Lighting Magnetic or digital please reply

[BluEyeDevil]

Id go the mag way.
I picked this one up over the spring.
One compartment for the ballast,one compartment for the electronics.seperated.runs very quite and cool.
And if something fries out just open the door and replace components.

 

[nukklehead]

Id go the mag way.
I picked this one up over the spring.
One compartment for the ballast,one compartment for the electronics.seperated.runs very quite and cool.
And if something fries out just open the door and replace components.
[URL=https://www.icmag.com/ic/picture.php?albumid=39138&pictureid=934097&thumb=1]View Image[/url]

nice blue eye... brand, source???

 

[BluEyeDevil]

It's a sun system harvest pro elite.
No hummmm,more a soft purr.and not hot..Luke warm at best.
5 year warranty.
I recall it was 280$ for a 600.
Gonna get another very soon.

 

[Jamorg13]

i prefer mags.


why?


modern shit is made to last a certain while and then give up the ghost (modern economics, if shit lasts, you wont have repeat costumers to the same degree,(plus the modern stuff is more complex, more stuff to go wrong. i like my stuff to at least last 2 decades.)

modern shit usually sucks! somethings just don't need to be fixed. Like power windows on cars. The hand crank ones never went out, but the electronic ones screw up annually.

 

[sso]

modern shit usually sucks! somethings just don't need to be fixed. Like power windows on cars. The hand crank ones never went out, but the electronic ones screw up annually.

everything went more complex, but standards went out the window,

everyone wanted to be rich, that meant you couldnt pay workers enough to keep them happy, standards went down, enough that stuff made in third world countries, took over the market.

people were just happy to be able to buy electronics at a cheap price.

by the time everyone figured it out that it was bunk junk, it was too late, the market had collapsed and domestic manufacturing gone the way of the dodo.

which is why we are stuck with cheap china stuff.

 

[Hydro-Soil]

It's a sun system harvest pro elite.
No hummmm,more a soft purr.and not hot..Luke warm at best.
5 year warranty.
I recall it was 280$ for a 600.
Gonna get another very soon.

THIS is why you pay the extra for the higher-end ballast.

Stay Safe!

 

[supermanlives]

anything made by man can fail . anyone who aint had a ballast fail mag or digital is either a smalltime grower or hasnt grown long enough.

 

[farmari]

All my magnetics, within one year of use, only put out half as much light as my new digitals of the same wattage and same new bulbs. The digitals cost just as much as the magnetics I bought did.

 

[rives]

anything made by man can fail . anyone who aint had a ballast fail mag or digital is either a smalltime grower or hasnt grown long enough.

In an industrial plant site with magnetic 400w HPS lighting, we would usually only see an average of a couple of failures a year and it was almost invariably in the capacitor or ignitor. This was with several hundred fixtures in place, running 24/7, 365 days a year. If you buy good quality magnetics, they should outlast your growing career other than maintenance on the capacitor or ignitor.

All my magnetics, within one year of use, only put out half as much light as my new digitals of the same wattage and same new bulbs. The digitals cost just as much as the magnetics I bought did.

This would have been due to a bad run of capacitors - the transformer either works or it doesn't, there are no "partial" failures.

 

[supermanlives]

i agree. i too worked in several industrial sites and lit greenhouses and many indoor grows . shit fails. timers,sensors,ballasts, you name it. i preferr mags myself but have one setup with digitals .havent had a digi fail yet . and only a few mags crapped out on me in all these years. one recently. mags i can keep parts around for. i dont know shit about repairing digitals. if i did i would go digital 100 percent.with the fast replacement i get from the hydro store and warrantee. i am thinking i should anyhow soon.

 

[Hydro-Soil]

All my magnetics, within one year of use, only put out half as much light as my new digitals of the same wattage and same new bulbs. The digitals cost just as much as the magnetics I bought did.

Brand names please. There are literally hundreds of cheapo mag ballasts that will do exactly this. That's why you buy quality.

Stay Safe!

 

[unclefishstick]

i hope to upgrade to hydrofarms powerhouse ballast soon,a full 8 year warranty on them,never had any of the 10 or so hydrofarm ballast i have had ever fail in 10+years of growing..

 

[farmari]

Brand names please. There are literally hundreds of cheapo mag ballasts that will do exactly this. That's why you buy quality.

Stay Safe!

I don't remember... there were at least two different brands... but yes they were all cheap models! The relevant thing for me was that those mag ballasts were no cheaper than the digitals that replaced them.

 

[supermanlives]

i had a mag mh for like 15 years or so. gave it away finally .i dont buy cheap ballasts.

 

[PuReKnOwLeDgE]

sunlightsupply econo magnetics is all I use. They work great, never had one that couldn't be repaired with its warranty or very cheaply. It seems like all digitials do is bring problems to the table IMO. High price tag, interference with certain electronics, bulb compatability problems, and when they break no easy repairs. They do however work more effciently and the dimmable shit is cool. My oldest magnetic is 6 years old and they are still kicking.

 

[DrFever]

sunlightsupply econo magnetics is all I use. They work great, never had one that couldn't be repaired with its warranty or very cheaply. It seems like all digitials do is bring problems to the table IMO. High price tag, interference with certain electronics, bulb compatability problems, and when they break no easy repairs. They do however work more effciently and the dimmable shit is cool. My oldest magnetic is 6 years old and they are still kicking.

So true Mag owner here with no issues i can't fix lol

 

[watts]

http://www.plantlightinghydroponics.com/harvest-pro®-elite-600w-hps-ballast-p-3872.html

best price ^

 

[ak-51]

My old 400w magnetic on 120v ran hotter than any of my 1000w digitals do on 240v. Would running magnetics on 240v similarly reduce the heat?

 

[growshopfrank]

My old 400w magnetic on 120v ran hotter than any of my 1000w digitals do on 240v. Would running magnetics on 240v similarly reduce the heat?

no they run maybe a little hotter on 240v

FWIW have a small fan blow on a mag ballast and it will seem to run as cool as a digi

 

[ak-51]

no they (magnetic ballasts) run maybe a little hotter on 240v

For real!? That sucks.

I love how cool my digis on 240v are. You can feel the warmth when you touch them, but it's not uncomfortable at all.

I just checked one that's been on for the last 15 hours and the surface is only 25 degrees (F) above room temperature. It's about 18 inches away from a fan, but the fan isn't blowing on it.