Lumateks=get busted?

[wdcf]

I know this has been brought up in other threads before, and honestly I did not search, I am a lazy fart right now.....

But I go on propertyroom.com a lot to buy ballasts and they have used lumateks 1000's going for 100-150 regularly.
The thing is they almost are ONLY are selling lumateks? I was lucky enough to get 2 quantams there, but 99% percent of the time its lumateks.....But obviously 99% of us are not using lumateks..
And this is the CURRENT model of lumatek being auctioned off to, not the older verison which I heard gave off some kind of detectable frequency.

 

[Iron_Lion]

I notice there has be an uptick of idiots taking up growing in recent years, I'd say people's stupidity is more a reason then the brand.

Lumatek is a pretty popular brand where Im from and pretty much the only brand that can be bought at the local hydro stores.

Improper grounding can lead to frequency problems, and this is a problem not many people know about. If your circuit is not solidly grounded the frequency can have no way to dissipate.

I dont think a search warrant can be pulled for strange frequency.

 

[SeaMaiden]

If you receive cable services and you've got something going that interferes with the signal, the cable company is able to detect that and may ask you to allow them to scan your home and area for the source of interference.

Lumateks should not be so popular, in my opinion. Do you ever see Galaxy ballasts on that site? They're one of the favorite brands of reefkeepers (defintely not Ice Cap anymore, belly UP).

 

[prophecy]

How can we ground correctly our ballast?

 

[ARTofMAKINGfire]

prophecy - The ground for your enitre home starts in your breaker panel. The first thing to do is to ensure that any lines running a ballast are grounded in the box. For a 120V line there will be 3 wires. Two going into a breaker. One GREEN going to a GROUND BAR in your breaker box. This can be identified by other GREEN GROUND wires being connected to it. Makes sure all these connections are good.

Please remember your panel it HOT and can SERIOUSLY HURT you.

Always be careful please.

If your line if properly connected in your breaker box, then just make sure you use the proper gauge extention cords WITH a ground and you should be dandy.

Enjoy. Be safe. And always treat your panel with repect.

 

[ARTofMAKINGfire]

And FWIW I use MAGNETIC ballasts.

They IMO are the tried and true WORKHORSE of our industry.

I have never had one burn out. I have never had one pop a bulb. I KNOW they do not put out ANY wierd frequencies. On top of that they are cheaper.

I don't need to dim my lights, I need more of them. I don't believe that you get a 30% drop in usage. Until someone uses a voltimeter on both a digi and a mag. during startup, I won't hear it.

Why change something that works amazing already? And pay more $ for it?

 

[messn'n'gommin']

As far as I'm concerned, I would be more worried about who I was buying from, than what I was buying.

You should read the TOU there! An eye opener!

Peace!

 

[Krshna]

does anybody know a sure fire test to make sure youre not putting off rf? is it the radio test? i need some peace of mind on this issue!

 

[Eazytoke]

does anybody know a sure fire test to make sure youre not putting off rf? is it the radio test? i need some peace of mind on this issue!

When I was using a digital years ago I turned on a known AM station in my car in the garage. With the ballast on I couldn't pick up the station but it came in crystal clear when it was off. The damn thing burned out on me right away anyways so I didn't even bother getting it fixed and just plugged back in my magnetic. It's still running fine.

 

[ARTofMAKINGfire]

The damn thing burned out on me right away anyways so I didn't even bother getting it fixed and just plugged back in my magnetic. It's still running fine.

That's what happened with mine. I had a 6 burnt out. Replaced with magnetic. Never went back.

As far as interference. I never bother to hook up the cable at a grow house. So if I do have a little TV, its hooked up to bunny ears. They are very vulnerable to interference. When my phone rang the TV would blink and buzz... When the 6 was on, it was like a repeating wave or ripple down the TV, like eazytoke said, when it was off, crytsal clear. That's one way to know. Other than that a device to detect sources on interference freqencies they are probably mad dough but I know sattellite installers and techs sometimes have them...

 

[BigDawg]

how far can you run the lamp/socket/bulb from the ballast with magnetics vs digital? Some digitals i read you can run 65ft from ballast... dunno about mags

 

[GDB]

I'm kind of on the fence regarding the use of digital ballasts vs magnetic. Some of the features on the digital side are a plus, like operating temp and use of "integrated circuits" vs a magnetic winding(read moving part). The downside however, seems scary as hell, like these things are beacons of RF interference when you run them. There has to be a quality control issue with certain brands as to why some people love them and other people hate them. I guess if you have a digital ballast producing interference on your cable(coax) then there is most likely a wiring problem or you should return the ballast itself. Does everyone check for interference with an AM radio? Seems that feedback on the ground interfering with coax/cable is a completely different issue than the non-shielded power cord blocking out AM stations. This creates a bunch of questions in my head regarding the safety of use solely based on ease of 'detection'.

 

[Krshna]

This creates a bunch of questions in my head regarding the safety of use solely based on ease of 'detection'.

I know right? I'm not sure how safe it is to use one, unless somebody knows how to determine if it's interfering with cable... I don't want my mode of detection to be a knock from the cable company!

 

[hashberry]

I know right? I'm not sure how safe it is to use one, unless somebody knows how to determine if it's interfering with cable... I don't want my mode of detection to be a knock from the cable company!

Here's an easy method:

turn on the ballast. turn on the cable tv / check internet signal. everything ok? you're fine.

I've had lumatek for years and years.. never had one burn out or pop a bulb.. never had any interference issues. quieter than magnetic and not as hot.. seems fine to me.

 

[wantaknow]

the easyest way to test for rf trash is to plug in an am radio next to your ballest while it is on tstart from one side of the dial and slowly move to the other then back again stop on the loudest noise that is static then unplug your ballest while it is on if the noise decreases on the radio then plug it back in and see if it resumes if so that is rf noise you are hearing,a small fariday cage madefrom brass screen will fix this problem

 

[wantaknow]

and btw leds put off rf noise also ,some put off alot

 

[Jeeyah]

I have a Lumatek 1000 and a Magnetic 1000. Never had a problem with either of them.

 

[poo-hand]

prophecy - The ground for your enitre home starts in your breaker panel. The first thing to do is to ensure that any lines running a ballast are grounded in the box. For a 120V line there will be 3 wires. Two going into a breaker. One GREEN going to a GROUND BAR in your breaker box. This can be identified by other GREEN GROUND wires being connected to it. Makes sure all these connections are good.

Please remember your panel it HOT and can SERIOUSLY HURT you.

Be careful, this advice is not exactly correct. close but no cigar, and close doesnt cut it when it comes to growing and electrical sytems. get an electrician or a good book. maybe both..

any electrical suply store will have a very cheap tool that you can plug into any 120v socket and it will tell you if the socket is grounded or not. cheap and easy. If your home is older you might not have a grounded socket, never fear this is not the end of your grow, just a bump in the road.

 

[nameless]

great post wantaknow. i have 2 lumateks and they work fine for me. less than a year old though prob...