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re: lumatek ballasts will get u busted... omfg its true

Rouge

Member
Looks to me like the right advice has already been given in this thread, so I'll summarize.

1) Learn to build a Faraday cage. It's not complicated. Grounded poultry netting is almost good enough; brass screen is better.

2) Know your grounds and their quality. Get an outlet checker. Make sure your shit is grounded. If you are using an old microwave oven as a Faraday cage, it has to be plugged in at least to ground.

3) Fuck Comcast with a dried splintered fence pole.

That is all.


OR get 2 of 'em power cords with the RF filter built in------- it should have a little 2" cylinder near the part that plugs into your digital ballast------cheaper than a surge suppressor/RF filter outlet strip mentioned earlier.
 

TripleDraw27

Active member
Veteran
Fixed my issue.

Sort of odd, and I just had a hunch on this, no real problem solve, cause at this point, I had everything checked, and re-checked.

I noticed on my 1st 1000w dimmable ballast, it NEEDED an adapter, as it didnt have a 240 plug in the back of the ballast. I know I overlooked this, and had bought a converter so I could put my Light plug into -converter to ballast.

Picked up my other Lumatek , and that had a 240 plug in the back of it. So no adapter needed. One less f'ing connector. Anyhow, sort of found this odd. Also when I picked up the 2nd ballast, I had asked for a converter plug, my Hydro guy looked at me weird. Like, why would you need one? I explained to him what my number 1 ballast had ( the converter ).

Long story short, fired up the 2nd ballast I had bought, the one without any need to a converter and no RF finally.

That first Luma Ballast that was giving me butt sores needed a converter for some reason. Not to mention the converter was from a diff company...so who knows...I wrote it off as that was my issue, and returned the buttsore Ballast to my new Hydro shop, made a deal with them cause they knew what I was dealing with( other hydro shop). Returned the problem ballast, paid a little for my new one with no need for 240 plug converter and voila, no RF.

My lesson here is, when shit is going sour, start at the most obvious basic things, then work towards other issues, like Cables, electrical.

I had paid my Elec guy to come out, recheck everything, tried some other things, which I am happy to do, nothing wrong with making sure shit is tight. But there it was, right in front of my face.

Some of you that have had this issue, did you use the 120/240 type? Or just straight up 240s.

edit- i didnt know two manufacturers have their own plugs in these. My RF stopped with the luma's that dont need plug converter.
 
R

Red Swan

I have a digital Lumatek 1K , minor interference on cellphone and wireless phone within 15 feet. I just got a Gavita 1k which is the best light I've ever seen and it has the ballast next to the light built in to minimize interference.

Makes the old lights look like rotary phones:

The GAVITA Pro 1000 is the first 240 Volt electronic ballast that powers the professional Philips GreenPower 1000W 400V EL (electronic) Double Ended lamp. This lamp has the highest PAR light output, improved spectrum and the best light maintenance (>95% PAR light over one year of use). Being the most efficient 1000W horticultural lamp available and the only lamp specifically developed for electronic ballasts this is the 1000W lamp of choice for Dutch professional greenhouse growers. The GAVITA Pro 1000 is available as a complete fixture with the highly efficient professional HortiStar HR 96 1000 DE reflector or as a remote ballast. Being completely closed and solid state (no fans) with extremely low heat dissipation the remote ballast can be mounted close to your lamps, enabling safe and easy installation. Having your ballast close to your lamp reduces the amount of EMI (RF interference). Both ballasts are adjustable to 600/660/750/825/1000/1150 watt, enabling them to drive a wide range of EL lamps and boost them 10 or 15%, creating the highest output in the market.
Features & Benefits
Full fixture only for 1000W 400V Double Ended EL lamps
No acoustic resonance
Up to 8% more grow light
Light maintenance after 5000 hrs > 95%
Available as full fixture or remote ballast
Adjustable to 600/660/750/825/1000/1150 watt
System design and concept by GAVITA
Sealed housing (Class I) with Gore-Tex ventilation plug
Microprocessor controlled
Professional UV resistant rubber wiring
Very low heat dissipation and optimal cooling
Driver efficiency at full power 95-96%
UL Listed
 

The Bling

Member
47 C.F.R. 15.5 contains a general provision that devices may not cause interference and must accept interference from other sources. It also prohibits the operation of devices once the operator is notified by the FCC that the device is causing interference. 47 C.F.R. 15.5d prohibits intentional damped wave transmissions, which were common before the 1920s but cut across large sections of frequencies.[citation needed]


in other words SO FUCKING WHAT WHO CARES IF YOUR HOUSES ELECTRICAL IS FUCKED WIFI KILLS BEES
 

whazzup

Member
Veteran
Use short lamp cords, don't coil them, and NEVER have your lamp cords close or parallel to your power cords. UL / CSA approval doesn't say anything about EMC, FCC approval does.
 

Propagate

Member
Use short lamp cords, don't coil them, and NEVER have your lamp cords close or parallel to your power cords. UL / CSA approval doesn't say anything about EMC, FCC approval does.

Thanks whazzup, took your advice and just straightened out my cords. Had to be done anyways, some were hanging near other cords
and moved my lum ballasts to the ceiling. going for the lab clean setup. I'll get there soon...

as 4 my 0.02 dollars my two 400w purple Lumateks has been running great for over 3 years. No interference ever. It does run a max outside case temp(middle/top of case) of 118 degrees F in a 75 deg F room. never tried super lumen setting...
 

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