Help me to choose a Digital Ballast

[koopa troopa]

i got the 400w digi from HID. no RF interference and no other problems. almost done with the 2nd round of flower, so she's good for now.

 

[t.o.med]

my lumatek purple just died the other day after only a year. if you dont need a thousand i think the galaxy is better. my galaxies are all a couple years old no problems and they plug in to either 120/240.

 

[johnnyballbag]

One thing to keep in mind ya'll... you won't be fixing a digital ballast when it fries. I still like the comfort of knowing if something goes wrong with a good 'ole mag ballast, it'll just be a $40 fix for an ignitor, or the less common cap replacement. Just food for thought.

 

[Midori]

40ampstofreedo still had a plug melt on his purple lumatek



He has pictures to prove it on the thread.

aww..that 1 is scary...i have seen the picture. daymm...
Question what can the reset button can do on the new versions of lumatek???

 

[Old Yeller]

Midori - I've only been using my 250W Galaxy for 3 months, but after reading up on digital's for a year - at ICMag - the Galaxy's were cheaper and more reliable. Matter of fact, i can't remember anybody reporting problems with them...
CAP Valuline Extreme Ballasts (mag) have switchable ones (MH + HPS) with a lifetime warranty - i think the 400W one runs about $175. The top of the line Hydrofarm switchable's look really heavy duty (can't rememner the model #) too & you can fix all mag ballasts yourself if they break down - a nice point to keep in mind.

 

[Fear]

People don't ship heavy items to china cause it can cost up to $100 with insurance and verification on heavy items. Customs the whole nine yards. I live off of ebay I never ship heavy items to other countries not wotrh the hassle. As for ballasts Lumatek Don't buy cheap you'll lose out in the end when it takes a shit on you in the middle of a cycle. Might take a couple years, but why risk it.

 

[Oxirous]

120 volts sir.. ya we have hydro shops here . there is actually a store just a few blocks from my house... but there price is all the same always DOUBLED :mad0233:

imagine 60000 + yen for 400w Hps Light Set..almost $600

Wow that's steep!:mad0233:

 

[Oxirous]

Discrimination is all that is.
:mad0233:

yeah hahaha i really dont know why..also sellers on ebay dont ship here:fighting0087:

 

[kill-9]

One thing to keep in mind ya'll... you won't be fixing a digital ballast when it fries. I still like the comfort of knowing if something goes wrong with a good 'ole mag ballast, it'll just be a $40 fix for an ignitor, or the less common cap replacement. Just food for thought.

Most of us have no electrician knowledge..... well I can't speak for everyone but I don't. Thinking about taking a beginner electrician class.

But Im getting a digital ballast soon regardless.

 

[Nuglover]

Hey Midori, I've never had a Galaxy but I've had 2 600w Lumateks go out on me within the first 24-48 hrs. I hear others on here having luck with 'em, but I'd try something else if you can get it. I'm using a mag/coil ballast right now and it's not as bright as a digital of the same size. Go digital, just do more homework than I did.

 

[Mr.Wakenbake]

I have to say that i run a lumatek 400 and 600w 120v ballasts, and i freaking love the things. Barely any heat compared to magnetics.. maybe 40% of the heat maximum. Bulbs burn longer and brighter, and there is no noise.

You absolutely cannot go wrong with digital lumateks.

 

[JayBee]

Hey Midori-

I am in the region also and reccomend if you want to buy hydro gear from usa you should check out one of these consolidator services, here are two, you can find more on google http://www.shipito.com/ and www.myusabox.com - these services will give you an adress in usa that is NOT a PO Box. This means you can have goods shipped to this adress via fedex ground, or ups, etc. You can order from many different shops, have it all shipped to this adress in usa, and then they will consolidate it all into one package and mail it to you. Myusabox.com will also re-invoice the goods for you for a fee, to save on duty.

As for Ballast i have purple lumatek and no problems. Dont get old fashioned mag ballast, they are much heavier and will cost a lot more to mail.

If you want to order grom UK pm me and I will give you name of shop in uk that will ship to you.

Good Luck!

JayBee

 

[Jeffman]

i run 2 purple lumatek 600w and dem are real good, no noise, almost no heat, when there s power break, bulb will restart in a flash of a second..bit pricey but some good stuffs
peace
jeffman

 

[ziggy1]

I have a quantum 1000w for about a month now, It is great , no problems with it and you can adjust the wattage to 50 or 75 % also.. no problems so far

 

[ziggy1]

Before I had been running the purple lumatek 600's and had no problem with them except they friea a few cheaper bulbs but they were great also