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 Harry_Ba11sach
cannoisseur
Registered: 04/20/08
Posts: 11,753
Loc: Nepal 
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 Digital Ballasts 
#234519 - 05/31/09 10:21 AM (15 years, 10 months ago) |
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Worth the monies? What's the best brand?
Lumatek gets good reviews and looks pretty solid, but I just found a NextGen ballast at my local shop that can run MH or HPS bulbs at either 400W OR 600W! only $250!
pretty cool.
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FurrowedBrow
Free yourself from yourself
Registered: 04/20/08
Posts: 12,045
Loc: Carpal Tunnel
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I've got a Galaxy digital 400w. It's dual mh/hps. It does the trick and runs super quiet and cool. I love it. Dr. Penguin also has one and raves about it as well. It's around the 250 price range too as i recall.
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 FrozenReality
Registered: 07/05/08
Posts: 499
Last seen: 10 years, 5 months
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I have the "Digital Electronic 400 watt HPS and MH Ballast" from htgsupply and it works amazingly, very quiet and cool and it was only $169.95. I've dealt with them multiple times and have never had a problem that wasn't taken care of immediately by them.
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Harry_Ba11sach
cannoisseur
Registered: 04/20/08
Posts: 11,753
Loc: Nepal
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$169? The cheapest I can find over there right now is $20 more than that....
maybe I should wait for a sale?
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ethnoguy
E to the G
Registered: 04/21/08
Posts: 429
Loc: your momma's house
Last seen: 15 years, 8 months
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You can get a Lumatek 400W for under $200. Mine was cheaper than that by far. Check out auction sites and contact the seller on the side. I often find their "real" store site by looking through their pics and item descriptions.
EG
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FrozenReality
Registered: 07/05/08
Posts: 499
Last seen: 10 years, 5 months
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Re: Digital Ballasts [Re: ethnoguy]
#234779 - 05/31/09 08:55 PM (15 years, 10 months ago) |
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Quote:
ethnoguy said:
You can get a Lumatek 400W for under $200. Mine was cheaper than that by far. Check out auction sites and contact the seller on the side. I often find their "real" store site by looking through their pics and item descriptions.
EG
I sent you a pm, you must of been looking in the wrong spot for digital ballasts cause you can even get a 600 watt for less than 200.
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pong
Registered: 05/01/08
Posts: 548
Last seen: 15 years, 1 month
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Quote:
Harry_Ba11sach said:
Worth the monies? What's the best brand?
Lumatek gets good reviews and looks pretty solid, but I just found a NextGen ballast at my local shop that can run MH or HPS bulbs at either 400W OR 600W! only $250!
pretty cool.
i have the 400/600 nextgen
it works great, there is no flicker to my light.
the ballast does have 2 little fans on it for cooling. so it makes a little humming noise.!
also it would be very wise to make sure the exaust on that ballast isnt blocked... i almost fried mine ! LOL.
its quiet enough to sleep with in the room though!
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MARIJUANNNANNANNNANNNANNNANNANNANNNNNANANANAAAAAAAAA!!!!
MY GROW
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Harry_Ba11sach
cannoisseur
Registered: 04/20/08
Posts: 11,753
Loc: Nepal
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Re: Digital Ballasts [Re: pong]
#234842 - 06/01/09 12:28 AM (15 years, 10 months ago) |
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How loud would you say it is compared to a standard laptop computer's cooling fan?
Also, have you actually noticed it being considerably brighter than a standard magnetic coil ballast? I've heard claims of over 15% increase
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pong
Registered: 05/01/08
Posts: 548
Last seen: 15 years, 1 month
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umm its the only one i have.
so i cant tell you about brightness.
although it is bright as fuck!!!!!
my laptop does not have a fan....
so i am guessing that it sounds like one 80mm fan.
i dunno though... hmmn
like a dumb dell desktop computer.
i cant hear it unless i go very close and i have my oscilating fan on.
i am verry satisfied with it.!!!
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MARIJUANNNANNANNNANNNANNNANNANNANNNNNANANANAAAAAAAAA!!!!
MY GROW
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ethnoguy
E to the G
Registered: 04/21/08
Posts: 429
Loc: your momma's house
Last seen: 15 years, 8 months
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Quote:
FrozenReality said:
Quote:
ethnoguy said:
You can get a Lumatek 400W for under $200. Mine was cheaper than that by far. Check out auction sites and contact the seller on the side. I often find their "real" store site by looking through their pics and item descriptions.
EG
I sent you a pm, you must of been looking in the wrong spot for digital ballasts cause you can even get a 600 watt for less than 200.
Quote:
FrozenReality said:
Quote:
ethnoguy said:
You can get a Lumatek 400W for under $200. Mine was cheaper than that by far. Check out auction sites and contact the seller on the side. I often find their "real" store site by looking through their pics and item descriptions.
EG
I sent you a pm, you must of been looking in the wrong spot for digital ballasts cause you can even get a 600 watt for less than 200.
Quote:
FrozenReality said:
Quote:
ethnoguy said:
You can get a Lumatek 400W for under $200. Mine was cheaper than that by far. Check out auction sites and contact the seller on the side. I often find their "real" store site by looking through their pics and item descriptions.
EG
I sent you a pm, you must of been looking in the wrong spot for digital ballasts cause you can even get a 600 watt for less than 200.
I didn't get a PM. I guess you meant harry  . Anyway, I spent around $250 for a Hydrofarm radiant hood, cordset, and lumatek ballast. Deals are out there.
EG
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Lotsae
Registered: 04/10/09
Posts: 50
Last seen: 6 years, 5 months
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Re: Digital Ballasts [Re: ethnoguy]
#235465 - 06/02/09 08:46 AM (15 years, 10 months ago) |
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I also have a Digital Greenhouse Ballast (600w). I'm happy so far (3 weeks.) I even lucked out and they sent me an AgroMax MH bulb upgrade for free b/c they were out of the growbrights.
They have a sweet little customizable package deal thing on their website that lets you put together your own package of reflector, bulbs, hi-lo's, etc. that saves you money vs. buying everything separate.
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Harry_Ba11sach
cannoisseur
Registered: 04/20/08
Posts: 11,753
Loc: Nepal
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Quote:
FrozenReality said:
I have the "Digital Electronic 400 watt HPS and MH Ballast" from htgsupply and it works amazingly, very quiet and cool and it was only $169.95. I've dealt with them multiple times and have never had a problem that wasn't taken care of immediately by them.
How long have you had it? I've always been a fan of htg
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Integra21
Up and coming Farmer
Registered: 05/01/09
Posts: 784
Last seen: 11 years, 10 months
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I got my Sun Leaves air cooled reflector&cord set,with a lumatek 400w switchable balast, and a 400w plantmax mh&hps bulbs for $260 shipped off of ebay. Buy it now, not bid.
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Dr. Penguin
Registered: 05/19/08
Posts: 1,036
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Re: Digital Ballasts [Re: Integra21]
#235829 - 06/03/09 03:55 AM (15 years, 10 months ago) |
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I love my galaxy digital, can't go wrong there. The 400/600 sounds like an awesome feature to have but as a rule I refuse to buy anything with active cooling (ie: fans) because they tend to wear out in < 2 years...
I picked mine up for 140$, pm is on the way harry. 
As for whether or not its worth it... To me, the lack of magnetic ballast hum, the increase in brightness (which is due to frequency btw, it won't seem brighter to our eyes as we can't notice an increase in frequency over 60hz but a plant, in theory, could), and the mh/hps ability, I like them. The only reason I would go back to magnetic is to use one of the new ceramic metal halide lamps which supposedly put out a much more applicable spectrum but the price isn't right for that move yet...
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FrozenReality
Registered: 07/05/08
Posts: 499
Last seen: 10 years, 5 months
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Quote:
Harry_Ba11sach said:
Quote:
FrozenReality said:
I have the "Digital Electronic 400 watt HPS and MH Ballast" from htgsupply and it works amazingly, very quiet and cool and it was only $169.95. I've dealt with them multiple times and have never had a problem that wasn't taken care of immediately by them.
How long have you had it? I've always been a fan of htg
I've had it for just over a year. I also have their euro style reflector which is really nice.
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ronjohn7779
Registered: 02/01/09
Posts: 36
Last seen: 15 years, 2 months
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Galaxy or Lumatek are the best. Digital Green house is the cheapest I'd go...
I will note that ALL these digital Ballasts manufactures have their fair share of defects. I bet all the components are made by the same chinese factories. So its really your call as to how much you want to spend. They ALL will break down eventually so don't expect these suckers to last you a lifetime like something made by a sony or panasonic type company! All these ballasts are pretty much just slapped together. The one nice thing though about Lumatek is that they come with a 5 year warranty the only downside is that I hear it take months sometimes to get a new/repaired ballast back.
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