BEST 1000w HPS Electronic Ballast 120v/240v?

[Pepper]

Looking to buy a 1k hps. Wich one is THE better ballast, Lumatek, or Galaxy?

 

[MindzEye]

i have lumatek and it works great!! Good warranty also, I dont know about galaxy's warranty...

 

[phatpharmer]

I have a galaxy 600w Digital Ballast and I love it I've never had any problems what so ever, I haven't had exprience with the Galaxy 1000w but if they are like the the 600w you can't go wrong! Plus I can use my ballast with 120v or 240v I don't think Lumiteks have that feature I could be wrong! I used to run a 1000w magnetic ballast and then I switched to 2 600w Galaxies it was the best decision I've maid I get 50000 more lumens and its only 6$ more on the hydro bill!


Phatpharmer

 

[dirtyolsouth]

Looking to buy a 1k hps. Wich one is THE better ballast, Lumatek, or Galaxy?

Imho... NEITHER! My choice is the Quantum 1K digital, dimmable ballast. It's an extremely versatile ballast. Very low heat, quality Chinese construction... lol... With 3 different voltage settings and ability to use either MH or HPS, it's like having six digital ballasts in one!:aok: I've used the dimmer to help combat the heat and it's helped with it being so hot and humid around here this summer. It also works great when you first put your plants under HID lighting to acclimate and 'harden' them off.

I originally bought a Lumatek last year. Hydro dude was telling me to go with a dig ballast without a fan as it was less problematic as a design. I bought the Lumatek and I gave it a test and had problems with it not wanting to fire either my Hortilux 1K HPS or a Solar Max Dual Arc 1K. I took it back to the local hydro store and hydro dude tried many different bulbs in the same unit as well as several other new Lumatek 1k's and only a few bulbs would operate. so... I got my money back and thought about it some more as I had been on a hiatus and wasn't able to start growing again yet. A month or so later I heard from a pal who lives in BC and he had been using a Quantum and had no problems with 3 or 4 different 1K's that he ran so I bit the bullet and found one online for a good price.

I've since learned there were problems some time ago around 2007 with design incompatibility issues between the Lumatek and the various bulb manufacturers. I think those issues have been resolved but I'd check around for current feedback from guys like Mindzeye who is using one. I still have the info from '07 on hand that I pulled from the 420 mag forum discussion on those problems. A forum user had been in contact with Lumatek:

hXXp://www.420magazine.com/forums/grow-supply-product-reviews/69293-lumatek-ballast.html

**UPDATE ON LUMATEK BALLASTS**


I have been speaking to Jason Bedell, owner of Lumatek, today about their ballasts and the problems with Vaportrail's "blown bulb" problems. It seems that not just Lumatek's but ALL digital or "E" ballasts have a compatibiltiy problem with Hortilux, SunMaster, Agrosun and other "high end" bulbs. It seems that MOST HPS bulbs require 4000-5000 volts to "fire" the bulb and all digital/"E" ballasts fire in this range.

It also seems that Hortilux and these other manufacturers have designed their bulbs to fire at a much lower 1500-2000 volts and these digital ballast a surging over twice that through these bulbs. Therefore, this overload is blowing out SOME (but not all) of these types of bulbs. Anyway, because the Lumatek is not strictly an electronic ballast (it has chip circuitry), Lumatek has redesigned the chips in the latest production models to fire at any voltage requirement between 1500-5000. Now, the Lumatek's will work with any bulb of your choosing and this is the only ballast that can make that claim. Because of the chip technology, Lumatek is the only digital/electronic ballast on the market that even has the ability to alter their firing range.

So what about the older models? Can you use Hortilux bulbs with them? According to Jason, only a small percentage of the ballasts have had this problem with the Hortilux bulb. Some users may never experience or notice any change in their bulb life or system performance. For those that do, Jason HIGHLY recommends using Phillips new "red spectrum" HPS bulb. It is Phillips new high-end bulb. It puts out the same lumens as the Hortilux but has a more targeted spectrum for flowering since the Horitlux is known for it's blue targeted spectrum which aids the vegetative stage more than it does flower. And the best news is that it's about $35.00 lower in price than the Hortilux!



The best news is that he has assurred me that they are going to take care of Vaportrail's problems by either switching out his ballasts for new ones with the new mods or by replacing his bulbs with these Phillips "red spectrum" bulbs at no charge! Jason Bedell appears to be a man of his word that more than stands behind his products. I guess we will see for sure shortly. Hey Vapor, let us know how it all works out with Jason. Good luck, bro!

I am going to be buying a 600 watt from him very soon for my grow with Anita Bonghitt! These are the kinds of manufacturers that we want to deal with. The one's that stand behind their products. That and the 5 year warranty make this digital "E" ballast the Rolls Royce of it's breed!

RB


Any-hoo... Like I mentioned, they more than likely figured all of this out but it's good to be sure before buying. So far I've had no problems with my Quantum and fans operate in computers for years and rarely die so I'll take my chances. The ballast barely has any heat footprint and I can keep temps under control no problem even though it's in the same 2x4x8, 64 sq ft space.

Peace!

 

[MindzEye]

I bought my Lumatek switchable ballast with an air cooled hood for $239... I got it home put a bulb in my hood hung the light and fired it up, I havnt had any problems since...

 

[Pepper]

i have lumatek and it works great!! Good warranty also, I dont know about galaxy's warranty...

Good to know, thanks.

 

[Pepper]

I have a galaxy 600w Digital Ballast and I love it I've never had any problems what so ever, I haven't had exprience with the Galaxy 1000w but if they are like the the 600w you can't go wrong! Plus I can use my ballast with 120v or 240v I don't think Lumiteks have that feature I could be wrong! I used to run a 1000w magnetic ballast and then I switched to 2 600w Galaxies it was the best decision I've maid I get 50000 more lumens and its only 6$ more on the hydro bill!


Phatpharmer

Sound like you have a nice set up. I also thought about buyin two 600w versus a single 1k. What is your total monthly bill just for the two 600w?

 

[Pepper]

Imho... NEITHER! My choice is the Quantum 1K digital, dimmable ballast. It's an extremely versatile ballast. Very low heat, quality Chinese construction... lol... With 3 different voltage settings and ability to use either MH or HPS, it's like having six digital ballasts in one!:aok: I've used the dimmer to help combat the heat and it's helped with it being so hot and humid around here this summer. It also works great when you first put your plants under HID lighting to acclimate and 'harden' them off.

I originally bought a Lumatek last year. Hydro dude was telling me to go with a dig ballast without a fan as it was less problematic as a design. I bought the Lumatek and I gave it a test and had problems with it not wanting to fire either my Hortilux 1K HPS or a Solar Max Dual Arc 1K. I took it back to the local hydro store and hydro dude tried many different bulbs in the same unit as well as several other new Lumatek 1k's and only a few bulbs would operate. so... I got my money back and thought about it some more as I had been on a hiatus and wasn't able to start growing again yet. A month or so later I heard from a pal who lives in BC and he had been using a Quantum and had no problems with 3 or 4 different 1K's that he ran so I bit the bullet and found one online for a good price.

I've since learned there were problems some time ago around 2007 with design incompatibility issues between the Lumatek and the various bulb manufacturers. I think those issues have been resolved but I'd check around for current feedback from guys like Mindzeye who is using one. I still have the info from '07 on hand that I pulled from the 420 mag forum discussion on those problems. A forum user had been in contact with Lumatek:

hXXp://www.420magazine.com/forums/grow-supply-product-reviews/69293-lumatek-ballast.html

**UPDATE ON LUMATEK BALLASTS**


I have been speaking to Jason Bedell, owner of Lumatek, today about their ballasts and the problems with Vaportrail's "blown bulb" problems. It seems that not just Lumatek's but ALL digital or "E" ballasts have a compatibiltiy problem with Hortilux, SunMaster, Agrosun and other "high end" bulbs. It seems that MOST HPS bulbs require 4000-5000 volts to "fire" the bulb and all digital/"E" ballasts fire in this range.

It also seems that Hortilux and these other manufacturers have designed their bulbs to fire at a much lower 1500-2000 volts and these digital ballast a surging over twice that through these bulbs. Therefore, this overload is blowing out SOME (but not all) of these types of bulbs. Anyway, because the Lumatek is not strictly an electronic ballast (it has chip circuitry), Lumatek has redesigned the chips in the latest production models to fire at any voltage requirement between 1500-5000. Now, the Lumatek's will work with any bulb of your choosing and this is the only ballast that can make that claim. Because of the chip technology, Lumatek is the only digital/electronic ballast on the market that even has the ability to alter their firing range.

So what about the older models? Can you use Hortilux bulbs with them? According to Jason, only a small percentage of the ballasts have had this problem with the Hortilux bulb. Some users may never experience or notice any change in their bulb life or system performance. For those that do, Jason HIGHLY recommends using Phillips new "red spectrum" HPS bulb. It is Phillips new high-end bulb. It puts out the same lumens as the Hortilux but has a more targeted spectrum for flowering since the Horitlux is known for it's blue targeted spectrum which aids the vegetative stage more than it does flower. And the best news is that it's about $35.00 lower in price than the Hortilux!



The best news is that he has assurred me that they are going to take care of Vaportrail's problems by either switching out his ballasts for new ones with the new mods or by replacing his bulbs with these Phillips "red spectrum" bulbs at no charge! Jason Bedell appears to be a man of his word that more than stands behind his products. I guess we will see for sure shortly. Hey Vapor, let us know how it all works out with Jason. Good luck, bro!

I am going to be buying a 600 watt from him very soon for my grow with Anita Bonghitt! These are the kinds of manufacturers that we want to deal with. The one's that stand behind their products. That and the 5 year warranty make this digital "E" ballast the Rolls Royce of it's breed!

RB


Any-hoo... Like I mentioned, they more than likely figured all of this out but it's good to be sure before buying. So far I've had no problems with my Quantum and fans operate in computers for years and rarely die so I'll take my chances. The ballast barely has any heat footprint and I can keep temps under control no problem even though it's in the same 2x4x8, 64 sq ft space.

Peace!

I had a 600w quantum (nice ballst) but had to sell, needed the $ . I thought about buying a 1k quantum to, but they cost a litle more, $ is tight at the moment . I have heard about the problem some guys had with lumatek burning out the bulbs, but they (lumatek) corrected the problem and now they dont burn out the bulbs (so I was told). I have a 400w lumatek and so far so good.

 

[dirtyolsouth]

I had a 600w quantum (nice ballst) but had to sell, needed the $ . I thought about buying a 1k quantum to, but they cost a litle more, $ is tight at the moment . I have heard about the problem some guys had with lumatek burning out the bulbs, but they (lumatek) corrected the problem and now they dont burn out the bulbs (so I was told). I have a 400w lumatek and so far so good.

Cool, Pepper... I think I tried to jump in to Lumateks just when they were getting a handle on the bulb issues so it's cool that they've ironed out the problems.

Sound like you have a nice set up. I also thought about buyin two 600w versus a single 1k. What is your total monthly bill just for the two 600w?

To operate 1.2 KWH (1200w per hour) for a 12 hour day multiply 12 x 1.2 = 14.4 KWH per day x 30 days = 432 KWH per month. Now you need to multiply that by your local power rate. Here it's about 9 cents per KWH so it would cost .09 x 432 = $38.88 per month.

Check out this online power calculator if you ever need to get more detailed with your estimates...

hXXp://www.super-grow.biz/Electricity.jsp

Peace!

 

[astrobud]

i just got a lumz-bloom naked box 1000 ballest, under 150 bucks. works real good and with a cool tube temps are manageable

 

[AlbinoDanko12GA]

I would go with the lumatek, im running a 1000 watter and no probs at all, also when i was at the grow shop i seen four galaxy's in line to get repaired for some reason!?

 

[Pepper]

Cool, Pepper... I think I tried to jump in to Lumateks just when they were getting a handle on the bulb issues so it's cool that they've ironed out the problems.


To operate 1.2 KWH (1200w per hour) for a 12 hour day multiply 12 x 1.2 = 14.4 KWH per day x 30 days = 432 KWH per month. Now you need to multiply that by your local power rate. Here it's about 9 cents per KWH so it would cost .09 x 432 = $38.88 per month.

Check out this online power calculator if you ever need to get more detailed with your estimates...

hXXp://www.super-grow.biz/Electricity.jsp

Peace!

Thanks. Wow thats not to bad, might just run two 600w versus a 1k.