growshower
Member
I have a Lumatek 600 and a Ushio 600 W MH bulb, want to turn my Lumatek down to 250 or 400w, am I am gonna have to change bulbs?
Do you have to use the correlating bulb wattage when you turn down your Lumatek?
- Thread starter growshower
- Start date
growshower
Member
i know lumateks have had bad results with some namebrand bulbs, really don't wanna waste 100 bucks and have to buy two more bulbs
L
Lord Humungus
a friend of mine is trying out a quantum digital ballast with his first grow
1k with 1k hortilux hps bulb... anyhow i get a calll that the bulb isnt firing (glad we had a spare!)
as we're replacing it i come to find out he'd been changing the power dial from 50% to 75% to 100% and whatnot...
i know its not a lumentek/ushio but we blew a bulb messing with the power dial....
1k with 1k hortilux hps bulb... anyhow i get a calll that the bulb isnt firing (glad we had a spare!)
as we're replacing it i come to find out he'd been changing the power dial from 50% to 75% to 100% and whatnot...
i know its not a lumentek/ushio but we blew a bulb messing with the power dial....
growshower
Member
preciate it.....think i am just gonna be on the safe side and pick up a correlating one
Cannalicious
Member
I newly bought a lumatek and called the lumatek coorporate office to ask these questions, and the guy said, that you can keep a 1000W bulb in (for a 1000W ballast of course) and you can dial any of the wattage settings. He said you just have to make sure that the ballast had been turned off for 20 mins or so, and then set. He cautioned against changing the wattage. Did your friend change wattage with the lights on?
Which name brands? I have hortilux bulbs.
My main question is regarding the superlumens.
My friend advised against this. She is the manager of a large hydroponics store. She said that she has more returns and complaints about the lumateks vs. analog. She said that almost all of them used the superlumens and that 1000W ballasts and bulbs are not meant to be run at 1200W. She said if I bought the digital just use 1000W setting. When I called lumatek, they said that was ridiculous and they were built to give 1200W.
I'd appreciate any opinions regarding this contradiction.
Thanks,
-L
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D
dunkybones
I'm not throwing any real science out here, but as I understand it, bulbs are engineered to operate within certain parameters. Deviating from those parameters shortens the working life of the bulb. That's why these bulbs have ballasts in the first place, because the input power has to be just so. Even simple incandescant bulbs are sensitive to power fluctuations, and using one on a dimmer switch saves electricity, but on average, shortens the life of the bulb.
So can you run an HID on a dimmable ballast? Certainly, if you are willing to accept limitations. Can you crank it to 110% without consequences? Doubtful, as "the candle that burns twice as bright, burns but half as long..."
Switching the dimmer switch back and forth and back while the lamp is running, is going to fry that bulb much sooner rather than later. The cool down phase between settings is of the upmost importance here, or 'resetting' the bulb, as it were.
As for Lumatek's customer service, of course there is nothing wrong with their ballasts. But they don't make bulbs, do they?
So can you run an HID on a dimmable ballast? Certainly, if you are willing to accept limitations. Can you crank it to 110% without consequences? Doubtful, as "the candle that burns twice as bright, burns but half as long..."
Switching the dimmer switch back and forth and back while the lamp is running, is going to fry that bulb much sooner rather than later. The cool down phase between settings is of the upmost importance here, or 'resetting' the bulb, as it were.
As for Lumatek's customer service, of course there is nothing wrong with their ballasts. But they don't make bulbs, do they?
Stond_Face
Member
I agree that the Superlumen setting would shorten the bulb life by overdriving the bulb. But, look at it this way.
If Superlumen give 10% more light you should get about 10% more bud.
With a 1000W lamp that is going from about 16oz to 17.6oz
That extra 1.6oz would buy an extra bulb + ballast and a cheap reflector!
Flip that switch
If Superlumen give 10% more light you should get about 10% more bud.
With a 1000W lamp that is going from about 16oz to 17.6oz
That extra 1.6oz would buy an extra bulb + ballast and a cheap reflector!
Flip that switch
L
Lord Humungus
^^^that all makes perfect sense. my friend was turning the dial when the lights were on (against all advice i had given him... which was to leave shit alone as i leave it hahaha).
i totally understand about letting the ballast set for 20min before refiring with a different load setting....
thanks for the 411
Cannalicious
Member
I agree that the Superlumen setting would shorten the bulb life by overdriving the bulb. But, look at it this way.
If Superlumen give 10% more light you should get about 10% more bud.
With a 1000W lamp that is going from about 16oz to 17.6oz
That extra 1.6oz would buy an extra bulb + ballast and a cheap reflector!
Flip that switch
That's what I've decided.
D
draco
i have the lumetek dimmable 1k, and ushio bulb... been running two of them at 750w for a couple rounds now and no problems. i suspect that underdriving the bulbs might lengthen the life of the bulbs? maybe...
