Lumatek Ice Pack

[guanito]

So I got a new product announcement from my supplier which had this lumatek ice pack fan advertised. It's a cool running fan that attaches to the lumatek ballast with a 12v plug. I'm thinking you could run it off a regular 12v ac converter and use it anywhere! This is the answer I've been searching for my Summertime grows.

check it out:

http://www.wormsway.com/detail.aspx?t=prod&sku=LIP100

 

[LiLWaynE]

fuck lumatek.

 

[tuinman]

Are your ballasts themselves getting too hot during the summertime, and that's what you need the cooler for? How can you tell?

 

[Jenn]

So basically Lumatek feels they probably should have a fan in their ballast and they dont so they are offering them as an attachment option....

 

[Mister_D]

Just a thought, but your ballast will run much cooler (less than half the heat) if you simply plug it into 220v instead of 120v. With the added bonus of being slightly brighter, and not adding something else to fail..... Ultimately if you are having heat issues, adding a fan to your ballast isn't going to solve them. All the fan will do is move you heat to another part of the room. Up your exhaust, cooling, or switch to 220v.

 

[owkia]

Just a thought, but your ballast will run much cooler (less than half the heat) if you simply plug it into 220v instead of 120v. With the added bonus of being slightly brighter, and not adding something else to fail..... Ultimately if you are having heat issues, adding a fan to your ballast isn't going to solve them. All the fan will do is move you heat to another part of the room. Up your exhaust, cooling, or switch to 220v.

There's a reason my 2 Digital Greenhouse ballasts have fans built in to them from the factory. You really should have at least a little air flow actually running over all the components in the ballast. That small amount of airflow is all that's needed to carry the heat off the ballasts to keep them cool without needing to up your entire AC unit.

Improving cooling for the entire room simply to combat ballast heat and nothing else would be like throwing a huge window AC unit in your office because your PC is overheating, even though the rest of the room isn't warm at all. That direct airflow is often all that's needed to keep components cool.

 

[nukklehead]

So basically Lumatek feels they probably should have a fan in their ballast and they dont so they are offering them as an attachment option....

 

[Friend]

I've been running my lumatek on 120v and it really doesn't get that hot, i think its a great ballast

But then again it's the first one i've had.. so i have nothing to compare it to

 

[guanito]

I use an old fashion magnetic ballast and I have other fans in my box.
In Summertime my problem is ambient temps. I can't get the temps below 85deg sometimes.
My box is in a room where there cannot be an a/c.
In Wintertime there is usually a flow of cold ait nearby to keep temps at a 75deg
This fan sounds like it generates cool air though.
For $10 I might have to include it in my next order.
I've wasted more money than that trying new things.
I was just wondering if anyone had spliced on a 12v converter to this thing yet?
The other issue would be noise - decibal level.

best regards

 

[Hammerhead]

I agree the fan is just something to advertise and make them some money..I have never read a post that there lumi stopped working from overheat.. 240v uses less amps then 120v. That makes the Ballest cooler

 

[Agent-Smith]

I picked up one of these at the indoor gardening expo last month and we have it on display at the shop. when i get there I'll snap a pic and upload it. the fan plugs directly into the ballast itself so no additional wiring is needed. They are also introducing a new 1000W ballast that already has a fan built in so you won't need to use the bolt on fan. The ballast that we have it running on is noticeably cooler now though with it on.

 

[overbudjet]

So lumatek are putting fan in their ballast.This is exactly why i bought QUANTUM.

 

[stonedar]

I use an old fashion magnetic ballast and I have other fans in my box.
In Summertime my problem is ambient temps. I can't get the temps below 85deg sometimes.
My box is in a room where there cannot be an a/c.
In Wintertime there is usually a flow of cold ait nearby to keep temps at a 75deg
This fan sounds like it generates cool air though.
For $10 I might have to include it in my next order.
I've wasted more money than that trying new things.
I was just wondering if anyone had spliced on a 12v converter to this thing yet?
The other issue would be noise - decibal level.

best regards

It's just a fan dude, it doesn't generate cool air. it's just a computer fan in a purple case.

 

[Mister_D]

owkia - Where do you suppose that heat goes? It doesn't magicly disappear from your room because a fan is moving it away from your ballast. Sure your ballast isn't as hot with a fan blowing on it, but that doesn't mean the same amount of heat isn't still being generated and released into the room. So to solve the high room temps, either move the ballast out of the room, or up the exhaust/cooling capabilities of the room.

 

[Agent-Smith]

Here's those pictures I promised. As you can see it bolts onto the cooling ribs and plugs into the 12 volt output that comes built into all Lumateks for this past year.

 

[Doobie Ninja]

That fan seems like a joke for the money. You can buy a cheap 12 inch desk fan for 10 dollars and cool 4-5 ballasts with one fan.

 

[habeeb]

I smell nothing but money..

as hammerhead stated, no one ever had a overheated lumatek, or that we've ever heard of

there new design was to incorporate just that, the socket to add what... an accessory, so they can get more money. fans are dirt cheap to buy, and to re-sell them up's there profits.. business partners happy, design team happy, owners happy.. nothing more. they see "dumb" pot growers as a way to get more money into there pockets..

a fan is not the problem anyways. that's why there is a whole discussion and thought on the topic, grow-room setup. If your having problems with heat, ballasts and huge bulbs aren't the solution in your room. it's efficiency and that means moving the ballast outside the room...

 

[Iron_Lion]

I like the idea of a detachable fan over a built in fan, with other brands if the fan breaks you're screwed, with this if the fan breaks you can just buy a new one. That lumatek fan looks like a piece of junk but $10 isnt that bad a price considering you dont get shit in a hydro shop for $10, im actually surprised its not $20 lol.

I use one of these $7 4 inch fans from walmart to keep my 1k lumatek a little cooler as my ballast is in the grow room, works great and runs on 120v.

 

[skyhigh35]

what a joke fuck lumatek. they are just trying to cover their ass on why they dont have built in fans

 

[TaterMcnuggys]

fuck lumatek.

my thoughts aswell