Gavita DigiStar ballasts, 600 & 1,000 watt - COMING SOON!

[Stonefree69]

I noticed my favorite Micromole ballasts aren't really being sold anymore (rebranded Gavita ballsts from Humboldt County Lights) & wondering what's up... So after some searching as I WANT some more Micromole 600 watt ballasts, I came across Monstergarden.com's site which show the "coming soon" notice for Gavita DigiStar Ballasts, both 600 & 1,000 watt (they are plum out of Micromole ballasts). Another note: these new ballasts are not those proprietary ones that you use with the Philips bulbs, but use any kind of decent digital capable bulb.

These ballasts really do seem to be a step up in performance PAR/lumen wise especially as the Micromoles blew Lumateks out of the water (after all they're from Gavita) and I just can't wait..................... But still - Other stores besides Monstergardens should be carrying them as well. Just thought I'd give you ICMag people a heads up. I just hope "coming soon" means sooner than later!

 

[Stonefree69]

Oh, also to add: "The Digistar electronic adjustable ballast, (or VSA), works with a very high frequency. Normal 50 Hz HPS lamps can fail because the wire frame flexes (which can ultimately break the HPS lamp) and the arc can resonate / vibrate. This is not unusual for 50 Hz lamps which are used in high frequency ballast.

That is why the use of high frequency HPS lamps is recommended. Unfortunately, high frequency lamps are not available in all markets; this is why Gavila has introduced an improved HPS lamp, the Gavita Enhanced HPS lamp, certified to work with Digistar ballasts."

Don't know about MH bulbs yet from Gavita.

 

[greekgardner]

i love my micromole 1000,really puts out the power on overdrive

 

[Stonefree69]

So I heard the new Gavitas may be out sometime in May. Rep said Micromole and Gavita are the same ballast basically.

Funny when I ordered the Micromole ballast, the sales rep said that Solis-Tek won a shootout out of 9 ballasts on order of performance (PAR output): Solis-Tek, Lumatek, Raider, Galaxy, Nano, Lucious Maxcimus & the SG Lite magnetic ballast lagged WAY behind those other digital ballasts by about 30%. No Micromole or Gavita in test. Link for test results: 1000W DIGITAL BALLAST COMPARISON REVIEW & PAR TEST FOOTPRINT RESULTS Another rep told me Phantom and Solis-Tek (not the Matrix models) were among the most reliable ballasts. Basically most are rebranded from China (even the newer ones w/Japanese components) except for Gavita & Micromole. Humboldt County Lights no longer will carry the Micromole and are focusing on Humboldt Nutrients.

Another test (PAR output) had the Micromole ballast whooping (ala Ali style) the Lumatek ballast (though heard Lumatek ballasts can vary by 10% among themselves): Micromole vs Lumatek ballast Not only 20% more PAR output but it was dead quiet.

Also Solis-Tek says PAR is a misleading measurement for plants needs in terms of light. They say they evolved to take full sun and a much broader spectrum. May be true when it comes to UV light (to an extent). Also plants can't use much more than 5,000 foot candles (which I agree). Here's a description:

 

[mr.shiva]

Some how not surprised "Humboldt County lights" aka "Humboldt Nutrients" lost the Gavita exclusive ... They could've picked a better distributor.

 

[watts]

think these have been out a while in europe and uk

 

[mr.shiva]

-

 

[rives]

I seem to recall reading that the 600w ballasts are actually manufactured by Philips and re-branded by Gavita, and the 1000w are built by Gavita. Perhaps Whazzup can shed some light on this for us.

 

[dohboy]

Gavita DigiStar ballasts, 600 & 1,000 watt - COMING SOON!

I'm pretty sure these are at a local store in vancouver bc

I was going to buy them but didn't lol...

I think it was because the dials and writing made it seem like the ballast was meant to be mounted upside down ... I dunno lol

 

[BCNeil]

I'm pretty sure these are at a local store in vancouver bc

I was going to buy them but didn't lol...

I think it was because the dials and writing made it seem like the ballast was meant to be mounted upside down ... I dunno lol

I just got one today in Vancouver.
Yeah the dial and everything upside down, but thats because they suggest you mount vertically attached to the wall.

They run 120 and 240 as well. I thought only 240, like their double ended lamp kit. They can run MH as well, just at 1000w. No dimming or boosting of MH bulbs.

 

[Stonefree69]

I just got one today in Vancouver.
Yeah the dial and everything upside down, but thats because they suggest you mount vertically attached to the wall.

They run 120 and 240 as well. I thought only 240, like their double ended lamp kit. They can run MH as well, just at 1000w. No dimming or boosting of MH bulbs.

Yeah my Micromole 600 watt has the dial/output facing the floor mounted vertically. No prob, I never really touch the settings anyway.

 

[whazzup]

I seem to recall reading that the 600w ballasts are actually manufactured by Philips and re-branded by Gavita, and the 1000w are built by Gavita. Perhaps Whazzup can shed some light on this for us.

The DigiStar ballasts are made by Gavita, they are not Philips. They are distributed in Canada by Rambridge, but not in the USA.

There is a long story behind that with which I am not going to bother you . I am still not sure that we are going to carry them in the US.

Many MH lamps do not perform well on high frequency ballasts and not all MH lamps are suitable for dimming. That's why we do not recommend to dim or boost MH lamps. We even had to bring our own HPS lamps to the market because we are know that many 50 Hz traditional lamps don't last and are not suitable. Believe me, when you have to re-lamp a 10.000 fixture greenhouse you have a steep learning curve. We make professional electronic ballasts since 2003.

DigiStars have, same as the pro-line, a soft-dim which gradually dims the power to the lamp instead of switching it. This puts less stress on the lamp while dimming.

The print seems indeed upside down, but ballasts are supposed to hang vertical for cooling and you need to operate them in that position. So yes, we actually put some thought into that

They do not come with the European Wieland connector though, but the standard Sunlight Supply outlet.

 

[whazzup]

oh, and solistek is a bit inaccurate in its information. Just posted about that in another topic.

There is one question you should ask any ballast manufacturer: Do you do your own lighting tests, so do you have a high frequency power analyzer and an Ulbricht Sphere? Eveeryone can buy, sell and pimp Chinese ballasts. Very few companies are actually designing and re-designing ballasts and testing them in suitable testing conditions. Even many new lamp companies that emerge don't have Ulbricht spheres and serious quantum and spectrum meters. Basically it's all marketing. I have seen the same (Chinese) lamps sold under 5 different names. Believe me, the best lamps do not come from China and the biggest HID (and horticultural) lamp manufacturer is still Philips. They actually make some of their MH also in China nowadays unfortunately (the HPI T-plus) and that does make a quality difference. Most of the lamps are built in Belgium though, at their factory in Turnhout. This is where the Double ended lamps are built. Other big lamp manufacturing countries are for example Poland, Germany and Hungary.

According to Philips they make 30-40% of all HID lamps in the world market.

 

[Stonefree69]

Funny, went to order some more Gavita bulbs (for Digistar ballasts) from one of my fav shopping sites and their product page now says: "Gavita Holland has a Minimum Advertised Price Policy. Essentially telling us we must advertize this product for a higher price than we would normally charge. We think this is unfair and we're not playing this game anymore. We're not interested in offering products from manufacturers that try to control our business." Here's link: Gavita Enhanced 600W HPS Lamp Mogul

Was going to get digilux 600w HPS bulbs (they're one of few w/600w MH) but found another site and deal on those Gavita bulbs. Tempted to get Plantmax 600w HPS as they're only $30 @ some sites.

 

[Treetroit City]

I believe PLH kicked hortilux to the curb for the same reason.

 

[whazzup]

Indeed MAP is enforced as from jan 2013. There are very good reasons to do that, one of which is that retailers should have a fair margin to be able to give service to the customer. It just levels the playing field a bit. If you are just in it for low prices as a reseller it makes me wonder how seriously you take your service.

This month Gavita starts their certified reseller program to train resellers who really want to make a difference.

 

[nr nodes]

Are the new Gavita single-ended HPS lamps available for USA yet?

 

[Stonefree69]

Are the new Gavita single-ended HPS lamps available for USA yet?

Well I have a 600 watt Gavita HPS hanging bare bulb (vertical lighting) with a Micromole/Gavita ballast. I'm in the US and searched a bit online. Got it from horticulturesource.com after a bit of a delay and I think there's at least 1 other place.

Looks like I can also get a Gavita ballast (I'm adding more ballasts soon) from 1 place in Canada online shipped here to the US. KNOCK ON WOOD.

 

[nr nodes]

Well I have a 600 watt Gavita HPS hanging bare bulb (vertical lighting) with a Micromole/Gavita ballast. I'm in the US and searched a bit online. Got it from horticulturesource.com after a bit of a delay and I think there's at least 1 other place.

Looks like I can also get a Gavita ballast (I'm adding more ballasts soon) from 1 place in Canada online shipped here to the US. KNOCK ON WOOD.

Thanks. I'm looking for 1000w and not finding them anywhere yet.

 

[indabonga]

puk outlet.nl it's a great shop for gavita