Ebay bulbs and ballasts

[Buddy Hemphill]

Everything I have was made in china anyway.

Has anyone had experience with the ebay stuff?

I mean damn, $155 for a 600w digi ballast...two bulbs (HPS & MH)...econo wing style reflector...cords...and yoyos to hang it with..oh yeah, and a timer.

thats friggin CHEAP. My global greenhouses go out more than I would have expected and I wont take a fuckin Lumatek for free.

I'm just wondering how bad can they be?

 

[ShutUpDonny]

Brother, I would say that you get what you pay for. My rules of thumb go like this:

- If it's cheap expect it to break, and if it's expensive expect it to break a little less frequently.
- Pretty much everything is made in China at this point. So just because it says China it doesn't necessarily suck, and just because it says USA it definitely doesn't mean it's god's gift.
- Read reviews if they exist, ignore the best and worst reviews unless there are a ton of them, and look for warranties or at least customer service numbers.
- Use Paypal, but don't expect them to move heaven and earth in order to help you.
- Don't buy generic electronics / mechanical items.
- Buying stuff sight-unseen is a total crapshoot, and you should not be surprised when you get hosed.

Now hopefully someone with an actual answer to your question will stop through...

 

[Buddy Hemphill]

Lumatek has the shittiest ballasts on the market, that I have seen.

I dont see how an ebay ballast 'could' suck worse. But they defintely could, I suppose.

I know for the price...somebody must have tried one.



They are probably like the rest. Buy 12 ...and 2 of them will break the first 6 months.... and 2 more will break the second 6 months.

Somebody correct me...are ALL these ballasts kinda shitty? Like....how cheap CAN China make a ballast and it still shine light?

Another question fellow farmers: Anybody have ballasts that NEVER break? (well, almost never)


My GGLs have had about a 25% failure rate. Its never cost me anything to have them fixed or replaced. But sheesh, after the warranty is over, I will be replacing/ repairing 3-4 ballasts a year.



I wish Honda made ballasts.

 

[MakinGoo]

If it's 2 good 2 b true well u no the rest.. I was very interested in the super deals I found online.. But in the end I went 2 my local hydro store instead.. I decided on buying a galaxy 1000 watt for more cash local my thought behind this was if I spend a few extra bucks on a brand name it should b better then a no name.. I didn't get the best name but I also didn't get the cheapest name ether.. I also read lots of great results about the galaxy's..plus if it goes out with in the next 4yrs I just take it back 2 my local hydro store 4 a exchange & my plants still have a chance 2 survive.. If I got it online I would have 2 send it in & who knows how long that would take (prolly weeks) & my plants would b dead.. So trying 2 save a few bucks in the beginning could cost me big in the end.. So far I'm loving my new galaxy I've completed 1 full harvest with no issues..

 

[ibTheMan]

Bulkhydro on ebay is the best seller, bought from him for years, Bulbs and Ballast (lumatek) are great.

 

[Buddy Hemphill]

I thought the same thing about my hydro store. But I was wrong..

When a 2 month old Lumatek went out I had to wait 2 weeks for a replacement.

Lumatek wont allow the dealers to make a judgement call about the ballast. They have to send it back to Lumatek for you and IF they determine its their fault, THEN they will send out a replacement.

Can you imagine going into Sears and buying a $400 dollar appliance that breaks in 2 months? I wouldn't have to wait 2 weeks for a replacement. They exchange it on the spot.

I know of one store that keeps loaners, at their expense, of course. But shit...what if they are all loaned out?

I dont know how Ebay quality could be worse than Lumatek.

 

[ganjherbsmoke]

YYo if ur talkin the silver digi 600 they sell im usuing one currently
bought two of these setups off of cl cuz I got it for 160 for the two I fig 80 bucks a light I can't complain regardless
craigslist is where its at if u live in a med state so many killer deals on gear the kid at the hydro store told us to check it before we bough a ballast there lol

But so far I've used one these digis for a few weeks w no issues can throw a mh bulb in and there's no switch they don't seem to run too hot either

Something I also liked is the ballast is really light and compact made me realize it can fit into a flat rate usps box so if u ever wanna mail it anywhere it can be done for 11 bucks

 

[MakinGoo]

I thought the same thing about my hydro store. But I was wrong..

When a 2 month old Lumatek went out I had to wait 2 weeks for a replacement.

Lumatek wont allow the dealers to make a judgement call about the ballast. They have to send it back to Lumatek for you and IF they determine its their fault, THEN they will send out a replacement.

Can you imagine going into Sears and buying a $400 dollar appliance that breaks in 2 months? I wouldn't have to wait 2 weeks for a replacement. They exchange it on the spot.

I know of one store that keeps loaners, at their expense, of course. But shit...what if they are all loaned out?

I dont know how Ebay quality could be worse than Lumatek.

Yes u r 100% rite.. I'm at my hydro store every other day & they no me real good.. I asked them about that & they did say they had 2 send it in & they would give me a loner so my crop wouldn't die.. I never thought what if they were all out of loners

 

[cheech]

Those inexpensive no name ballasts work just fine.

 

[H3AD_CAS3]

^ and buy a spare for when one or more of them decide to unexpectedly take a Shit on you and then you are SOL. :)

 

[kes5480]

i still have my original 400w hps set up i got off ebay. ballast, bulb, and reflector and yoyo's for like 100$ and free shipping. used the bulb it came with for a season and replaced it with a good one and now i got it for a back up...since i upgraded to a 1000watt its not the cheap-o one but it was givin to me for free so i guess it is a cheapo. it was actually a entire set up in a box...check out my pics

i love it and its adjustable and came with a dual arc bulb that i havent tried yet...ok hope i helped.

peaCE
AND NOTICE THE LIFETIME WARRANTY

 

[Buddy Hemphill]

^ and buy a spare for when one or more of them decide to unexpectedly take a Shit on you and then you are SOL. :)

Like the GGLs I was speaking of...lol...?

I have spares now. (a must if I dont want dead plants)

And thats for ballasts that are "known".


How much worse can it get?

You have to wait 2 weeks to get a new Lumatek. I bet I can have one of the silver ebay cheapies replaced that quickly.



Have you ever owned an ebay ballast?

 

[Zojomeds]

For me one of the main issue is efficiency. I run lumatek ballasts because they use less energy for the same 1000w output. In Canada, the extra energy cost will quickly surpass the savings on the hardware.

Also, when a switched from my ebay silver ballast to the lumatek I felt the light was brighter and noticed a decent increase in yield, with everything else in my garden staying the same.

 

[ganjherbsmoke]

I do not see how they run efficient enough to save u substantial amounts of money this is something I have never heard of and am skeptical of its truth they run a specific amount of amps like any ballast last I checked they pull the same amount as any other they just have a better output not draw...
personally ill never buy lumatek heard countless horror stories like shitting out fires or even rf problems on the dimmables causing inspections at people grows

With that said id rather buy two of these whole seteups than one lumatek anyday lol
I've still seen no problems w my ebay ballast and neither has my friend and it sure runs a lot cooler than my mag ballasts and they start up immediatley like a digis supposed to

 

[redman420]

The best way to test and see if is any good is to use a lumens meter,some digital ballasts that are cheap dont even work as good as a old magnetic one would.You get what you pay for .

 

[frenetic]

I thought the same thing about my hydro store. But I was wrong..

When a 2 month old Lumatek went out I had to wait 2 weeks for a replacement.

Lumatek wont allow the dealers to make a judgement call about the ballast. They have to send it back to Lumatek for you and IF they determine its their fault, THEN they will send out a replacement.

Can you imagine going into Sears and buying a $400 dollar appliance that breaks in 2 months? I wouldn't have to wait 2 weeks for a replacement. They exchange it on the spot.

I know of one store that keeps loaners, at their expense, of course. But shit...what if they are all loaned out?

I dont know how Ebay quality could be worse than Lumatek.

funny that you mention sears. I was on there website and they sell tons of hydro stuff. From ballast's to combos to small specialty items. Everyone is getting in the hydro business now

 

[motherlode]

I think I paid about the same for my digi 600's through htgsupply - they are the htgsupply "brand"

had a few hiccups with bulbs back in the day but they are still going strong after more then 3 years

pretty sure they had a 2 year warranty at the time and htg is easy to deal with as far as returns on stuff

 

[alienkush600]

From my experience the Hong Kong systems are legit.

I have had experience with three different "cheapo ebay light setups" that come with the yoyo's mh and hps and all that good stuff.

They all perform awesomely.
2 400w's, 1 600w been going strong for two years now. Very reliable for me. Never had a hiccup =]