first hand experiences -600/400 in 400 mode

[OZZ_]

I'm currently running a lumi 400 but could use a 600 during winter and am thinking of grabbing a 600 dimmable. Of course from my research I've heard people say their not sure about the performance of dimmables operating in the lower settings in regards to lumen output, color temp, etc, etc.
.
If I went that route, its very likely ild be running it in 400w mode with a 400w bulb all summer, and switching to a 600w bulb for winter.

Have any of you who have run a dimmable 600... in 400w mode for a full flowering cycle noticed any issues? Any difference in results seen over a standard 400?

Any first hand experiences would be great. Im not really looking to run a 600w bulb dimmed to 400 mode ... but rather looking to swap bulbs I.e. 400w bulb when in 400w mode/600w bulb in 600w mode. I'm flowering in a 3x3 space.

Any suggestions?

 

[SeaMaiden]

I use a dimmable, but overdrive a 400W MH + 600W HPS on a magnetic. I've never used a 400 for a full flowering cycle, I've been stuck on 600's the whole time. The bigger problem for me has been finding bulbs that run well on the dimmable digi.

Tagged, curious to read others' opinions and experiences as well.

 

[OZZ_]

The bigger problem for me has been finding bulbs that run well on the dimmable digi.

Tagged, curious to read others' opinions and experiences as well.

Care to elaborate on this? Your saying you have trouble running a 600w bulb on a digital ballast period? I had a 600 digi and it did fine. I'm guessing I'm misunderstanding


anyone have any experiences? My current 400 is a lumi 400/250, so really I could go with a 1000 dimmable and use it now on 600w mode and have room to grow if I wanted- assuming a 600w bulb on 600w mode would function similarly to a straight 600w ballast/bulb.

Anyone flower with a 600w bulb on a 1000w dimmable ballast? What's your experiences?

Really I'm interested in hearing from anyone that's flowered a full cycle on a lower setting of a dimmable. Do they function adequately with a matched lower wattage bulb is the question.

????

 

[SeaMaiden]

Yes, not all bulbs will play well with digital ballasts. It's not just the dimmable thing, it's the digital thing. I've got a 600W Lumatek that is supposed to be made for running in a digital ballast, and I can't get it to fire properly, so I have to run it in my mag coil.

I was hoping that my post would help bump your thread so that anyone who may have experimented using lower wattage in a dimmable could offer their experiences. All I've ever done is overdrive bulbs. I've used the dimming feature with vegging plants, but not in flower.

 

[Ganja Maker]

I would also like someone to chime in. That would work for my setup also. I run two 400's,and would love to bump up to 600's, but I don't think I can manage the heat in the summer. That would be great to just swap the bulbs out when it would be to hot. It sounds like a good idea.

 

[gingerale]

I use the hell out of the dimming feature on my Lumatek 1000W units. These can dim to 600 or 750 or go up to 1200W. On hot days when the ventilation is at its limits it's really nice to be able to just dim the lights down and save heat and power. The larger bulbs when dimmed to lower power levels are probably slightly less efficient (slightly less light output) than the same "dedicated" size bulb and ballast, but it's really a non-issue IMO. I have a 1000W bulb currently running at 480W (Lumatek 400W on Super Lumens mode) and it's fine, definitely puts out more light than the magnetic at 400W. Any minor differences in efficiency are nothing compared to how handy it is to have a dimmable bulb.

Oh BTW, while the instructions say (in theory) you shouldn't turn the dimmer knob while the ballast is powered, I'm here to tell you I've done it for years and it doesn't hurt a damn thing. I tend to go slow and not make huge and sudden increases in brightness so as not to shock the bulb, but otherwise it works fine. It's really nice if you have to dim or want to brighten the bulb, just turn the switch, and no need to power down, waiting for it to cool and relight, etc.

 

[SeaMaiden]

I've done the same thing, and then read that I'm not supposed to do it. Kinda like overdriving the bulbs. D'oh!

 

[OZZ_]

Good input!

Gingerale - so in your opinion... you see no problems using a 1000w ballast with a 600w bulb set to 600w mode or a 600w ballast with 400w bulb set to 400w mode?

.... and doing this for significant lengths of time?

 

[gingerale]

Yeah it's not a problem at all. In 600W mode the ballast runs just as efficiently as it does at full power, and any 600W bulb will work fine, same for the 600/400 scenario. The bulb rating is just how much maximum power it's rated to safely handle. Some/many/most bulbs can handle more than their rated power. You could actually run that 600W bulb on 750W mode and it would be fine in most cases. I run Hortilux HPS bulbs which are high quality and I think that plays a factor in it, as cheaper bulbs may be more failure prone when pushed. HPS in general seem to be more dependable and less finicky than MH.

 

[jm420]

I wouldnt run any bulb that isnt the same wattage as my ballast.The reps at quantum Dont recomend it either.

Some digis are designed to run on diffrent bulb wattages though this one caught my eye this morning
http://www.ebay.com/itm/Genesis-Dig...684&pid=100015&prg=1006&rk=1&sd=120995455417&

 

[OZZ_]

I guess I was more referring to the lumatek's as they are dial a watt and not "dimmeable" Their instructions flat out say you can either dim a high wattage bulb to a lower power setting or run a lower power bulb at its proper setting.

I was really just wanting to hear from people who have done it for significant lengths of time. Honestly.... I can't ever see myself going bigger then a 600, I already have the lumatek 400/250... so I think I'm going to go with the lumi 600/400 and run a 600w bulb in winter and dial it down to 400 with a matching 400w bulb in summer.

 

[OZZ_]

Really though... why doesn't someone just anti up and make a switchable ballast that will run 250/400/600/1000 .... and call it good!? You know its coming just do it already - ild pay $500 bucks for the damn thing lol

 

[SeaMaiden]

I guess I was more referring to the lumatek's as they are dial a watt and not "dimmeable" Their instructions flat out say you can either dim a high wattage bulb to a lower power setting or run a lower power bulb at its proper setting.

Mine's a Quantum, and my instructions say exactly the same thing. What I haven't done is put a meter to any bulb driven at any setting to see what it actually produces.

I was really just wanting to hear from people who have done it for significant lengths of time. Honestly.... I can't ever see myself going bigger then a 600, I already have the lumatek 400/250... so I think I'm going to go with the lumi 600/400 and run a 600w bulb in winter and dial it down to 400 with a matching 400w bulb in summer.

My oldest son has been growing for around 10 years now and all he uses are 400w HPS bulbs, sometimes mixed with some sort of fluoro, CFL or similar. He doesn't have problems with larfy buds or bad stretching, anything like that, but he's very good and practiced at canopy control, lollipopping and all of that stuff. You've got to balance the cost of the juice with the heat and all of that. I'm with you on the 600W's, even if we are on solar, thouies can chew up the wattage FAST.

 

[gingerale]

Actually, the new fan-cooled Lumateks are 400/600/1000W. Not really sure if I like that better than the 600/750/1000W. When I'm dimming my 1000s I really don't want to go all the way down to 400W; 600W is really the lowest needed and 750W is a decent step in between, while also offering an easy way to overdrive a 600W bulb within safe margins. I don't really see the point in purposely running a lower wattage bulb in the unit; in my mind that's only something you would do if that's all you had on hand and needed to put a light somewhere. If you intend to run higher wattage at any time then save your money, buy the bigger bulb and just dim it down when needed.

 

[gingerale]

I think the reason they say not to adjust the dimmer switch when lit is because if you are reckless in doing so you might ruin a bulb. When the ballast fires up it is programmed to "slow start" the bulb by bringing up the voltage/current slowly and letting the bulb warm up, instead of just blasting it with energy, thus causing rapid temperature changes/expansions which can contribute to metal-glass seal failure.

Whenever you adjust the switch however, the change is instant. All the switch does is send a digital signal to the microprocessor inside which tells it to increase or decrease current going to the bulb by X amount. So I can imagine if you do something like start out on 600W then suddenly jack it all the way up to 1200W, it might stress the bulb and possibly cause a failure, now or later. That's why when I'm adjusting mine I do it slow and easy and don't make big and rapid changes like that. Never had a problem in years of operation. Getting ready to switch out these bulbs at the two year mark here soon and they still seem as bright as ever, and I've been running them on 1200W quite a bit; we'll see when the new ones are in.

 

[rives]

I use a dimmable, but overdrive a 400W MH + 600W HPS on a magnetic.

If by "overdriving" you mean running a 400w lamp on a 600w ballast, you should be aware that this is a very dangerous practice.

 

[OZZ_]

Great info! +rep! @ginger

I think I'm set on going with a 600.

I'm flowering in a 3x3 with a super Sun 2 hood and could use a little more beef around the edges of the tent so I don't need to rotate.

However, I just blew my wad on a boo order: fractal strawberry diesel f3, mosca C99 bx1, and mosca old time Indiana bubblegum.

dam I'm stoked...

back on topic though I'm not looking to overdrive anything, but very well may run the ballast for extended periods of time in the lower setting

 

[jm420]

@ Sea Maiden Unless you have an older ballas check out paragrgh 10
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3Your new ballast is the ONLY digital ballast on the market that is switchable from 120v to 240v by simply changing power cords (both 120v and 240V included). As with any electrical device, make sure that your ballast’s incoming power cords and outgoing lamp cords are never exposed directly to water. We want you and your garden to be safe. Always keep your cords neat and tidy to eliminate any possibility of accidentally tripping over them or catching them on protruding objects.

4Also unique to your new ballast is the three phase dimming switch that allows you to run your lamp at 100%, 75%, and 50% power. This is useful in hardening off plants just being introduced to HID lighting, as well as letting you custom tailor your lighting requirements should you decide that a smaller environmental footprint is needed. You can increase the power to your ballast as your garden grows and demands more light, as well you can save money by not using un-needed wattage.

5The dimming switch is located on the front of your ballast just above the lamp cord. Always allow 30 seconds between the different output settings to allow your ballast to draw the proper amount of power and charge your bulb to the desired setting. Do not rapidly toggle the control back and forth as this may cause damage to your ballast and/or bulb.

6If the ballast should go off for any reason, always allow the bulb to cool before re-striking it again. This allows the gases inside the bulb to cool and reignite. In the case that a power surge blows the fuse in your ballast, an extra fuse is included and is stored behind a small tab located underneath the power cord inlet. Be gentle when you open the tab as to not damage it. Make sure the ballast is unplugged before replacing or inspecting the fuse.

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8When striking your lamp, make sure all cord ends are firmly attached and a bulb is installed in your socket assembly correctly. Plug your ballast into your power source and give it a few seconds to gather power. As with any ballast, the bulb will take a few moments to reach its maximum output.

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10It is imperative that you ALWAYS use a bulb centric to the wattage of your ballast. Doing otherwise may cause damage to your ballast and/or bulb. (i.e. 400w bulb/400w ballast, 600w bulb/600w ballast, 750w bulb/750w ballast, 1000w bulb/1000w ballast)

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This device complies with section 18 of the FCC rules and regulations. This product may cause interference to radio equipment and should not be installed near maritime safety communications equipment or other critical navigation or communication equipment operating between 0.45-30 MHz. Move your ballast should any interference occur.

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[OZZ_]

Interesting. lumatek lists the lower wattage bulbs right in the instructions, as well as lists what modes the are compatible with. This may be the difference between being dimeable and select a watt. I'm not sure but I've read the mechanism is different in the way it reduces power

 

[jm420]

btw quantum dosnt have an overdrive or superlumen settingandIve never seen a mag ballast thats dimmable or dial a watt
maybe i'm just missing somthing