Digital Bulbs VS Non Digital Bulbs

unoeye · Jun 23, 2010

Had 4 of the Sun Pulse 750w 3k spectrum bulbs that work in the 600w ballast. I will tell you I will be changing them straight away as they were a waste of money. Same Trichome coverage with half of the density compared to my GE lucalox 600w hps. Same strain, same system, same nutes and the results were light wispy buds on the Sun Pulse side.

I think I will be switching to Ushio bulbs or the Phillips Son-T 600w(has anyone tried the Phillips?)I love there CMH bulbs but have not used anything else from them yet.

My 2 cents is stay away from sunpulse even if they tell you every other bulb will blow up in a digital ballast. I did my test and it was so bad I wouldn't consider a second chance with them. Stick with a HPS and CMH for mixed spectrum IMHO its fucking awesome.

Big Buddy · Jun 23, 2010

unoeye said:
Had 4 of the Sun Pulse 750w 3k spectrum bulbs that work in the 600w ballast. I will tell you I will be changing them straight away as they were a waste of money. Same Trichome coverage with half of the density compared to my GE lucalox 600w hps. Same strain, same system, same nutes and the results were light wispy buds on the Sun Pulse side.

I think I will be switching to Ushio bulbs or the Phillips Son-T 600w(has anyone tried the Phillips?)I love there CMH bulbs but have not used anything else from them yet.

My 2 cents is stay away from sunpulse even if they tell you every other bulb will blow up in a digital ballast. I did my test and it was so bad I wouldn't consider a second chance with them. Stick with a HPS and CMH for mixed spectrum IMHO its fucking awesome.

Id test em again, 600w, same uv spec you have did this

unoeye · Jun 23, 2010

I don't really understand what your saying bro. I ran them in the same everything it was frosty uniformly and the only real difference was density. I had a mixed spectrum with 800w of CMH so I think I had plenty of the uv spectrum.

Big Buddy · Jun 27, 2010

Well i guess Im trying to show something in a pic you would have to touch the buds to find out about. These are rock solid, I'd say I'm gonna pull between 1 1/2 - 2 lbs off og a 600 with Chemdog #4, which is a solid yield, and the density is as good as any other lights on the other side of the room. What I'm saying is dont toss something after one try, as it could be something else that cause it. These bulbs grow rock solid great buds, thats all, I'm trying to have you try somethign thats gonna grow nice herb, thats all. And sunpulse comes in the 3 k, 6.4 k, and so on, i was referring to the fact that you said yours were the 3 k, as are mine.

dusty · Jun 27, 2010

I think its that Cool metal halide that ruined your plants bro. That shit isn't for growing herb. 1000W HPS for flowering 1000W MH for veg...easy peasy

JayBee · Jun 27, 2010

Big buddy, you are getting 1.5 - 2 pounds off a 600 watt sunpulse? If true that is really amazing...

Dusty, i think he was refering to a ceramic metal halide.

I agree with general consensus, 600w sunpulse vs 600w hps, hps give bigger yeilds. Sunpulse sounds cooll if you have 4 of them, mix spectrum, on a light mover/spinner. Otherwise for flower i think hps still is better.

Lumatek is selling their own bulbs now. Seems to me they are similar to Ushio. Neither are made for digital ballast the way the sunpulse are but instead are reinforced so they wont fail like some other conventional bulbs when run in an e-ballast (or digi ballast). I could be wrong, but i believe the sunpulse run at 20,000hz same as the digi ballasts, where as all other bulbs run on something like 50 or 60hz.

I just dont think the mh sunpulse 600 watt puts our as much meaningful light as the 600w hps.

JayBee

Big Buddy · Jun 27, 2010

JayBee said:
Big buddy, you are getting 1.5 - 2 pounds off a 600 watt sunpulse? If true that is really amazing...

Dusty, i think he was refering to a ceramic metal halide.

I agree with general consensus, 600w sunpulse vs 600w hps, hps give bigger yeilds. Sunpulse sounds cooll if you have 4 of them, mix spectrum, on a light mover/spinner. Otherwise for flower i think hps still is better.

Lumatek is selling their own bulbs now. Seems to me they are similar to Ushio. Neither are made for digital ballast the way the sunpulse are but instead are reinforced so they wont fail like some other conventional bulbs when run in an e-ballast (or digi ballast). I could be wrong, but i believe the sunpulse run at 20,000hz same as the digi ballasts, where as all other bulbs run on something like 50 or 60hz.

I just dont think the mh sunpulse 600 watt puts our as much meaningful light as the 600w hps.

JayBee

I tell no lies my man, Chemdog #4 is a good yielder when dialed too, thats what i referring to in terms of strain under there for this run. But ya, theres 5 plants under the light, and the yield isnt as high as the 1000s obviously, but its good. I was skeptical about em too, but I have to say, they are good bulbs, I've been testing them for the local grow shop since the first one was released to the public, actually about a week before, so I've been playin with these for a while now.

cemchris · Jun 27, 2010

HPS are not better. Your yield doesnt drop. I have used all the spectrums minus the the 10k and above. Ever since I bought my first one I have been happy. I'm on bulb # 6 now. Trust me if these bulbs sucked at $110-$150 a piece I would be the first to let everybody know. The simple fact is there is not a whole lot of people using these bulbs. Joe Blow might say his yield drops, uses them once and then is done. I mean the quality compared to HPS is bar none a cut above. Yield you say? Still pulling 1-3 lbs per 2 600's per table. Thats what I was pulling with HPS. You cant knock mixed spectrum weather it be sunpluses or not.

JayBee · Jun 28, 2010

Like i said before chris, if you are able to run a few of these at a time, or even a couple at a time, the mixed spectrum sounds great. But for a one bulb tent grow this Joe Blow will stick with the HPS. :)

JB

GBOOST · Jun 29, 2010

Well I have 10 of the 3k bulbs for now, I will get some 10k ones close to finishing, but I would like to get 5 ushio's or the new lumateks and run them side by side for a comparison in yield and quality. Time will tell:)

Ozzie

sedate · Jun 29, 2010

dusty said:
I think its that Cool metal halide that ruined your plants bro. That shit isn't for growing herb. 1000W HPS for flowering 1000W MH for veg...easy peasy

Totally disagree.

MH bulbs don't bulk like HPS's, but the herb grown under them (least the 5k variety) is absolutely first rate.

I generally find a 2:1 ratio of HPS to MH bulbs provides the *best* results.

sky high · Aug 13, 2010

I'm shopping lamps.

It's been a good couple of months now..... any updates on the performance/or comparisons in performance of any of the lamps listed in the thread above?

chranotik · Aug 13, 2010

it will be my first time flowering with the 3k's, but i have used the 6.4k for veg for a while and i have to say the growth is amazing and they look super healthy and happy. Also i had 2 julius caesars flower under the 6.4 and they came out extra dank.

convex · Aug 13, 2010

unoeye said:
Had 4 of the Sun Pulse 750w 3k spectrum bulbs that work in the 600w ballast. I will tell you I will be changing them straight away as they were a waste of money. Same Trichome coverage with half of the density compared to my GE lucalox 600w hps. Same strain, same system, same nutes and the results were light wispy buds on the Sun Pulse side.

I think I will be switching to Ushio bulbs or the Phillips Son-T 600w(has anyone tried the Phillips?)I love there CMH bulbs but have not used anything else from them yet.

My 2 cents is stay away from sunpulse even if they tell you every other bulb will blow up in a digital ballast. I did my test and it was so bad I wouldn't consider a second chance with them. Stick with a HPS and CMH for mixed spectrum IMHO its fucking awesome.

I use the Son-T, no complaints at all.
Although, I have NEVER ran anything but Son-T so have nothing to compare to.

Cheers

tonyl50 · Oct 2, 2010

devious d said:
hi all just come across digilux bulbs digital ballast designed in urban garden magazine made by nextgen digital ballast nextgen@capcontrollers.com going to look into it myself but am in the uk you american guys should be able to get on this one quicker, but just gone over to digital ballasts myself hadnt had any bulb problems as yet but wanted to be on top of it

I have a 400 watt HPS Digilux bulb that says designed for electronic ballasts. I am using it with a standard magnetic ballast, and it is working just fine, with the lumins being what it states. So, I would recommend it so far. Will keep you posted if any weird stuff happens with it, but with a 1 yr warranty, I'm not too worried.

crippled1 · Nov 13, 2010

I was able to get the specs on digilux for lamp CCT.

MH 5400K
HPS 2400K

sweetgreen · Feb 19, 2011

I'm pretty sure the Lumatek bulbs are just re-branded Ushio (that's what the guy at Lumatek told me), and slightly cheaper. From all the research I've done on digital ballasts(I bought a Lumatek 600w), and particularly the bulb compatibility issues(mainly Eye-Hortilux) on the Lumatek 600, it seems that Ushio bulbs have the least problems in a Lumatek 600w digi.

I think I might go with Digilux bulbs tho...and wtf, they make a 600wMH NON CONVERSION bulb??!!!

Mr.GoodCat · Feb 22, 2011

found this good read on digital ballast and compatible bulbs http://www.growgear.blogspot.com/

Farmer Jon · Feb 22, 2011

Mr.GoodCat said:
found this good read on digital ballast and compatible bulbs http://www.growgear.blogspot.com/

Very interesting Mr. Goodcat
EYE hortilux even went as far as to say, "There is no HPS bulb compatible with electronic/digital ballasts, nor can one be made."

I was under the impression that the difference between bulbs designed for digi's and core and coil ballasts had to do with the frequency in which the bulb ignited. Digital ballasts operate at a much higher frequency and bulbs such as Hortilux operate inefficiently, and the life of the bulb is diminished.
The effectiveness of the Hortilux bulb in a digital ballast is not the issue. The problem with using Hortilux bulbs in a digital ballast, is the life of the bulb MAY be diminished.

Now the hunt begins for relevant info. Could the digi bulb revolution be a farce to increase profits??

FJ

Mr.GoodCat · Feb 22, 2011

Farmer Jon said:
Very interesting Mr. Goodcat
EYE hortilux even went as far as to say, "There is no HPS bulb compatible with electronic/digital ballasts, nor can one be made."

I was under the impression that the difference between bulbs designed for digi's and core and coil ballasts had to do with the frequency in which the bulb ignited. Digital ballasts operate at a much higher frequency and bulbs such as Hortilux operate inefficiently, and the life of the bulb is diminished.
The effectiveness of the Hortilux bulb in a digital ballast is not the issue. The problem with using Hortilux bulbs in a digital ballast, is the life of the bulb MAY be diminished.

Now the hunt begins for relevant info. Could the digi bulb revolution be a farce to increase profits??

FJ

I wrote the publisher of the article and said the same thing, He told me that he had done some more research and changed his blog after talking to EYE Hort personally, but forgot to update the publishings. Its a much better read now that makes much more sense

Digital Bulbs VS Non Digital Bulbs

Digital Bulbs VS Non Digital Bulbs

unoeye

Big Buddy

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dusty

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JayBee

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cemchris

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GBOOST

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chranotik

convex

tonyl50

crippled1

sweetgreen

Mr.GoodCat

Farmer Jon

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Digital Bulbs VS Non Digital Bulbs

Digital Bulbs VS Non Digital Bulbs

unoeye

Big Buddy

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unoeye

Big Buddy

dusty

Guest

JayBee

International Toker

Big Buddy

cemchris

JayBee

International Toker

GBOOST

sedate

sky high

chranotik

convex

tonyl50

crippled1

sweetgreen

Mr.GoodCat

Farmer Jon

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Mr.GoodCat

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