballast did u get, same as the link i posted. :wondering

I just want some cheapo non air cooled reflectors :)

how do u like the like digilux compared to the Mae brand indica :wondering

 

[SonOfDaMourning]

i got the euro hood with the 600w digital and so far so good. that setup goes for around $250. i know they give you a warrentee and you can extend is as well. ive never heard of anything bad, and if something went wrong the C.S will fix it. i order almost everything from them. once i ordered a 3 part nute line and they sent me 2 blooms instead of a grow. well i called them and without a problem they sent me the grow in 2 days and i kept the bloom, all at no charge. cant get any better than that!

btw i got this one with the cooled hood

 

[Indicas4me]

how do u like the like digilux compared to the Mae brand indica

:wondering

I was wrong it was a Lumatek digital I bought.The cheapys I bought are just as good so far.I ran the thousand watters and still do,but there the older top of the line (back then) sun systems .They had major issues with the switches burning up in them,got them hard wired now.I had to tone down as well due to my wiring,the 1000's are alot juice going through them!

With the 600's I can run real close without the washout from to much light I sometimes got with the 1000's I see.For me if it was feasible I would run 2 600's before i would go to a 1000 again,but then ya have to buy 2 units.But I think you could get more coverage if space was no problem,but that is always issue usually.The cheap bulb I ran last season really did not promote healthy looking plants (smaller buds),so I think bulbs are more of a factor than ballast IMO.Really like the EYE bulbs but they're pricey.

I only run vertical now,I dont see a need for reflectors.You can get alot more plants in this way,and with my strain its how I actually have to make out.I keep saying one of these days I will upgrade my strain but I usually have a ton of seeds.And for quick turnaround I run them without all the sexing then cloning,that takes time.Like i said don't overlook Ebay,they got good pricing and free shipping.

 

[Chronic Monster]

......bump :)