Digital Significantly yielding more than Magnetic

[Raphael]

I just finished a 8 bio bucket / rdwc under 1200 watts. 600w digi on the left and 600w magnetic on the right:

The root mass was generally about the same, between the digital and the magnetic, but the the 4 plants under the digi yielded 4oz dry more than the magnetic (18oz, 0.86gpw from digi, 14oz, 0.66gpw from magnetic). The only difference between the two sides was the ballast. Both bulbs were new generics, one GE, one Ushio.

All this has been documented over the course of the past two months, and I can comfortably say that I only see myself using digital ballasts for flowering for awhile. The digital 600w Lumatek was it's first run, and the magnetic is about 5 years old.

Has anyone else seen a significant difference in yield between magnetic and digital ballasts?

Cheers

 

[redspaghetti]

Beautiful time lapse there, thanks for posting!

Cheers,

Red.

 

[Hydro-Soil]

Both bulbs were new generics, one GE, one Ushio.

Awesome.... now switch the lamps out with 2 new generics, one GE and one Ushio and put them in the opposite ballast. Just to make the test complete.

Stay Safe!

 

[FreezerBoy]

Awesome.... now switch the lamps out with 2 new generics, one GE and one Ushio and put them in the opposite ballast. Just to make the test complete.

I second the motion.

 

[Lazyman]

Freakin sweet, great anigif man!

 

[FunkBomb]

According to the booklet with my Galaxy it says it drives the lamp to peak performance. Now it looks like you just proved that statement to be correct

-Funk

 

[robbiedublu]

maybe it was the bulbs and not the ballasts

 

[sparkjumper]

I absolutely believe it was the lamps also I mean digitals are more effecient but an increase of a third?I've never heard of that except with lamps

 

[fatigues]

Awesome.... now switch the lamps out with 2 new generics, one GE and one Ushio and put them in the opposite ballast. Just to make the test complete.

I had thought from your previous comments they were both brand new bulbs of the same make and model.

Very regrettable that they were not. I would agree that this effects the results considerably.

Better to do it again with two brand new bulbs of the same exact make and model. That result would be a fair one. I... can't say that this one is, in all of the circumstances.

 

[contra]

Maybe both, I 3rd that Hydro. Experiments should try to stick to yes and no questions for sure and change one variable at a time unless you enjoy algebra. There is always the option of swapping the bulbs to and fro. Curious as to which buckets have the cleanest water too. I for one don't like the vibes from mag balasts in indoor fields.

 

[fatigues]

Maybe both, I 3rd that Hydro. Experiments should try to stick to yes and no questions for sure and change one variable at a time unless you enjoy algebra. Curious as to which buckets have the cleanest water too. I for one don't like the vibes from mag balasts in indoor fields.

What you did not see in the picture montage up top (but which was shown clearly in the Grow Diary) was that the digital left hand side actually had one LESS plant in there. A clone failed to thrive early on, so his crop under the digital ballast had only three plants in the Scrog to the magnetic's four.

 

[Pompey_Monkey]

Awesome.... now switch the lamps out with 2 new generics, one GE and one Ushio and put them in the opposite ballast. Just to make the test complete.

Stay Safe!

I second that!

It was a good observation, but to be scientific, you need to swap bulbs (in an ideal world they'd be identical) to confirm your previous result.

Good grow either way though!

 

[medi-useA]

Better to do it again with two brand new bulbs of the same exact make and model. That result would be a fair one. I... can't say that this one is, in all of the circumstances.

Bad Grower!
Just for making th@ mistake you must now smoke all of the excess buds leftover and do it again!



muA

 

[Oregonic]

a 5 year old magnetic versus a brand new digital? with different brand bulbs in them? i wouldn't draw too many conclusions from this 'experiment'

 

[Raphael]

Beautiful time lapse there, thanks for posting!

Cheers,

Red.

Freakin sweet, great anigif man!

Thanks for the props guys, I thought the .gif would lend to easier comparison

According to the booklet with my Galaxy it says it drives the lamp to peak performance. Now it looks like you just proved that statement to be correct

-Funk

Ya I had to see for myself even though my hydro guy will probably just say "I told you so", but who believes them anyways?

Awesome.... now switch the lamps out with 2 new generics, one GE and one Ushio and put them in the opposite ballast. Just to make the test complete.

Stay Safe!

I second the motion.

​

There was an error made on my part in the type of bulbs used. I thought the magnetic had a USHIO, but it had an OSRAM, a $40 bulb. The GE LU600 in the digi was also in the $40-50 range.

I lit both bulbs with both ballasts, and both times the digital ballast was visibly brighter.

Another note, the generic ge bulb in the digi burned out the day I harvested.

maybe it was the bulbs and not the ballasts

I absolutely believe it was the lamps also I mean digitals are more effecient but an increase of a third?I've never heard of that except with lamps

I had thought from your previous comments they were both brand new bulbs of the same make and model.

Very regrettable that they were not. I would agree that this effects the results considerably.

Better to do it again with two brand new bulbs of the same exact make and model. That result would be a fair one. I... can't say that this one is, in all of the circumstances.

Well, good thing this grow also had PM, so I got another reason to do this another time. Something other than bubble to smoke haha although that's not too bad itself

Maybe both, I 3rd that Hydro. Experiments should try to stick to yes and no questions for sure and change one variable at a time unless you enjoy algebra. There is always the option of swapping the bulbs to and fro. Curious as to which buckets have the cleanest water too. I for one don't like the vibes from mag balasts in indoor fields.

Yes well there were lots more than just bulbs differing, like the age of the ballasts as well. This is about the biggest difference one would see between a digi and magnetic, I'd say.

What you did not see in the picture montage up top (but which was shown clearly in the Grow Diary) was that the digital left hand side actually had one LESS plant in there. A clone failed to thrive early on, so his crop under the digital ballast had only three plants in the Scrog to the magnetic's four.

That's right, another variable right there! I placed that clone too high above the water, and as such it took all the veg time just to drop some tap roots into the water. When I flipped to flower it was very small in comparison to the other plants. Although in the end there was the same amount of canopy, so I'm not sure that it was significant.

I second that!

It was a good observation, but to be scientific, you need to swap bulbs (in an ideal world they'd be identical) to confirm your previous result.

Good grow either way though!

Bad Grower!
Just for making th@ mistake you must now smoke all of the excess buds leftover and do it again!



muA

Thanks guys! That's the beauty of it, I tore down the buckets and now am running a 4x4 tray with 5" buckets with coco under a 600w.

Now I just have to smoke all this bubble from 2lbs of dry bud!

Cheers

 

[Raphael]

a 5 year old magnetic versus a brand new digital? with different brand bulbs in them? i wouldn't draw too many conclusions from this 'experiment'

Ya the only conclusion I would say would be that I wished I would have bought another digi 600 instead of borrowing my friend's old magnetic. It would have paid for itself in the increased yield on that side.

 

[SpasticGramps]

Great pics!

I agree that the bulbs need to be removed as a variable in the equation to make validate the digital ballast performance.

 

[150wPimpin]

I second the motion.

Also for it to be a valid test I would think you need to also be using a brand new magnetic ballast along with the brand new digital.

 

[good drown]

this thread rules. way to go!

 

[milehighmedical]

I just bought a new 1000w lumatek today just to spoil myself... nice to see I might actually see an increase in yields from it as well.