I started out with digi and now only use magnetic. I think a lot of this has to do with power source. First of all i will always run 240 from now on. When i had digis on 120 they still got hot and the bulbs were more orange than bright yellow. Arguably on 240 everything is going to run more energy efficient. Must remember anything being run more than 3 hours is continuous load and must be taken into equation.
Are digital ballasts better than magnetic ballasts?
- Thread starter Funky_Fred
- Start date
another downside to digital ballasts is the electrical noise they put out. the last time i used them was about a year and a half ago so maybe the technology has gotten better. I used to be able to tell when my lights turned on by the static in my television screen. I heard a horror story three or four years ago about a guy who switched his whole setup to digi and a week later he had the electric company at his door trying to figure out the source of the disturbance in the electrical lines. they said the electrical noise from his house was effecting every house on his street. he had like 20 lights running though, its probably not as bad if you only have a few of them.
Im all magnetic for now, but for my next room i will probably give digital another shot. the benefits are undeniable the technology just needs to get a little better. The bulb and lamp manufacturers need to catch up. i would like to see one company selling a whole bulb, lamp, and digital ballast set up. within 5 years digital ballasts will most likely be the standard.
Im all magnetic for now, but for my next room i will probably give digital another shot. the benefits are undeniable the technology just needs to get a little better. The bulb and lamp manufacturers need to catch up. i would like to see one company selling a whole bulb, lamp, and digital ballast set up. within 5 years digital ballasts will most likely be the standard.
junior_grower
Active member
well I just finished a new greenhouse build with just shy of 250k of supplemental lighting. Anybody want to guess what type of ballast was used? Magnetic why? Initial cost of magnetics vs the higher cost of electronics that took 7 years for any payoff to be seen but with most digitals having a life expectancy of 3-5 years, ( I spent many days on the phone with various manufactures, this is component life of an electronic circuit board. And is the basis for all manufactures warranty some take a higher risk but also have a higher initial price to offset the "extra warranty".) the smart and safe decision was to go with mags and have a compressive maintenance policy in place to ensure all ballasts are operating at peak efficiency.
i wouldnt be able to compare much, but i just got a NextGen 600W/400W Switchable Digital Ballast and i love it. it is nearly silent. the only thing i thought was strange was when i had it hooked up in my room it was maybe less than 10 feet away from my att uverse box and the balast being pluged in was causing the tv to freeze and go all pixilated all the time.. like squares all over the tv.. as soon as i would turn the light off it the problem would stop.. so i dunno what that is about, but i really like it.
Digital ballasts are the future, this is not opinion, it's fact. In time this will become self evident.
That said, i won't break it down point by point unless you ask me too, but yes digital ballasts are better overall for an indoor grower.
if you're ready to step into digital ballasts, educate yourself about how HPS lighting is terrible for plant growth, cause it is. it's unfortunate that the least effective/efficient HID light we can use is also an industry standard, HPS lights are not ideal for growing any kind of plants. I'm actually attending classes now, even though I have my degree, in the field of chemistry and physics to learn more about lighting (radiation) and plant growth. This is my 1st semester back, only taking 9 credits, but i'm working full time. Anyways, I have learned a lot about lighting and even conducted controlled experiments of my own that prove that HPS bulbs do not provide the same quality and diversity of radiation that halide, or even pulse start halide bulbs emit.
You'll see so so so many threads comparing the yields, structure, quality, potency, blah blah blah, regarding the type of lighting used, ignore all that. A light spectrum doesn't determine or affect potency of a pot plant any more than it determines the flavor of your food.
that said get yourself a sun pulse bulb and a digital ballast, and forget that HPS ever existed - you'll be happy that you did..
That said, i won't break it down point by point unless you ask me too, but yes digital ballasts are better overall for an indoor grower.
if you're ready to step into digital ballasts, educate yourself about how HPS lighting is terrible for plant growth, cause it is. it's unfortunate that the least effective/efficient HID light we can use is also an industry standard, HPS lights are not ideal for growing any kind of plants. I'm actually attending classes now, even though I have my degree, in the field of chemistry and physics to learn more about lighting (radiation) and plant growth. This is my 1st semester back, only taking 9 credits, but i'm working full time. Anyways, I have learned a lot about lighting and even conducted controlled experiments of my own that prove that HPS bulbs do not provide the same quality and diversity of radiation that halide, or even pulse start halide bulbs emit.
You'll see so so so many threads comparing the yields, structure, quality, potency, blah blah blah, regarding the type of lighting used, ignore all that. A light spectrum doesn't determine or affect potency of a pot plant any more than it determines the flavor of your food.
that said get yourself a sun pulse bulb and a digital ballast, and forget that HPS ever existed - you'll be happy that you did..
digital are less money to run .give you 3 times the bulb life,plus put out more light .digital are quiet and stay realitively cool.the weight between the 2 is a nother factor in favor of a digital plus they run either bulb .thats my take any way look at HTG for a better price on digital they have a few brands at different prices i have been using the cheap greenhouse brand for 3 years now with no problems except for one and they warrenteed it fast have not bought a replacement bulb in all this time but i check my luminums and they are starting to drop so its true about bulb life being far longer
I plan on getting digital ballasts, just as soon as they get UL rated....
I have 17 Quantum 1K's, and have never had one hiccup. They have 2 fans, and mine are all on the wall right in front of 3 giant Phresh filter/12" Vortex combos, so there is a ton of airflow around them too. When it gets hot I dim the lights down (can take the flower room from 16KW to 8KW by spinning the knobs) and I love the fast restrikes. I also love that they run both HPS and MH bulbs, can strike the longer lamp cord runs, and they do put out 5-10% more light every time I do comparative measurements against a mag.
My shop sold me Quantums because they have a MUCh lower return rate than Lumateks, and they also sold them to me cheaper, $269 each for 1K's. That was buying 8 at a time though, so your mileage may vary.
My shop sold me Quantums because they have a MUCh lower return rate than Lumateks, and they also sold them to me cheaper, $269 each for 1K's. That was buying 8 at a time though, so your mileage may vary.
I hate the humming sound of mag ballasts,If you decide to go digital ,i'd try to get one with the least amount of reported problems.From my research i came up with
galaxy's and quantums..I prefer the galaxy cause it doesn't have a fan.The new bulb selection settings are tits .Allowing you to run 3 different wattage lamps.Whatever ya get ,get what makes you happy...
galaxy's and quantums..I prefer the galaxy cause it doesn't have a fan.The new bulb selection settings are tits .Allowing you to run 3 different wattage lamps.Whatever ya get ,get what makes you happy...
I believe the problem with flips is that digi's use one frequency to start the lamp and another frequency to run the lamp so the way around this is to momentary interrupt the power to the ballast when you switch lamps.
Great thread. Just FYI...according to this, Lumatek ballasts ARE G.E. and U.L. approved, and are the only U.L. digital ballasts currently available......
http://www.bghydro.com/BGH/itemdesc.asp?ic=HLBADILT04360&eq=&Tp=
I'm currently using P.L. Lighting magnetic ballasts made in Ontario. When P.L. starts making digital or someone else makes them in the US or E.U. I'll upgrade.
btw, there is one brand of digital ballasts made in the E.U.....Eurosystems, they only make a 600 and 1000w....apparently they have digital ignitors but have magnetic coils as well????
http://www.bghydro.com/BGH/itemdesc.asp?ic=HLBADILT04360&eq=&Tp=
I'm currently using P.L. Lighting magnetic ballasts made in Ontario. When P.L. starts making digital or someone else makes them in the US or E.U. I'll upgrade.
btw, there is one brand of digital ballasts made in the E.U.....Eurosystems, they only make a 600 and 1000w....apparently they have digital ignitors but have magnetic coils as well????
They are overhyped and they can sometimes create acoustic resonances within the bulb which then can destroy the bulb unless the bulb is tuned for the specific ballast. I believe this is what happens a lot with Hortilux bulbs and digital ballasts.
You would be far better off just getting a $20 2 x 48 inch T5 shoplight with two 6100K bulbs and a cheapo HPS setup with a cheapo HPS bulb and magnetic ballast. You would get more light total and more blue spectrum. And you could get two setups like that for the price of one lumiwhatevadafuck digital ballast which then explodes your $100 hortilux.
But they are pretty cool and I guess do work with most bulbs. For technophile first adopter hobbyists I'd say yes. For commercial or value conscious I say no. On page 2, second post down in the the thread "who wants to see a 420 light medical grow" those ballasts look like some cheap ass magnetic ones.
You would be far better off just getting a $20 2 x 48 inch T5 shoplight with two 6100K bulbs and a cheapo HPS setup with a cheapo HPS bulb and magnetic ballast. You would get more light total and more blue spectrum. And you could get two setups like that for the price of one lumiwhatevadafuck digital ballast which then explodes your $100 hortilux.
But they are pretty cool and I guess do work with most bulbs. For technophile first adopter hobbyists I'd say yes. For commercial or value conscious I say no. On page 2, second post down in the the thread "who wants to see a 420 light medical grow" those ballasts look like some cheap ass magnetic ones.
I've been using Galaxy digitals for years with no problems at all. They fire up all different kinds of MH and HPS lamps without issues including the cheap and store bought ones. They make no noise at all, reach maximum light output in a few minutes, don't interfere with any electronics or communication wavelengths, and don't give me any problems. Oh, and they're efficient.
-Funk
-Funk
I'm Dykster
Member
I just bought an 1k htg mag unit and I am very happy with it. Friend just had to replace his 1k digi with a mag because it interfered with a ham radio 1/2 mile down the street. I don't need people knocking on my door with a meter saying it's coming from my house...if ya get my drift.......
cool, the technology is definitely maturing.
I may skip digital ballasts & LED and skip directly to plasma - who wants to be an early adopter? it looks awesome - basically a full white light spectrum and no heat...right out of Star Trek...
http://www.polar-ray.com/Plasma-Lighting_c_141.html
instead of a ballast they actually use a "light engine", almost like having your own warp reactor powering the grow
M
Mountain
I think they are a bit overhyped but still offer benefits. I started using Lumeteks soon after they came out and ended up with NextGen at the end of my growing cycle a few years later. Only problem I had with Lumateks was bulb compatibility and remember some 'acoustic resonance' issues when trying Solarmax I believe it was.
Have some friends who's input I value and said light meter testing they did showed extended bulb life.
Anyway...I really loved my last Next Gen and wouldn't hesitate to buy another.
and the debate continues. they both have there place . i for one wont go digi. but i ran afew once without any issues
