best ballasts???

[patrickkawi37]

Another reason I went with Quantum was their 3 year replacement warranty. I think most other similar priced ones only offered 1 year.

I do wish now I got the 1000 and could have run it at 600w in the summer months and 1000 in the winter.

What th

Appreciate the response, but you go from "dogshit" to the above? Kind if a wide range of review. .

If I get one ounce More per lamp under a different ballast .. It paid for itself in 1 run. A warranty is the least of my worries. They flicker , they are loud, the spectrum looks funny . Dogshit is my
Review. I have owned lumatek, quantum, nanolux, nextgen, gavita .. Quantum is the only ballast I have specifically disliked. Sorry if my answer isn't technical enough for you.

 

[bravedave]

What th

Ha. Sorry happened when RIU was having issues. Original went missing or so I thought so i re- composed.

 

[Yodaweed]

Quantum ballasts are dog shit, I back up his claim, I also had a quantum ballast, it died 2 months after I purchased it, thank goodness the grow store I go to is legit as fuck, they took it back and for like 40 bucks more gave me a galaxy grow amp, best ballast I have ever owned, totally quiet, no RF noise like the quantum, its just a better ballast. My quantum made this buzzing noise the entire time I had it running for the 2 months it lasted. The grow store guy even said quantum ballasts are crap.

 

[bravedave]

Quantum ballasts are dog shit, I back up his claim, I also had a quantum ballast, it died 2 months after I purchased it, thank goodness the grow store I go to is legit as fuck, they took it back and for like 40 bucks more gave me a galaxy grow amp, best ballast I have ever owned, totally quiet, no RF noise like the quantum, its just a better ballast. My quantum made this buzzing noise the entire time I had it running for the 2 months it lasted. The grow store guy even said quantum ballasts are crap.

Thanks...at least your experience backs the opinion. My experience is a positive one. I will however be buying something else as its backup/replacement.

 

[Yodaweed]

Thanks...at least your experience backs the opinion. My experience is a positive one. I will however be buying something else as its backup/replacement.

I didn't have a replacement, I went down to the grow and just noticed it was totally dark and I was like wtf? tried everything , a diff bulb all that finally called the grow store and they tested it for me and said it was dead. Cost my plants a whole day of darkness, hope that won't ever happen again.

 

[mucha_mota]

Amps x Volts = Watts
9.09a x 110v = 1000w
4.54a x 220v = 1000w
The same 1000w lamps uses half the Amps on 220v

Electrical wire is rated on maximum Amps. So the same wire can run twice the equipment (Watts) on double the voltage.
12g wire is rated at 20 amps.
20a x 110v = 2200 watts
20a x 220v = 4400 watts
U could switch an existing 110v to a 220v just by replacing the single pole breaker in your box with a double pole and use the old neutral (white) as the new hot (red), but u must replace every outlet on that circuit with a 220v outlet and make sure there isn't anything else on it. Generally its much easier to just run a new wire for the 220v.

great explanation on wire basics.
never ever over-load a circuit or the watt rating listed above on 12g wire.

agreed on quantum being garbage & many digi ballasts are major emi makers.

im still using magnetic ballasts. old school rules. imo.

newest addition for every ballast in my lab is :

 

[6ohMax]

I didn't have a replacement, I went down to the grow and just noticed it was totally dark and I was like wtf? tried everything , a diff bulb all that finally called the grow store and they tested it for me and said it was dead. Cost my plants a whole day of darkness, hope that won't ever happen again.

kinda happened to me before..went down to check noticed no lights were on just fans ..had me flipping out , replaced bulb everything...noticed the electricity went off and screwed my timer up 3 hrs

 

[Gquebed]

great explanation on wire basics.
never ever over-load a circuit or the watt rating listed above on 12g wire.

agreed on quantum being garbage & many digi ballasts are major emi makers.

im still using magnetic ballasts. old school rules. imo.

newest addition for every ballast in my lab is :
View attachment 3575371

Where do you get that?

Will they work or do They have them for digital ballasts?

 

[mucha_mota]

Where do you get that?

Will they work or do They have them for digital ballasts?

i just got my 3rd in the mail. you tell me?

my wifi works better in my house. 100% improvement in that area.

plus with these filters no way my neighbors cell, wifi, tv, whatevs is effected by my biz in the lab.

city bro. routers, modems, etc all over my block.

plus if you ever see a cable co. van with a mini tower on top its the emi patrol so to speak.
if people call about lack of service in your area repeatedly or they come out fix & have to come back multiple times, the cable people send out a team to look into the issue ...even check the area for emi disturbance.

its not about finding ops.
but it finds ops.

me i play safe.

 

[mucha_mota]

auction site. amazon. grow shop.

its made by hydrofarm.

http://growershouse.com/catalogsearch/result/?q=ballast+filter

i run magnetic & still use these filters.
with digi, id def run these.

 

[Gquebed]

Thanks for the info...

The cable guys have been by my place twice for "noise". Let them in both times cause im set up pretty stealth. Havent bothered me since, but i know im causing the noise....lol

 

[TJ baba]

What would be the best quiet ballast for a 400w hps?

 

[since1991]

No matter what youve been lead tk believe.....just about all digital ballast that are remote emit some form of radio frequency interference. No matter how well thw manufacturer insulates. Especially longer cords and multiple ballasts grow rooms....they act as antennae. And rf can get pretty bad. Attached ballasts eliminate this altogether but you can lose head room in limited height setups.

 

[bravedave]

No matter what youve been lead tk believe.....just about all digital ballast that are remote emit some form of radio frequency interference. No matter how well thw manufacturer insulates. Especially longer cords and multiple ballasts grow rooms....they act as antennae. And rf can get pretty bad. Attached ballasts eliminate this altogether but you can lose head room in limited height setups.

I have always assumed that it does not matter to me, my room being inside a metal bldg. Radio waves do not make it in so I figured mine did not make it out.

 

[since1991]

Your probaly good to go. Problems arise when cranking out a multiple lamp grow with long ass cords hooked to digitals in neighborhood house areas jammed next to each other. It can fuk with other homes stuff. Like computers t.v.'s radio and whatnot.

 

[bravedave]

Your probaly good to go. Problems arise when cranking out a multiple lamp grow with long ass cords hooked to digitals in neighborhood house areas jammed next to each other. It can fuk with other homes stuff. Like computers t.v.'s radio and whatnot.

Quantum ballasts advertise with the the tagline "say goodbye to RFI". Not sure how much is hype.

 

[since1991]

They can reduce it down to little but the inherent design of a remote digital ballast makes complete rfi reduction impossible. There will always be some. That long ballast line to the reflector acts as one big antennae coupled with the higher frequency that digitals operate at.

 

[clayawesome]

I'm running 8 Phantom commercial DE ballasts (PARsource Commercial Open Systems) with the ballasts remoted for extra height. I have my wifi router very near them with no problem, but my neighbors are a few hundred feet away.
I recently switched this room to these DE lights and I must say I'm very impressed. the "open" reflector design lets you keep them a little closer to the canopy. I'm a little over 2 feet. Also they can dim and boost the bulb output without effecting the color spectrum, unlike Gavitas.

 

[since1991]

Gavita 6/750 flex series do not alter spectrum or efficiency when dimming down to 600 watts. The 400 setting iam not sure about. Dimming down the 1000 watt de Gavitas i do believe does alter the spectrum and efficiency though. I dont know. I use the flex series for 2 6.5 foot basements. Double ended lamps are awesome arent they? Iam getting in weight what i used to get with 1000 watt single ended . Actually more.

 

[since1991]

Does anyonr know if the hydroponic company based brands run there double ended ballasts internally at 400 volts?