[BongRipkenJR.]

I am very skeptical on making the switch to digital ballasts. I have heard so many different accounts on them not lasting past a year, however I don't know the brands. I know a certain chinese model goes out quite consistently. My ballasts are from 2008 and running strong. Yeah, they might use %10 more energy, but buying a $250-300 ballast every year seems uneconomical.

[Vape-pro]

Hey ripkin, i'd say they are worth it , have two nextgen 1000s running for more than a year no problems. Had a galaxy select a watt burn out on me . you aren't supposed to run them 24/ 7 with out adequate air flow cooling them , the replacement is working fine. Im happy with them overall , my bro uses em , about 4 lights worth , no problems either. hope it helps , peace

[bdiddly1]

i have a digilight ballast&can hear no noise at all but i can hear a ringing sound from the bulb,light sometimes!my mag ballast has lasted 10 years also!

[The Revolution]

Stick with the magnetic ballasts. there is less to go wrong with them, they are easy to repair, and the new digis are proven to burn bulbs faster than magnetic

[vostok]

Originally Posted by mosstrooper

I was pondering how long i have had my 600w ballast and it shocked me to think that i have owned it since 1998 which 13 *&*%$* years.

I seem to remember that the performance of a ballast degrades over time, so maybe i ought to get a new one.

Do digital ballasts save you money?

Me too, I'm in the same boat waiting for the big leap to LED

[Hydro-Soil]

Originally Posted by mosstrooper

I was pondering how long i have had my 600w ballast and it shocked me to think that i have owned it since 1998 which 13 *&*%$* years.

I seem to remember that the performance of a ballast degrades over time, so maybe i ought to get a new one.

Do digital ballasts save you money?

Replace the cap and ignitor on it and run it for another 13 years. Where can you get a 600w digital for under $100?

I'd recommend replacing the capacitor every 3-5 years after that though.

Stay Safe!

[noyd666]

had both, still got both types, mag more heat but i always had a 20w clamp fan on it for cooling, had no trouble with any''''' ah one chink one would not start up a sun pulse globe, had to move my music box away from digi'''' to much static. use a le-lux house to garage monitor always left on so i can only hear whats going on up at garage end,i can hear ballests start up, quite interesting to hear them elec going through there start up procedure, ithink the digi went about 7 min to go through its stages?its def quieter on the monotor with mag. plenty cheap ones on ebay autions.

[Sativa Dragon]

I have the Badass 1kw low frequency dimmable, I like it mostly for the square wave it keeps the arc more uniform. The lamp still sings a little and the ballast still amkes some noise during start up, I paid a premium for it cause I wanted the best light I could get. In all honesty If it's not in the budget don't do it. If it is go for it. I have a few digital ballasts of different qualities the Baddass is def the most high tech.

[Hammerhead]

All of the top brands now have internal fans even lumatek has them on there new units. I have 3 digi's 2 are Lumatek no problems. I needed to replace the 3rd one after 5 years of use. I was reluctant to try CAPS new Nano Ballast but the reviws where fantastic. To my surprise it has performed better then the Lumateks. I would love to open one of these to see how how it was made It has no heat sink. The temp is cooler then the 600 Lumateks are. It does have 2 fans(push/pull) dimmable with a delayed start. Keeps all the ballest from firing at the same time.

[rocket high]

WoW a 1000$ for a digi ballast ... i suppose if you have the cash ..why not.

im still using my mag's ...money is tight right now so i still have to wait to upgrade :(