1000 watt Digi's

[Surfr]

Whats the word on the street now-a-days about the 1000w digital ballasts? I am looking into getting a couple Lumatek 1000's. Are companies still having problems with the 1000's?? I have read that the 600's work fine. This is starting to make me wonder if I should go with three 600's or two 1000's. If indeed the success rate has gone up with the 1000's I will go with those.

 

[LlamaSchool]

If you have any doubts, just stick with magnetic. Digital is nice but when you weigh out the pro's and con's, you realize it's _kind of_ a gimmick. I have a few digital and a few magnetic and while my Lumateks are slightly better and more convenient for several reasons, it's almost more the "bling" and "wow" factors of the cool looking ballast enclosures and fast start up time.

The only reason I would say someone NEEDS a digital is if they are having trouble controlling the heat output of ballasts.

 

[Surfr]

Interesting... What do you think would be better for a 4.5'x7.5' area, three 600's or two 1000's??

 

[mikeross]

Interesting... What do you think would be better for a 4.5'x7.5' area, three 600's or two 1000's??

Depends on how dense your canopy will be. If your planning to have a short veg time and a nice even canopy I would go with 600's. If your plants will be larger you might need the penetrating power of the 1000's.

Personally I would go with 3-600's

 

[LlamaSchool]

That's going to be a lot of light. I run 1000w per 5'x5' and I count on optimum growth in the middle 4'x4'... So I feel that I can't really make use of more than 1000w in every 16 square foot grow area. You're working with about 33 square feet so you just barely have enough space to use 2000w in my opinion... But it also depends on the pattern your reflector is throwing and thus also the height your lights.

If you can control the heat and you have enough height to raise the lights if you experience light bleaching, you might as well try the 2x1000w setup.

If you are growing SOG (or at least not large trees) you may be able to optimize yield a bit more with the 600's. If you are vegging for more than a few weeks, you will probably benefit from the superior penetration of 1000w lights.

There is an awesome site (it's a geocities/angelfire or something like that) that is often referenced here where they guy has yield calculators, lighting diagrams, and other cool stuff. Most helpful are his notes on optimal lumens/area, penetration distance (in inches) of 600w vs 1000w and other such information.

 

[odin_]

i have used a combo of both and really wanted to like the digitals - my reasoning was that they were quieter and cooler

well... they are slightly quieter and not really any cooler

not worth it imo

 

[Vespatian]

http://www.angelfire.com/cantina/fourtwenty/yor/lightres.htm

 

[odin_]

whats that link have to do with digis?

 

[Lazyman]

Quantum ballasts are cheaper than lumatek and have a much lower failure rate according to my trusty shop, I have 5 and not a hiccup in 1 year. There is one huge advantage of digitals vs magnetic balllasts though: 10% more lumens!

I've measured, same bulbs, same hoods, same distance, 10% more light out of both MH and HPS bulbs. Can't beat that with a stick my friend.

 

[Vespatian]

I run Quantums and would recommend them. I ratched up the power during veg from 50% to 100%. My local shop has a return pile of broken and defective Luminteks stacked up high.

 

[Surfr]

Can anyone suggest a good online store to order the Quantums from?

 

[qbert]

seems like a lot of places don't carry them. eBay has them cheapest. nehydro.com has them. I ordered GroZone Temp-2V controllers from nehydro and was pleased with their service. discreet shipping, etc, etc. I wish they made a 400w, would've bought Quantum over Lumatek but I couldn't go over 400w.

 

[UltraSupersonic]

see this thread:
https://www.icmag.com/ic/showthread.php?t=134418

 

[DarkLance]

I've been shopping recently for a digi as well. My shop carries Lumitech, Quantum, and NexGen.

The Lumitech is known for its 110% setting, but rumors swirl about longevity issues.

The Quantum is sweet, dimmable and active cooled (small fan). I think the extra 10% lumens is built in. HPS/MH & 120V/240V in one unit.

The NexGen is very small, cool & quiet. again, HPS/MH & 120V/240V in one unit.

 

[cygnus]

I have had a Next Gen 1000 on a flip flop relay for a year. It is on 24/7 and it runs like a charm.

 

[LlamaSchool]

Here's the site I was thinking of - http://www.angelfire.com/cantina/fourtwenty/yor/yor.htm