Most efficient (power usage) 400w/600w HPS ballast KIT??

[Hydro-Soil]

Hey all! ;D

Looking at wiring up a few HID lights and was wondering who had the skinny on the best HPS kits with the best power efficiency? For the money, that is. I don't need rolls royce... just the best kit for the buck.

400w and 600w are the sizes I'm primarily researching right now.

Anyone wire up a few dozen different kits and care to share?

Thanks and....

Stay Safe!

 

[who dat is]

I can't vouch for power consumption as I'm not familiar at all with 600s but I wanted to at least throw it out there that you can use CMH (ceramic metal halides) with a 400 watt magnetic HPS ballast. That is a perk in itself as you can veg and flower with the same ballast and merely switch out the bulbs.

 

[eyes]

if your going to order a ballast kit, id try to go for a phillips advance kit. the 600s are a pain in the ass to get in a major brand cause the hydro stores usually dont have that wattage in a major brand.

the 400s will grow nice buds but overall the 600s are much brighter and will yield more. the 600s are cool enough to place close to the canopy like a 400. 90,000 intial lumens and sunmaster makes very nice conversion bulbs if u want to run a metal halide in veg. a nice hps is an ultra sun 600.50 bux. or 30 with the right vendor. they dont zing or rattle on electronic ballasts.

 

[geoponics13]

tag

 

[Hydro-Soil]

CMH on 400w hps... Check! Going Mag so it's an option I'll keep in mind, thanks.

Ya... was looking at the philips advance kit in 600w, also difficult to find... The pre-built 600's are the most expensive lights... appreciate the tip on the lamps as well.

The philips advance 600w ballast uses a dry capacitor (bonus) and I found someone selling the kits HERE.

They're difficult to find and I ended up downloading the philips catalog and re-searching using the part number. 71A85E5-500D Still didn't end up with that many choices to shop from... would LOVE to have an electrical supply house nearby (closer than 2hrs. lol)

Thanks for the input folks, keep it rolling if you can as I love all new info.

Stay Safe!

 

[Hydro-Soil]

Holy SHIT!

Anyone ever order from these guys?? You can save $800+ on that same ballast kit.
http://www.electriciansupplies.com/product.cfm/p/126266/Philips-Advance-71A85E5-500D.htm
Only 1,779.11.... after discount of course. ROTFLMAO!

Tell me this is a scam site... they list the shipping weight as 1lb... not 22.5 like the catalog specifies. Ouch!

 

[eyes]

i saw the link ya posted- i like how they say perfect replacement for the advance ballast. then i enlarged the pic and it says made in china. some places will try to sell ya anything.

its gonna cost ya at least 200-250. some places are outrageous.

 

[Hydro-Soil]

i enlarged the pic and it says made in china

Ewwwwww! How the hell did I miss THAT one. *sigh* Good eyes, Eyes.

Appreciate the heads up.

Stay Safe!

 

[growshopfrank]

if efficiency is your main goal i would say that ballasts of equal wattage will be quite similar IMHO the biggest gains in efficiency would be in the reflector and keeping the bulbs fresh also if using air conditioning removing the ballast from the room will save some hydro

 

[Hydro-Soil]

Makes sense.

I guess as long as I avoid the cheap china crap and stick with name brands, I should be ok.

I just remember back when I converted my first cooper 150w HPS lamps. Those ballasts were SOOOO Cheap and ran SOOOO hot. I probably burned 500-600w between the two of them. LOL

Thanks everyone!

Stay Safe!

 

[Hydro-Soil]

Anyone hear of "Sola" ballasts?

Most of the ballast kits for 600w HPS I'm finding are at least $400. That's pretty steep! I want quality but golly that's a lot.

Howard makes a 400w hps that's a 99% power factor ballast... pretty dang good, eh?
Howard does not make a 600w ballast.

Sola does and 1000bulbs has it cheap... $103 and change The power factor is listed as 90% which is the same as the Philips Advance ballasts.

Is there anyone that's used both and can put there info in the mix here? LOL


THanks and...

Stay Safe!

 

[LeeROI]

Sola is a good name in transformers, at least they used to be. I think they were bought out by Reliance, another big name in industry. Looking at the Sola ballast pdf, it says made in Mexico. (I was looking for transformers recently and most of the name brands are in Mexico now.)

I've been away from industrial electrics a long time but I don't know how a traditional coil-and-core ballast would have a power factor of 99%. Power factor is NOT the same thing as efficiency. PF only matters to the electrical utility, really. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Power_factor

If you need the best efficiency you'll have to buy a new-fangled electronic ballast. 600W is the best size for lumens per watt, whatever ballast you choose. I just bought a Phantom 600W--I love the built-in timer that prevents a fast restrike after a short power outage.

 

[Hydro-Soil]

Hmm.... Should be ok then.... that's a lot cheaper than $400 for sure. Thanks for the input.

So.... efficiency wise. Great. Electricity really isn't my bag until it's running a computer. Was really looking for a ballast that was rock solid, didn't draw too much extra power and because of that would run cooler/cheaper.

I'm sold on mag ballasts... sorry. Maybe in a few more years electronics will be an option for me, they're still growing up and becoming more mature.

Stay Safe!

 

[asde²]

gavita pro 600 se us; not really a cheap kit but i would still call it "best kit for the buck"


http://www.gavita-holland.com/index.php/products/proline/prolinefixtures/item/gavita-pro-600.html

 

[LeeROI]

Gavita is developing a strong reputation but there is nothing really wrong with magnetic ballasts. I bought Advance kits (as backup) hoping the coils are tightly wound and therefor relatively quiet.