O
ogwon
- 18
- 3
Does any body have any experience with these power boxes?
I am thinking about running 2 of these (two 18 light rooms). Ive read good things on them, i.e.: no power spikes, and makes the ballasts last longer. Not to mention the money i would save on ballasts, buying 18 instead of 36 ballasts.
Any comments welcome. Thanks in advance!!
Well said tty. I agree with everything except the magnetic ballast part. It seems a lot less of a benefit to run magnetic ballasts instead of getting a flip for your digital ballasts (if that is the plan). May cost more, but you get more.
Hear me out. I have always run magnetic ballasts, always. A few months ago I got my hands on a lumen reader and started running tests on everything. I discovered that digital ballasts are 30-40% brighter out of the box than magnetic (only variables where the ballasts)! I also discovered that magnetic ballast dim significantly over time, there was a HUGE fluctuation of lumen on all of the used magnetic ballasts. Some where half, or even less, of what new ones of the same brand where putting out. This was pretty shocking, just figured I would share.
Hey tty why do u decrease ur hours of light?I've never been a big fan of flip boxes, for a couple of reasons; first, you give up a lot of flexibility in setting things up or changing them. Second, I can get a good quality magnetic ballast for less than a flipbox, and even adding the controller doesn't really change the economics much. You don't need to upgrade your house power or wiring, since a flip style schedule has all the benefits of using a flipbox without the drawbacks.
I run a more complex multistage operation, with some parts on a flip style schedule. I have four bloom zones, run on a strict 16 day stagger. Plants see an increase in darkness of 15 minutes a week, starting with 12 hours. By the end of the cycle, they see 10 1/2 hours. This has to be done manually, and it would be much more complicated if I was trying to do it with a flipbox.
Hey tty why do u decrease ur hours of light?
What benefits do u see from doing this?To give the plants a sense of time, especially near the end of their cycle. I think it helps then finish.
What benefits do u see from doing this?
Hey tty why do u decrease ur hours of light?
I build panels that reduce the time the ballasts are in especially last week or two. Just select a switch and the daily time cycles are changed/reduced each day til the end. A PLC takes care of that.
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