so its normal then?
Lumatek digital ballast's
- Thread starter Amon
- Start date
journeyquest
Member
Got a 400w 120v lumatek and its great. Quiet and relatively cool. I use a cheap sylvania lumalux hps bulb from lowes. 20 bucks. Lots of orange light. Next gro prolly add a mh bulb 4 veg. Havent got 5 yrs on it so well see.
so have you noticed a difference with using a sylvania over hortilux?
journeyquest
Member
The sylvania works great. Plants are very healthy. Prolly woulda been better off w/ the 600w setup. But trying to save on setup cost and electricity. Personally if money wasnt a problem i would veg the first 2-3 weeks w/ the fluorescents and switch to hd mh for 2-3 weeks then switch bulbs to the hps for the remainder. Im running 400w hps 18 hrs for veg so its taking longer. Prolly an extra 2 weeks for veg. Heats an issue here in the summer so i shut it (light) off during the hottest time of day. Dont think i will do anouther summer grow. Only fall, winter, spring. Oh by the way Green Thumb, i lived near Portland Or a few years back. Miss it. Good bud and shrooms. This So Cal heats killing me. Winters are mild though.
I saw at the SF Indoor gardening expo that Lumateks now have an 8 year warranty, if that helps anyone.
My local shop had me get Quantum ballasts instead of Lumateks, as they get 1 Quantum back for every 10 Lumateks. As a side note, I measured my 1000W 240V Quantums against my older Sunlight Supply coil ballasts (bith MH and HPS flavors) and the Quantums were exactly 10% brighter on both bulbs than my old ballasts.
I did have a 2-month old Hortliux Super HPS fail spectacularly on the Quantum though, first time I've seen that. My shop replaced it under warranty though, so no cost to me.
any one read this?
http://www.eyehortilux.com/EYELU600.pdf
It seems like digital's are not quite as good yet as Magnetic coil. And I have ran alot of Digital Ballast too =(
http://www.eyehortilux.com/EYELU600.pdf
It seems like digital's are not quite as good yet as Magnetic coil. And I have ran alot of Digital Ballast too =(
Wow, that's hot. I run a Galaxy 250 and have run it for 20 hours consistently and was able to put my hand on it indefinitely. Granted, it's sitting right next to my carbon filter, so maybe that much air passing through the small utility room in my cab is the reason why. I'd be seriously concerned if it were hot enough to make me pull back quickly.
Amon
Active member
I must agree with you on them standing behind their product.. and it's actually nice to hear some of you are NOT having issues with yours. This new model has not arrived yet, but was told it is 120v or 240v. Mine worked great for almost 8mos then just never fired back up one day. All they told me was it's toast. I did buy their product for the 5yr warranty and so far, the person I"ve dealt with has been great. I'm sure I"ll give this new unit a chance, but the magnetic one I"m using now doesn't get real hot and the light burns just as bright. Let ya know how it goes and thanks everyone for your input, it's helped me regain a bit of faith..
i got a 400 lumetek 3 weeks ago ,and running it with a Sylvania bulb..not had any probs. the ballast is warm to the touch (can keep my hand on it)..and makes no noise atoll, loving it so far.........but i shall be keeping my old skool lamp as back up ....
as for the boost switch thing . the guy in the store said to use it when you bulb starts to get old (6month)..its says in the manual to replace your bulb every 9 month,,,
he said (hydro guy), he used the boost switch on his ballasts for the last 3 months of the 9 month recommended for the bulbs life and not and a prob..then replace the bulb <<<<<<<hope that made sence lol.......anyway am loving it
keep it green
highlander.....
as for the boost switch thing . the guy in the store said to use it when you bulb starts to get old (6month)..its says in the manual to replace your bulb every 9 month,,,
he said (hydro guy), he used the boost switch on his ballasts for the last 3 months of the 9 month recommended for the bulbs life and not and a prob..then replace the bulb <<<<<<<hope that made sence lol.......anyway am loving it
keep it green
highlander.....
Amon
Active member
Ya know that makes sense.. pushing bulbs to their full potential.
Well all. Today the new unit arrived.. I'd like to say safely, but UPS driver is an idiot. Dropped it over a 6ft privacy fence and damaged the unit. I heard it thump when it hit ground zero. Then he rings my bell and takes off before I can get out there. wus. Not happy about that.
Okay. It's still purple. Basically looks the same accept for the 2 white push switches near power cord to swap from 120v to 240v. Also, on the opposite side near the cord that goes to the bulb, a dimmer switch.
What this allows you to do after a full 10min of operation.. is to dim the light down to half power of 50%, 75%, 100% or what they call Super Lumens and boost it 10% above normal output. I have to agree with what Highlander's hydro guy says.. bulbs go out and they say 3 grows which would be 9mos.. gonna have to get a new bulb now too.
Hats off to the warranty dept, they really took care of me quick. cheers.
I am replacing 4 Lumatek digital 750's. These were fist generation digital prior to 1Kws being released. The 750's were 12/12 for three years on the same bulbs (I know, I know, don't ask).
I am now using Super Lumen mode, but I wonder if anyone has any experience using MH bulbs with this ballast to increase intensity during Veg?
Peace,
Amon
Active member
Hey Hydrosun.. Your unit must be fairly new as that is the replacement unit I just got for my 1yr old Lumatek that fried. And, I'm even using the super lumen switch. Now I can get it really close to my seedlings or clones without burning them just by switching the ballast to 50-75% power.
Other then the UPS driver dropping it over my 6ft privacy fence and denting this tab, It is actually working fine. I told the rep and he said gives me any problems a new one is on the way.. good customer service.
But, it fired right up and is working fine. So, guess it passed the stress test. lol. I'm sure as they build more and more digitals all the kinks will get worked out. It does run much cooler and NO noise at all.
I too was wondering if anyone has tried using MH bulbs yet. It says it can run both.
Other then the UPS driver dropping it over my 6ft privacy fence and denting this tab, It is actually working fine. I told the rep and he said gives me any problems a new one is on the way.. good customer service.
But, it fired right up and is working fine. So, guess it passed the stress test. lol. I'm sure as they build more and more digitals all the kinks will get worked out. It does run much cooler and NO noise at all.
I too was wondering if anyone has tried using MH bulbs yet. It says it can run both.
Alienate420
Member
I have a new 600 with an MH on Super Lumens, but I've only got two weeks of veg in. Working fine so far.
Z
Zoolander
I'm not sure if you guys ever saw the pix I posted of my melted 1000 watt Lumatek ballast but it was not good . I walked in and one of my lights was off and then I smelled the burning electrical
I'm using Quantum digital ballasts, and though the ballasts are good (cool, reliable etc.) I've blown two new bulbs on two separate ballasts, one a 1000W MH, one a 1000W HPS. My local shop replaced both bulbs for free, but I think I'm gonna have to ditch the Hortilux and try the Ushio bulbs. I feel bad for the shop replacing the bulbs (know they won't keep doing it) but if there is a compatibility problem they should make customers aware.
Amon
Active member
Hey LZyman. In the packaging they actually recommend you use the Hortilux and Nothing imported, and especially NOT Japanese bulbs. I do believe there is a compatibility issue between ALL digital ballasts and using the proper bulb, so for sure they should list this & maybe on the box front eh?
Temps: I'd say anyone having a Lumatek Ballast run so hot you cannot rest your hand on it for 5sec's. Should contact Lumatek and complain. If you've not had problems yet, your sure to. One of the things they brag about with digital IS the cool operation of the unit. The ones that have failed have all fried themselves, thus an obvious overheat issue. Hate to see anyone have fires. Make them replace the unit, they obviously have design flaws.
New Unit: Yes, it runs very cool. Even in super lumen mode I can set my hand on it and keep it there. The switch seems to work really great so far.
Someone having heat issues might appreciate being able to power the light down a bit.. and the super switch DOES boost the Lumens a noticeable amount. So far it's running cool and doing all it's supposed to. Yet, I bought the backup unit I was borrowing just in case it.
well, you know. lol.cheers
G
grow nerd
Man, I never had anything but good things to say about the earlier blue & purple Lumatek 600w/120v's... and many others agreed. However, lately I'm seeing more and more problem reports of N.I.B. Lumatek units which leads me to wonder if they've cut corners on internal components or something?
C
Cheeb
those buttons have nothing to do with the voltage selection (that part is automatic). They are simple reset buttons incase the unit gets a surge or something..I dunnot why there are 2 ??
I gotta agree.. alot of lumateks I've seen at 120v run extremely hot. Fanless..some models just dont have the ability to get rid of their own heat...cut the tinest of corners to save a buck and you've got a design flaw..with all the changes they've had they cannot deny some problems. 1000w @ 120v pulls enough amps to be close to the limit of its 15a components...especially when running constant 24hr in a hot grow room. In my opinion you shouldn't be running 1000w @ 120v anyways..its just too close to amperage limits.
In the digital ballast game - in my opinion
COOL & SILENT WINS! Lumateks @240v has done that for me where no other electronic ballast could.
At 240v every lumatek I've seen runs awesome.. barely gets warm. Its a shame that many a people got stuck with 120v models..as the newer units are coming dual voltage.
Run a lumatek at 240v and its the last ballast you'll ever want to run. seriously.
PS - anyone running more then a single light should seriously learn and make forth effort to operate your grow lights @240v. It pulls half the load..runs cooler. It WONT save you money on your bill, but WILL be the best upgrade you've done to your room.
peace & let em hang
-- Cheeb
journeyquest
Member
I agree about the 240v but we dont all have that option. My 400w 120v runs pretty warm. The article says 150F is normal running temp. Seems hot to me. As long as the parts are designed to handle the temp. It does heat up my grow room. 
