Digital Ballast Advantages?

[Ataraxia]

I'm looking into purchasing an HID light finally, I got back my tax return, and growing supplies are where it's going, thanks uncle sam for getting my money back to me! I want to get a 250W HPS, I would like to go 400, but think I may be limited by heat generated by 400 watts. If 250 means I can only grow 2 plants, so be it. I'm looking at digital ballasts, as they're more attractive with near-zero noise, and purportedly a 30% savings in power (or so one manufacturer claimed) Anybody that has experience with digital ballasts versus magnetic ones please let me know if it's worth the extra $. One that I was looking at is from HID Hut, a 250 HPS digi ballast for 90 bucks, which means I'd still need a reflector, socket, and bulb? Any thoughts, comments, opinions are appreciated.

here's the link: http://www.hidhut.com/catalog/250w-high-pressure-sodium-digital-ballast-p-52.html

 

[hgih]

less heat smaller ballast less power faster start up
check out htg supply they have good prices

 

[Grownothing]

I like your avatar Ataraxia....and yeah, HTGsupply.com has great grow lights for cheap...even there 400W lights are pretty cheap.

 

[Capt. Trips]

Ataraxia, if you look under light kits, you can get a 250w Hps complete set up for $212 or a 400w hps/mh for $279. I was going to buy from here , but I bought my 400w hps/mh from HTGsupply.com. I had to pay by check, no cc at the time. I think both sites have great stuff.

 

[Ataraxia]

hahaha, yeah, my avatar....about that. I wish I could say that it was a pic of my eye when I was really stoned, but...it's not. I was chopping up some serrano and habanero peppers to make some venison fajitas one night. The fajitas were excellent, and the peppers provided a good kick. I washed my hands probably about five times after the cutting of the peppers, and still, when I went to take out my contacts at 2am, I had some pepper oil on my fingertips. :cry: Needless to say it was the worst pain I've ever felt in my eye. I'm tearing up right now just thinking about it. So funny story short, wash your hand thouroughly after preparing any outdoor grow deer deterrant with peppers, or anything cooking with peppers! Your eyes will thank you

On an actual thread-related note: I'll check into HTG supply, I've watched there also, I'm going to browse around to find the best combo of quality/price. I think I'll definitely go the digital ballast route though. Thanks for your help.

 

[Fretless]

I got the 600 watt digital/reflector/bulb deal from Hid Hut. It works good but here is some additional info: I'm pretty sure the ballast is HPS only; I broke the glass to the reflector with little force trying to get it back in, it is a tight fit and only one bracket comes off, so you have to jimmy it in; my reflector had wire nuts connecting the power to the socket which came loose in shipping and got a little charred when I first tried to light the unit (easily fixed & no problem now, very prompt email support and he says he replaced the wire nuts with crimped wire nuts...gotta crimp your nuts)
All things considered though it was the lowest $ I could find and works like a champ now. Honestly I can barely fit 4 (pruned/bushed) plants under it. Outer branches are poorly lit. Cool thing is with a 440cfm fan pulling the air out of the reflector, heat is not bad at all and I'm finding the plants can get much closer than many had said. One of the tops is getting close to 12" and no sign of problems.

 

[Ataraxia]

Can digital ballasts be run with HPS or MH bulbs? I thought I heard or read somewhere that you could use either, but all the ballasts I've seen have been specified as either HPS or MH. If I buy an HPS ballast I'd just have to get a MH conversion bulb if I wanted to use that for veg, right?

 

[hgih]

i believe most digitals can run both and you dont have to get diffrent bulbs for veg and flower you can use eather for both but a mh is better for veg and a hps is better for flowering

 

[Fretless]

I'm sending an email to Hid Hut about the dig ballast I have labelled 'HPS' to answer that question, at least for their products.

 

[Fretless]

Well I got a prompt answer from them as always, but it was kind of a non-answer. He said that my ballast should light a non-conversion MH. But he also said he's never seen a non-conversion MH and that they only make MH conversions. ??? Searching around a bit I do find mostly all conversion bulbs in 600 watt, maybe its a 600 watt thing.
So I dunno really

 

[Capt. Trips]

hey bearfootbob, I asked hidhut about a digital ballast(just an hps one) if it could run both with no problems, because I've read some have smart chips that can tell the difference between the two. They told me I could run a MH(non-conversion) on the HPS but it would probably shorten the bulbs life. They also told me they don't make a regular 600w MH, so it would have to be a conversion bulb.

I would say for anybody looking at a digital ballast, ask the seller if you need a conversion bulb or not. I hope this helps anybody looking to get one.

 

[Fretless]

Thanks Captain ~ yes it appears to be a 600 watt anomaly. I like it though, its mighty bright and not too hot. I have plants getting close to 12" without a problem and can hold my hand almost to the glass.