So I was just reading the lumatek website and

[Kalcu]

I learned about the claim that their ballast put out more light than magnetic ballast. Well it's the digital standard and here I learned it's based on voltage fluctuations throughout the day caused by the electric companies draw. The more people that draw electricity during the day, the peak hours, the more the voltage drops. A digital ballast has a voltage detector so they remain consistent when a magnetic ballast does not.

I found this interesting and something that I never came across before so I thought I would share.

Does anybody know what a digi ballast draws? Since a magnetic ballast draws more than what it is rated as.

 

[Redux]

A digi ballast draws about the same as a coil from everything I've read and heard. I would not put too much weight into what Lumatek says. I bought 6 600's waaaaaaay back and had nothing but great results all around. There's definitely some benefits but I don't agree with some of their claims...just not my experience.

 

[Kalcu]

It has a voltage detector, a microchip; this is why it can determine what the draw is. So when the companies voltage fluctuates the digital ballast stays consistent.

Glad to here you had great results. You would need a voltage meter to detect how consistent the ballast is.

 

[hubcap]

thats the advantage with 'digital' over 'coil over' ballasts.
the digital can read the fluctuations and adjust the output accordingly, and more efficiently/smoothly.
the both drawthe same , 120V 60Hz 3phase power, if you are in the US. i believe thats the house hold standard. might be 120Hz, regardless, the voltage standard is 120V for US homes.
(unless, of course the ballast is a 220V rated, then, in that case, 1. it wouldnt plug into a standard outlet, and, 2. youd need a dedicated 220 line in the house. not very uncommon....alot of washer/dryers use such voltage lines.....but i digress

 

[boxmunch9]

Nothing draws as much as it says it does.I bought 6 dual 600's and they are bright as fuck. Not saying they put out more lumen than ect but holy shit they are bright, more birght than my 1000ws in the same room both hung vertically so you can really tell the difference.I'd like to try out a 1000w next time im shoppin. Power consumption is the same, nickle and dime savings on your electric bill will digital

 

[Jalisco Kid]

I have 10 year old mag ballasts still working away., I hear a lot of returns with the lumatek and I'll bet most that buy them do not have backups. Homes in US are single phase 60HZ 120/240vac. The only thing I like electronic ballast for is the weight. Eye ran a test using their bulbs and saw difference. JK

 

[BrandNew2THIS]

Lumatek Help or Hinderance?

I learned about the claim that their ballast put out more light than magnetic ballast. Well it's the digital standard and here I learned it's based on voltage fluctuations throughout the day caused by the electric companies draw. The more people that draw electricity during the day, the peak hours, the more the voltage drops. A digital ballast has a voltage detector so they remain consistent when a magnetic ballast does not.

I found this interesting and something that I never came across before so I thought I would share.

Does anybody know what a digi ballast draws? Since a magnetic ballast draws more than what it is rated as.

I dont want to start an argument debate or anything. I have personally used a voltage meter on a lumatek that I own a dual 600 lumatek and compared it to my Dual 600 gro pro from sun systems thats cap and coil. I cannot find a measurable differance at any moment in the day between the two for real. The only differance I ever noticed is that the digital ballast lights the bulb faster for those of you using mechanical timers on digital ballasts your losing the advantage provided by digital because the 15 mins differance in that timer means that you might as well be waiting for a magnetic coil ballast to start. And in my experience the digital ballasts burn out bulbs faster than magnetic, While the garden shop tells me they take back 4 lumateks for every 1 magnetic over all the brands. So if you like digital please just accept the differences there are some percievable advantages to instant on and off with your lights we are indoor growers after all right. we are not trying to imitate the sun for real because if we were we would worry about the spectrum in sunrise and sunset and I havent seen a sunset or sunrise spectrum bulb go through the shop I spend my most time at.

 

[BrandNew2THIS]

thats the advantage with 'digital' over 'coil over' ballasts.
the digital can read the fluctuations and adjust the output accordingly, and more efficiently/smoothly.
the both drawthe same , 120V 60Hz 3phase power, if you are in the US. i believe thats the house hold standard. might be 120Hz, regardless, the voltage standard is 120V for US homes.
(unless, of course the ballast is a 220V rated, then, in that case, 1. it wouldnt plug into a standard outlet, and, 2. youd need a dedicated 220 line in the house. not very uncommon....alot of washer/dryers use such voltage lines.....but i digress

Nice man thanks for putting such usefull info out there. Only one thing I would add. If you live in an apartment with an electric baseboard heater usually you can simply disconnect that after pulling it off the wall to find a 220 outlet where the plug connects. So apartment dwelling people can use 220 also and heat thier house with HID and save money on wiring in the process.

 

[Kalcu]

I heard that lumitek has had problems with hortilux changing their bulb, something about the frequency or something like that.

 

[johnnyballbag]

Digitals SHOULD burn your bulbs out faster, if what the manufacturer says is true. Like several ppl have said, they pull the same amount of power. Digital ballasts run cooler, so that basically just means that the circuitry is more efficient. Set up 2 1,000 watt (1 digital and 1 magnetic) ballasts side by side and turn them on. I bet the digital is cooler. So if they're both pulling the same amount of power, but one runs cooler, that tells me something. That means that the electricity being drawn is being sent to the bulb rather than being turned into heat in the ballast circuitry. So in essence, the digi's send more power to the bulb, which WILL burn them out quicker. I've ran a mag next to a digital on several occassions, in several different room setups. Anyone who's seen my controller threads will know that i'm all about my high tech gear. If digi's were in any way better than magnetics, i'd have several. But what do i know about electronics? Haha.

 

[johnnyballbag]

Forgot to add, i've never seen anything that tells me the digital ballasts are better. Plants looked the same under both lights. Like JK said, with how much they cost i bet a lot of cats buying them aren't getting back ups. Me myself, i'm perfectly content with buying a coupld extra igniters and maybe a cap, knowing that if anything burns out i can have it fixed in less than 5 mins. Show me a digi ballast that you can fix like that. I don't like 2 things about digi's. They have to be sent off through the mail with a nice lil paper trail to be fixed, and they throw out RF interference. But hey, i guess that's better than putting up a big sign in front of my house saying, "I grow pot here!"

 

[hubcap]

Power consumption is the same, nickle and dime savings on your electric bill will digital

thats pretty much it in a nutshell.
the savings is indeed, minimal.


every thing you plug into a 120V circuit will operate on 120V. its amps, or the current, that it draws, that will differ. you dont get charged for VOLTS alone, its compounded against the current you draw as well.

work that is done at a rate of one watt is when one ampere flows through a potential difference of one volt.
so: 1watt is equal to 1Amp x 1volt
or 1W=(1A)(1V)
so in essence, you get charged for the amount of voltage ,TIMES the amt of current, over the time of one hour, giving you (K)W/Hours

 

[Jalisco Kid]

Here is a article by eye comparing ballasts
www.eyehortilux.com/EYELU600.pdf JK

 

[l33t]

thanks Jalisco Kid ,

interesting read for sure

 

[Kalcu]

Ya the interference of digital ballast is not a great thing, but it isn't a sure sign that your growing illegal plants (more than just ganja is illegal).

But if you are, they could in theory get warrants for a suspected HID grow.......more often than not their profiling is accurate.