Quantum or Lumatek? Which runs cooler, and which do you prefer?

[medmaker420]

I have ran quantums and lumis'

both are good.

My quantums will NOT fire mh conversion bulbs (not sure if they are even supposed to on 600's but I have never had one actually work lol)

I use my quantums for FLOWER though so I don't really care that MH isn't the 600's friend. Now the 1k quantums fire the 1k hps and 1k mh no problem so odds are it is the 600's issue and maybe the digilux 600 TRUE mh bulb will work on the 6000.

There are knockoffs of the quantum on ebay that I LOVE. I found them through carbonscrubber.com I believe and they were through htgsupply or something like that I believe. They have cheap 600's and 1000's on auction that you can get SUPER cheap including a nice light cord.

My favorite running ballast so far is the quantums though. They are quiet BUT have a fan which I think lumis are realizing with their new "add a fan" thing for their ballasts LOL. I liked the fit and finish fo my quantums BUT I haven't had the so called knock offs skip a beat ONCE.

I would try THEM ALL because people need to stop with the ford/chevy mentality with these things and actually TRY THEM FOR YOURSELVES and find out what YOU like.

 

[MPL]

I've been super stoked with my Phantom 1k...

 

[Marlo]

1 month in with my phantoms, and although they seem to run warm, I have zero complaints so far.

 

[Nader]

My quantums will NOT fire mh conversion bulbs (not sure if they are even supposed to on 600's but I have never had one actually work lol)

What bulbs did you try? My 600w Ushio Hi-Lux gro mh conversion bulb works beautifully in my quantum Also, dimmed at 50% the light intensity of the Ushio bulb seems considerably higher than half of the intensity at 100%.

I've only used Quantums, and they are wonderful thus far. Mine has never run hot, only ever warm to the touch.. The fan really does the job! It isn't a completely silent fan, mind you..

 

[rrog]

Does the light spectrum / color seem the same when dimmed?

 

[Nader]

Does the light spectrum / color seem the same when dimmed?

Yeah... as far as my naked eye can tell, it's just not as blinding

 

[MaynardG_Krebs]

I still say 3 x as hot . I temped my lumateks (600+1000), they ran between 80 and 95 . Depending on where on the ballast I took the temp and how much airflow was in the room .My friends quantum was easy 3x hotter , so around 250+ , easy . Way to hot to touch for more then a split second .

I bet he got one with a defect of some sort.. I can easily hold my hand on my 600 watt Quantum with no ill effects. I just IR temped mine and it's running at 97 deg f and it's been on for 7 hours.

mgk

 

[rrog]

That's part of the potential problem with the various digital ballasts. There are concerns about the resulting light spectrum when you dim a 1000w to 600w, etc. Could be great and fine, but different lamps work differently in different ballasts. Potentially. I asked a few ballast / lamp manufacturers and they were all very sketchy on all of this dimming.

Some people dim the 1000W to 600 or whatever. Others replace the 1000 for a 600w lamp.

Man, there are enough issues discussed online about running a 1000w at 1000w in this or that ballast. Now we introduce dimming. Personally I'd love to get a really good MicroMole or Solis Tek and rock. Would be handy for me to dim

 

[nukklehead]

I would try THEM ALL because people need to stop with the ford/chevy mentality with these things and actually TRY THEM FOR YOURSELVES and find out what YOU like.

I like the fords but you have to have a gas mask and add oil intermittantly.. lol
Ill stick with the fords.. ( magnetics) till you all get them figured out

 

[MaynardG_Krebs]

Just as I go braggin about how good my Quantum ballast is, it shit's the bed. I'm gonna have to do some steppin and fetchin somehow and come up with a ballast and still conduct my normal life as well.. hmmm..

mgk

 

[rrog]

What was the symptom? Man, that sucks

 

[MaynardG_Krebs]

What was the symptom? Man, that sucks

Symptom... sudden dimming (like a power surge) but it was the only thing that went down. I unplugged it and let it set.. plugged it back in.. dead as a door nail. Everything else that's on that circuit is still operating as normal.. even tried a different bulb.. nadda.. gotta figure out how I'm gonna get one tomorrow.. sheesh.. heck of a way to make your 1000th post..

mgk

 

[rrog]

I have not heard of many Quantums taking a dump like that. Man how crazy inconvenient is this!!

 

[BlueJayWay]

Currently started running lumatek 600w HPS's and the ballast will feel hot to the touch, not severely so, but then i picked up a couple quantum 400w MH and it has a built in fan and is no hotter to the touch than air temp.

I had intended to pick up more lumateks to keep everyting the same, but the shop was sold out so i went with the quantums and am happy with both, but oddly enough in the future i may continue to buy quantums (i kind of like orange vs. purple anyways LOL).

Although, my lumateks are the 600/400 ballasts so they started out running my 400 MH, and when i kicked the flower room into high gear I wanted to get the same ballasts, in case i wanted to upgrade my veg to 600 without having to buy new ballasts, as the quantum's are just straight 400w....i like getting a higher rated ballast and running the lower setting

 

[MaynardG_Krebs]

My initial impressions of the Lumatek vs the Quantum... First, it's MUCH quieter. The cooling fan on the Quantum got noisier and noisier as time went on...(I'm pretty sure the demise of the Q was the fan.... it made a funny noise about a half hour before it shit the bed) the Lumatek doesn't make a sound... nadda. It runs just as cool, maybe even cooler than the Q. Seems to be a good solid build.... light brightness seems the same in it's highest mode. Time will tell...

mgk

 

[chefro420]

Just as I go braggin about how good my Quantum ballast is, it shit's the bed. I'm gonna have to do some steppin and fetchin somehow and come up with a ballast and still conduct my normal life as well.. hmmm..

mgk

heh , maybe it was because you held you hand on it too long?



Seriously , what are the odds you made that post and it craps out ? WTF?

Good looking on the temp . Maybe his was a defect ? Like I said though it was only one

 

[Highlighter]

Anyone use NextGen 600's?

I've had 3 600 Lumatek's. One died less than a yr old. Another trips off every now and then.
I ordered a Next Gen 600 in sept, but were b/o til enf oct., however they have all had to go back to the manufacture for re-manufacturing due to some issue with them.
I just don't want anything w/ a fan in 'em. Remember Future Bright's?

 

[woolybear]

I've gotten good info out of this thread that'll help me with my decision. thanks posters!

bimp

 

[rrog]

Maynard, how's the Lumatek?

 

[MaynardG_Krebs]

Maynard, how's the Lumatek?

Well.. it's plugged in and the light is on and the plants are happy.. Like the poster up a couple posts, I'll never buy anything with a fan in it again.. One thing I've noticed, my little closet is a LOT quieter.. that fan made more noise than I realized.. It seems to run at reasonable temps, so I have no complaints and will buy that brand should I ever need to buy one again..

mgk