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Digital vs magnetic ballast

T

Tricko

Active member
Hi

I found my old growing equipment in the garage and ordered a 30"x30"x60" tent to put it in.

While ordering i thought i might upgrade my 250w magnetic ballast to a digital one. But after reading about people that have had electrical company on their door because of some RF interference Im now in doubt.

Is digital ballast worth the money, or am I in a shopping spree over here?

- Tricko
 
V

voidpainter

It’s irrelevant for 250W. If you ever want to buy new lighting equipment aim for LED technology. My opinion.
 
T

Tricko

Active member
voidpainter said:
It’s irrelevant for 250W. If you ever want to buy new lighting equipment aim for LED technology. My opinion.
Click to expand...

Thanks for the reply! I'm glad l can stick with the magnetic ballast for now.

I think temperature might be a problem up in the attic, so LED would be perfect! I will have to look it up and see what is suitable for a small tent like this.
 
V

voidpainter

My last ballast lasted a decade before the bulbs started flickering and the brightness went downhill.
 
T

Tricko

Active member
Good to know these things can last a while. Mine was used for one and a half year, six years ago. Maybe i should just change the bulb or what do you think?
 
V

voidpainter

Maybe, if that bulb has also been used as long. Hard to say. I know people like to replace them after a couple of flowering cycles.
 
indagroove

indagroove

Active member
Veteran
I'm thinking it's gonna be pretty hot in the attic, and if you're in a spending mood, might as well go LED.

Around 200watts of quality LED (get Samsung diodes, not the cheap stuff) will be perfect for that space.
 
D

Dandelo

Member
magnetic ballasts are workhorses, they rarely give issues. digital ballasts on the other hand can be a pain in the ass, never had issues with frequency ect I think that was way back in the beginning of digital ballasts.
 
T

Tricko

Active member
Thanks for replies guys! :)

I stuck with my magnetic ballast and have decided not to run it way up in the attic. I now run it in a guest room in the second floor. It still gets a bit hot a couple of hours, with temperatures up to 30 degrees Celsius. But mostly around 25 degrees C.
I expected that bc we have a heat wave here over the last weeks. Hopefully weather is going back to normal soon. Light is off from 12:00 to 18:00.
 
simon

simon

Weedomus Maximus
Veteran
If you decide on a magnetic ballast, replace the capacitor. You can take a look at the thread linked in my sig.

FWIW, I only use digital ballasts. No issues with RFI and there's a bunch of them. Good luck.

Simon
 
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