im so confused lol

trying to decide which light to purchase. my options are a digital ballast with 3 year replacement and 2 year pro rated warranty and the other is a magnetic ballast with a life time warranty. my question is; is the digital ballast as a general rule gona last long enough to justify it over the magnetic 1 with the life time warranty. the dig im looking at will run hps and mh bulbs while the magnetic will only run hps . help me out here fellas im bout to make a decision i hope i will not regret in a few months. any input is welcome. i have thick skin so dont hold back :jointsmile:

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Originally Posted by driftersmokinjo

trying to decide which light to purchase. my options are a digital ballast with 3 year replacement and 2 year pro rated warranty and the other is a magnetic ballast with a life time warranty. my question is; is the digital ballast as a general rule gona last long enough to justify it over the magnetic 1 with the life time warranty. the dig im looking at will run hps and mh bulbs while the magnetic will only run hps . help me out here fellas im bout to make a decision i hope i will not regret in a few months. any input is welcome. i have thick skin so dont hold back :jointsmile:

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Theory here only, however from what I gathered (we're in the same boat so to speak) Many of the digital ballasts have had issues with prematurly blowing out bulbs. Even some of the Lumitech ballasts were doing this after the company started building in China. Seams I read you can tell if the ballast is OK (with Lumitech) by the color of the ballast. I read Quantum is also very good and you can adjust them(100%/75%/50%). Personally I think buying a questionable digital is out of the question. If I had the money to buy a good one I would. However reading what I've read I'm going with Magnetic. Most if not all of the magnetic can be re-built for a nominal price. Plus blowing $100-$200 bulbs is not worth the savings on a cheap digital.

Just this noobs opinion! :thumbsup:

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Originally Posted by driftersmokinjo

trying to decide which light to purchase. my options are a digital ballast with 3 year replacement and 2 year pro rated warranty and the other is a magnetic ballast with a life time warranty. my question is; is the digital ballast as a general rule gona last long enough to justify it over the magnetic 1 with the life time warranty. the dig im looking at will run hps and mh bulbs while the magnetic will only run hps . help me out here fellas im bout to make a decision i hope i will not regret in a few months. any input is welcome. i have thick skin so dont hold back :jointsmile:

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I havent used either but its seems the better and tighter buds i see and people preach are MH to veg and HPS to flower. At the same time experience comes in ya know:thumbsup: Check out this grow with the combo:hippy: :http://boards.cannabis.com/indoor-gr...-1st-grow.html

:rasta:

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Originally Posted by driftersmokinjo

trying to decide which light to purchase. my options are a digital ballast with 3 year replacement and 2 year pro rated warranty and the other is a magnetic ballast with a life time warranty. my question is; is the digital ballast as a general rule gona last long enough to justify it over the magnetic 1 with the life time warranty. the dig im looking at will run hps and mh bulbs while the magnetic will only run hps . help me out here fellas im bout to make a decision i hope i will not regret in a few months. any input is welcome. i have thick skin so dont hold back :jointsmile:

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Hey, yeah the quantum would be the way i will go, when I decide to get a digi. As for what you say the magnetic is a solid choice tho, rebuild if something burns out. You can get a magnetic ballast that will run both bulbs for a lil bit more $$$ tho. Or you can get a Mh conversion bulb for a hps mag. bal.

Or you can just run the hps with supplemental lighting in veg. Daylight cfls mixed with hps will be good. Or you can just run a MH for veg. and flower, your yield will not be as big as a hps yield but the buds will be frosty.


~One~:rastasmoke:
~BudG~:rastasmoke::rastasmoke:

it seems that i didnt make myself clear on this. i have a few grows under my belt. both indoor and out. have used both hid's and cfl's. vance you are on target with what im looking for in an answer . it has been about 20 years since i used an hid system. at that time i had 400 watt mh and and hps sun circle. in those days the ballast didnt last very long. thus the reason i was looking at the 1 with magnetic ballast with life time warranty. i have no experience with digatle ballast. only what i have read on this board . with what vance fish brought to the light about blowing bulbs. i think that reliability out ways versatility and 30 % more light and longer bulb life and all the other hype that goes with the digital 1. anyone ells got any in put on this subject?

Well that was a issue that the Lumitec ballast. Not all of digital had that issue, and right now one of the best ballast on the market is Quantum Series Lighting ballast. I have not personally used one, but from what I gather on other sites & my hydro shop is it is awesome. It has a power dimmer switch to run at 50% 75% 100% power. Is to increase power for smaller plants IMO the 100W would be the best as at half power you are at 500w and at 75% your at 750w thats more than a 600 put out.:thumbsup: And the company says it has improved it to run 15% cooler than any other digital on the market. "We have designed our ballast with a resin cased circuit board that has been placed in conjunction with a sealed bearing fan" And keeping your ballast cool is a major factor of life. But I only seen them with a 3year hassle free warranty.

The only thing that is keeping me from getting one of theses right now is the price for the 1000w is like $270-$330. And its hard time so I am just using my trusty Magnetic. If I was to get a magnetic ballast tho, I would just order the replacement ballast kit and built my own as it is cheaper.


~One~:rastasmoke:
~BudG~:rastasmoke::rastasmoke:

cost is not the issue. both units im looking at are comparable in price. after shipping and all the gadgets to set up the light it will run right at 400 bucks. so since the digatles are still fairly new i am gona go with this 1 https://www.discount-hydro.com/produ...vid=52&pid=465 hope i didnt cross the line posting the link. if so ill take my slap on the wrist lol

Nice! :thumbsup:

Looks like we're on the same page. PLUS, thanks for the link :thumbsup: I like this site so far.

they have grate costumer service also. i had an issue with a damaged shipment and d.h. took care of the problem very promptly. i give them 5 stars for costumer service :thumbsup: