What's new
  • Happy Birthday ICMag! Been 20 years since Gypsy Nirvana created the forum! We are celebrating with a 4/20 Giveaway and by launching a new Patreon tier called "420club". You can read more here.
  • Important notice: ICMag's T.O.U. has been updated. Please review it here. For your convenience, it is also available in the main forum menu, under 'Quick Links"!

Magnetic or Digital?

rooted

Member
i tried 2 newer lumatek 600s with shielded cables and they still fucked up my tv reception across the house.

also, they blew 3 hortilux bulbs in the first month, so....i sent everything back (these aren't compatible but i was never told that of course)

that's just my experience with them, im sure plenty of folks out there are having no problems
 
B

Bud Bug

i tried 2 newer lumatek 600s with shielded cables and they still fucked up my tv reception across the house.

also, they blew 3 hortilux bulbs in the first month, so....i sent everything back (these aren't compatible but i was never told that of course)

that's just my experience with them, im sure plenty of folks out there are having no problems

Most hydro stores should have received a notice from Hortilux about two year ago about not running their bulbs with digital ballasts and that they will not warranty any bulb that was damaged through a digital ballast.

If the store is reputable they would ask anyone buying Hortilux bulbs if they are gonna be used on Mag or Digi.
 

NiteTiger

Tiger, Tiger, burning bright...
Veteran
Hey guys, I posted it earlier in the thread, but those of you having RFI problems with digital ballasts, use a Faraday Cage.

You can buy copper screen down to an almost clothlike mesh at Arts and Crafts stores.

:yes:
 

Aerohead

space gardener
Veteran
The RFI thing is not the real problem, Digi's eat bulbs and fail at will. I have tried 4 or 5 digis and all of them are in the bone yard, I'm still using a 12 year old mag ballast, always there when I needed it.
 

GrowerGoneWild

Active member
Veteran
The RFI thing is not the real problem, Digi's eat bulbs and fail at will. I have tried 4 or 5 digis and all of them are in the bone yard, I'm still using a 12 year old mag ballast, always there when I needed it.

Agreed, I don't have alot of experience with digis.
But there is no debating the durablity of a magnetic.

I had a magnetic ballast I was using since 94. And I could get .8gpw with a hortilux with low hours on it. (Advance Ballast)
 

junior_grower

Active member
we will see i have a good friend that just got his med card and now his new room ( I'm building and setting up) will be using 2 1000 watt mags (donated by me both 4+ years old rebuilt and ready to go). I'm aiming to have him @ 2gpw on the second grow so we will see.
 

jarff

Member
Anyone keepin score...who,s winning the magnetic Flyers or the digital Dandy.s

Too funny
btw I luv my 600 Lumateks,and I don,t care if they cost me an extra $1.29 per crop..
I,m not growing vegetables...

jarff
 

toohighmf

Well-known member
Veteran
quantum 1K's for yields, and the highest reliability in an electronic ballast. fugg it, you can replace em in 3 years off the extra money you make. they are friggin bright! I had a brand new SS1 blow up when plugging it in. had a hydrofarm xtrasun's ignitor blow in 8 months. if your going to go with magnetics, make sure they use Advance components and are actually made in North America. Venture is falling apart and chinese caps & ignitors suck. I do still have 2 SS1's and a Diamond that I only have had to swap out an ignitor on the 15 yo diamond, and 1 of the SS1's had a power switch that blew, so I removed it and just continued the circuit. no problems ever since.. these are 10 years old at least and their great. it seems newer ballasts are made mostly of chinese components and last about as long as a digi and dont put out near as much light at the highest efficiency.
 

SELFHEMPLOYED

सदस्य
Veteran
The hum on a mag ballast can be taken care of just as easily, if not easier, than the RF interference from a digi, and it really isn't that prevalent in any event. I've run 1kw grows with people regularly passing within 5 ft of the grow, and the hum was no issue at all.

And are you saying digi manufacturers have developed faster than light technology?!:yoinks: Light speed is light speed man :D

Can you tell me how to silence the hum? I have the xtrasun white magnetic 1000w and they hum like crazy. I would love to buy more magnetics over the double cost digitals.

Thank you
 

TryChrome

Member
check it... i'm runnin 2 400w lumateks... my TVs great and i love my babes to have some tunes so... i gotta radio runnin 24/7 for some company... sounds great... still though, i choose to be underground... i guess i'm a test runner... if you don't see me postin threads and keepin up on my grows... then assume i got fucked... i've read this thread from start to end... i am in the country though, but i've tested both my FM and my AM, driving to and from my house and there's no interference with my radio... no cable guy, yet... let's hope for my sake i keep this goin for as long as i choose fit...

and for the whole hortilux thing... check out CMH (ceramic metal halide)... phillips made them... clear lighting for warehouse application... just so happens that it's an HPS ignitor inside the bulb that excites the gas of a MH (argon)... it sounds premo...

anyway, i'm runnin illegal and i'm on digi's... guess i'm a guinea pig...
 

globel

Member
I am using these humboldt wholesale hercules ballast. Just picked up 3 today and I got 6 more to go. I need 100% complete silence because there right next to my boss in his office =( I cant find any mag's that don't hum. I have tried them all.... My hydro guy gave me 6 different mag ballast to test at our shop and none of them were 100% silent. He could have ordered me any ballast on the market to test, but i figured after 6 none were going to be silent. I like many of you have a somewhat close relationship with our hydro store owners and over the years I have spent what accumulates to a pair of Maserati's. I return everything I have a issue with. I have returned maybe 1/4 of everything electronic. I went threw 4 ph meters before settling on a blue lab. He told me the global green house / Hombolt wholesale ballast's were the way to go. With the fewest returns. He did say the 750's were crap though with about a 50% return rate. =/
 

Latest posts

Latest posts

Top