thunderfudge
Breeder
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- 263
dimmable dual 400/600s for life!add lumens or knock Em down to 4's to take that heat away.not as much penetration as a 1k,but the most efficient and versatile.
keep us updated, I got 2 ordered myself!
All those who get the Gavita double ended units, please let me know how they work out for you. I've got a grip of magnetic ballasts now, just for simplicity and longevity, but I plan to kick things up a notch with these soon. I would love it even more if Gavita would come out with a sealed and vented version- with a remote ballast would be perfect! I'd run those bad boys on a flip in a heartbeat.
Not even switched mine on mate got two months before I flick that switch haha.
they were brand new bulbs, brand new ballasts(began having problems about 4 weeks in. no dieelectric grease needed as it was brand new and no corrosion whatsoever on terminals. ever since i put the quantums in (with same bulb, reflector and 15ft cord) problems went away. MY OVERALL RECOMMENDATION IS STICK WITH MAGNETIC. I STILL RUN BOTH SIDE BY SIDE AND THERE IS NO COMPARATIVE DIFFERENCE AT ALL.Agreed on the dimming feature; between killing your PAR per watt efficiency and accelerating the bulb's lumen depreciation, it's just not worth it. For HPS it's not so bad; for MH it's a deal killer.
Question for ya; when you were having striking problems, were the bulbs new? How long was the cord between ballast and bulb? Older bulbs often have problems striking, and shorter cords are always better. I've heard that a lil dab of dielectric grease on the tip of the bulb before you screw it into the socket helps with striking issues resulting from long cord runs.
If I ever switch to digital ballasts across my whole setup (I do have an old silver lumatek, and a purple one in my veg zone, no trouble with them so far), I will be going with the digital Gavita ballasts that run the new 400V Philips Green Power 1000w double ended bulbs. These are a long step up in performance from the current mogul socket 1k HPS in terms of PAR, efficiency, and longevity- they're rated at 95% of initial output at 8000 hours, and >90% at 10,000 hours! That's TWO years or more of flowering out of the bulb before it needs replacement!
they were brand new bulbs, brand new ballasts(began having problems about 4 weeks in. no dieelectric grease needed as it was brand new and no corrosion whatsoever on terminals. ever since i put the quantums in (with same bulb, reflector and 15ft cord) problems went away. MY OVERALL RECOMMENDATION IS STICK WITH MAGNETIC. I STILL RUN BOTH SIDE BY SIDE AND THERE IS NO COMPARATIVE DIFFERENCE AT ALL.
Gavita does not recomend air cooling there 400 volt lamps. Says coolong the lamp decreases light output and efficency. I am currently running 8 air cooled lamps. I hope to be able to drop down to 6 of the Gavita's but I doubt my current ac will handle them. They do have remote hoods and ballasts but they are not ait cooled. I feel ya on the awaled hoods but they seam to loose a lot by air cooling and putting them under glass. I hate having covered lamps anyway. The results of bare lamps vs air cooled glass lamps is evident by the finishes product. Guess its time to step up to a split ac unit !
Yes, just got the same word from Whazzap, all but verbatim for what you're telling me. You and I share the same cooling plant problems re. stepping up to non- sealed and vented hoods. That's no reason to stick yourself with a minisplit unless there really is no other choice. I am so happy with my ChillKing driven water cooling system that I will insist on merely sizing up the cooling plant and sticking with the water cooled gear. The reasons? No playing with freon (it never leaves the box), water cooling is much more efficient in terms of BTu/watt than AC, AC doesn't work worth a damn up where it's high altitude and dusty dry, I want one unit to cool all my systems and no AC will do that, minisplit or not, and of course I already have my waterlines and such plumbed in so there's no reason not to keep using them!
nangonug, unless you live in a low altitude high humidity area (and even if you do), you should seriously look into chiller technology, too- the bigger the cooling requirements, the more water chilling your operation makes sense- especially from a cost of operation standpoint. There's a reason they're almost universally used in office buildings and other large installations.