YOUR INPUT please: Best DIGITAL ballast?
- Thread starter Strainhunter
- Start date
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mrred
when did they start making 1000w cmhs?
same time they started making selectable wattage ballasts man; what's ur problem... go to the hydro store and see for ur self if you don't believe me.... it's getting old repeating myself... why would i care to lie??
USHIO HILUX GROW AMH-1000/Opti-Blue/Conv. = same as all my other conversion metal halide ushio bulbs; not true metal halide as the conversions work better with digital ballasts; a hortilux eye metal halide is not rated for a digital ballast; sure u can use one but there is no guarantee it won't go pop; my local shops will replace conversion metal halide bulbs if they burn out on a digi before their time but not the hortilux
USHIO HILUX GROW AMH-1000/Opti-Blue/Conv. = same as all my other conversion metal halide ushio bulbs; not true metal halide as the conversions work better with digital ballasts; a hortilux eye metal halide is not rated for a digital ballast; sure u can use one but there is no guarantee it won't go pop; my local shops will replace conversion metal halide bulbs if they burn out on a digi before their time but not the hortilux
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mrred
why you getting mad and why should i goto the hydro store im on the internet its better
i dont even think cmhs work in most digital ballasts , you dont want to confuse people on here about a cmh working in a certain balllast because they just might buy it for that reason
and just to be clear up your misunderstanding cmh stands for philip's Ceramic metal halide not conversion metal halide
i dont even think cmhs work in most digital ballasts , you dont want to confuse people on here about a cmh working in a certain balllast because they just might buy it for that reason
and just to be clear up your misunderstanding cmh stands for philip's Ceramic metal halide not conversion metal halide
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whatissixbynine
it is my understanding that NO digital ballasts can fire a ceramic metal halide bulbs and that DIGITAL ballasts should only fire conversion metal halides ands that MAG ballasts can fire regular MH lights such as those made my hortilux
As far as the best DIGITAL ballast goes i'm still sticking with the select-a-watt galaxy for versatility although if you knew what size lamp you're going to run and u don't plan on changing than quantums or global greenhouse get my vote.
One nice thing about the galaxy is that if it does fail, every hydro shop locally and their mom carries replacement galaxy ballasts; wish i could say the same about quantum but they're a bit harder to find around here
fwiw i know i'm probably in the wrong but i call conversion metal halides cmh lights (you can probably count the people who grow under ceramic metal halide lights here on one hand) and those pll-55s everyone grows with, well i don't even use phillips bulbs or ballasts but i still call em plls
As far as the best DIGITAL ballast goes i'm still sticking with the select-a-watt galaxy for versatility although if you knew what size lamp you're going to run and u don't plan on changing than quantums or global greenhouse get my vote.
One nice thing about the galaxy is that if it does fail, every hydro shop locally and their mom carries replacement galaxy ballasts; wish i could say the same about quantum but they're a bit harder to find around here
fwiw i know i'm probably in the wrong but i call conversion metal halides cmh lights (you can probably count the people who grow under ceramic metal halide lights here on one hand) and those pll-55s everyone grows with, well i don't even use phillips bulbs or ballasts but i still call em plls
Wow...my thread turns out to be quiet educating!
Having done outdoor only for a long time and now helping my friend with this indoor project turnes out to be quiet an (educating) challenge if being done right.
Anyway my friend is getting a sweet deal on the "Select-a-watt Galaxy" 1,000 Watt ballasts so that's what is going to be used.
The next challenge will be which bulbs for vegging & flowering are best to run with the "Select-a-watt Galaxy" 1,000 Watt ballasts without causing an early failure or not getting them firing up in 1st place...
I was going to recommend him Hortilux bulbs but the issues Digital ballasts can cause basically have thrown over the whole choice of bulbs...
I am open for suggestions. Maybe I will start a new thread to make this less confusing and the new info coming more accessible to others.
Thanks all for your input!
Having done outdoor only for a long time and now helping my friend with this indoor project turnes out to be quiet an (educating) challenge if being done right.
Anyway my friend is getting a sweet deal on the "Select-a-watt Galaxy" 1,000 Watt ballasts so that's what is going to be used.
The next challenge will be which bulbs for vegging & flowering are best to run with the "Select-a-watt Galaxy" 1,000 Watt ballasts without causing an early failure or not getting them firing up in 1st place...
I was going to recommend him Hortilux bulbs but the issues Digital ballasts can cause basically have thrown over the whole choice of bulbs...
I am open for suggestions. Maybe I will start a new thread to make this less confusing and the new info coming more accessible to others.
Thanks all for your input!
Getting a bit touchy around here innit? I reckon everyone should smoke a fat one and chill;-)
Can anyone tell me if the digi ballastss still give interference to radio signals etc., or have they managed to supress that problem?
I`d like to use digi ballasts but live in a highly populated area in amongst lots of houses, would I be causing problems?
Thanks, Toke
Ps. Ok you can carry on fighting now
Can anyone tell me if the digi ballastss still give interference to radio signals etc., or have they managed to supress that problem?
I`d like to use digi ballasts but live in a highly populated area in amongst lots of houses, would I be causing problems?
Thanks, Toke
Ps. Ok you can carry on fighting now
I love my quantum BUT damn select a wattage?
that is great especially if a bulb blows and you need to use a lower OR higher wattage bulb for the time being.
bad ass
that is great especially if a bulb blows and you need to use a lower OR higher wattage bulb for the time being.
bad ass
I think USHIO bulbs are the best for digital ballasts regardless of wattage; hortilux, phillips and others can outperform at specific wattages with magnetic ballasts but you won't ever blow a ushio bulb on a digital ballast; they often happen to throw off more lumens as well which never hurts; they should be very solid when new; u should be able to swing it through the air and not feel any vibration
select a watt is also nice for easing those new clones into veg under a 600 before the 1K as well
select a watt is also nice for easing those new clones into veg under a 600 before the 1K as well
Greenmopho
Member
We used 32 Quantum 1000w at 220v for a long time, quite, fans never went out. Never got too hot. We did have them mounted into concrete in the ceiling though, lol. And the dimmer feature was just annoying, cuz we would hit it by accident, and then later noticed some of them weren't at full power, and had to climb up there (12 ft ceiling) and adjust them back to 100%. We never had a use for the dimmer, we vegged under racks of 4ft. T5's, and our clones liked the T5's too, but even did okay under a simple CFL rig when all our space was full vegging. If the 1000w HPS were too strong when we transplanted, we would just raise them a foot or two, never was an issue.
My hydro store however did recently explain that Quantum's customer care policy isn't the best, and they are hard to get in touch with as a vendor, so most stores either don't carry them, or won't honor an exchange, even under warranty. The good thing about the Lumateks, according to them, was that if one breaks within the warranty period, I can just bring it back, and swap it out instantly, no questions asked. Quantum just doesn't value customers as much, but they still seem to make a pretty good ballast.
And yes, to all those confused, running at 220v will only help your temps, not your power consumption. Voltage(V, volts) x Current(I, amps) = Wattage (W, watts), so you will still be burning the same kWh, but current and resistance are what directly contribute to heat, and the more you loose to heat, the less efficiency you have, and (technically) the more kWh you loose to transforming (stepping down voltage). So if you can safely double your voltage, you are halving your current, and therefore halving your heat, and you may see a slight decrease in consumption, only due to less loss in stepping down, but realistically, you won't notice it on your power bill!
Also, the LED lights are crap, forgot who mentioned that, been
while reading this thread, too stoned to "quote". I experimented with the 300w UFO LED Grow lights, forgot where I got em. In veg they were simply amazing, the spectrum seemed to be just what they wanted, but in flower, nothing ever came, they were blooming in super slow motion, it just wasn't anywhere near the light intensity they needed. They sell them as a 300w LED being equivalent to a 1000w HPS, but not even close! Maybe if you went watt for watt on the LED, you could get something, but they were $1,100 a pop just for the 300w. At that price, I wouldn't even consider them as "supplemental light", as they are supposedly recommended for. The Science makes sense on paper, but it just hasn't evolved enough yet for commercial growing, I'd say its 10-15 years down the pipeline!
My hydro store however did recently explain that Quantum's customer care policy isn't the best, and they are hard to get in touch with as a vendor, so most stores either don't carry them, or won't honor an exchange, even under warranty. The good thing about the Lumateks, according to them, was that if one breaks within the warranty period, I can just bring it back, and swap it out instantly, no questions asked. Quantum just doesn't value customers as much, but they still seem to make a pretty good ballast.
And yes, to all those confused, running at 220v will only help your temps, not your power consumption. Voltage(V, volts) x Current(I, amps) = Wattage (W, watts), so you will still be burning the same kWh, but current and resistance are what directly contribute to heat, and the more you loose to heat, the less efficiency you have, and (technically) the more kWh you loose to transforming (stepping down voltage). So if you can safely double your voltage, you are halving your current, and therefore halving your heat, and you may see a slight decrease in consumption, only due to less loss in stepping down, but realistically, you won't notice it on your power bill!
Also, the LED lights are crap, forgot who mentioned that, been
while reading this thread, too stoned to "quote". I experimented with the 300w UFO LED Grow lights, forgot where I got em. In veg they were simply amazing, the spectrum seemed to be just what they wanted, but in flower, nothing ever came, they were blooming in super slow motion, it just wasn't anywhere near the light intensity they needed. They sell them as a 300w LED being equivalent to a 1000w HPS, but not even close! Maybe if you went watt for watt on the LED, you could get something, but they were $1,100 a pop just for the 300w. At that price, I wouldn't even consider them as "supplemental light", as they are supposedly recommended for. The Science makes sense on paper, but it just hasn't evolved enough yet for commercial growing, I'd say its 10-15 years down the pipeline!
Lumateks rule. Mine make no sound at all.
Id go with galaxy.After reading reviews,it seems theres so many probs with lumatecs i decided to stay away.The quantums seem decent with a fan problem here and there.But my personal preference has been galaxy-no problems at all.When you get into the 1000s no matter what brand,You are putting out alot more juice through the cords.Because they use quick disconnect as opposed to hard wire(Lamp to reflector),you could get cord meltdown.Im not saying you will but you could.My old mags were hard wired but i do remember the plastic rocker switch(on/off) melting even on a mag ballast.
gardenlover
Member
I have owned a galaxy 600watt for a couple years now ( not continuous use) and have been vary happy with it. It ran hotter than I thought but no trouble as of yet! I really want to get the new muiti watt one but don't want to be the first, or maybe I do and will do a review for everyone? anyway I was thinking about just going back to all magnetic to avoid the RF interference. I know my galaxy and another members 600watt Galaxy throw some RF out.
Has there been any improvement on the RF signal interference for the digis? I have not kept up on this. The last I checked companies were working on this but don't know if any improvements have been made since I bought my unit
Has there been any improvement on the RF signal interference for the digis? I have not kept up on this. The last I checked companies were working on this but don't know if any improvements have been made since I bought my unit
RF interference is when the magnetic field of a ballast interferes with RF - Radio Frequency.
Meaning the functionality of a radio, TV signal, cell phone, cordless phone, GPS or far worse Air Traffic Control, radar, shortwave radio (used by Cops, EMS) etc. are being altered.
Not a good thing to happen if one has a grow he doesn't want anyone using the above equipment to know about and then having an investigation going on by authorities why let's just say the neighbors TV or radio aren't working properly anymore.
Triangulating a source for RF interference is really easy, especially these days...
How do I know? I have had my experience with being triangulated many years ago when I was younger and was using a strong amplifier with my CB (it was not shielded well and had a strong magnetic field - just as ballasts have)...and a neighbor 1/2 block away was able to hear me talking through his kitchen radio...
On edit: If you put your cell phone near speakers and they start humming in between - that's RF interference but it's weak and won't reach far unlike with unshielded ballasts.
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