Traditional ballasts vs. Digital ballasts

Howdy all. Out of curiosity, I wanted to get peoples opinions on heat generation from traditional magnetic ballasts versus digital ballasts. Just about every ad you read for digital ballasts say they produce less heat than traditional ballasts. I used to run a 250W Galaxy digital ballast. When I moved up to 400W, I got a traditional ballast because of the heat the digital ballast would generate. My Sunlight Supply Harvest Pro 400W traditional probably only generates about 1/3 of the heat that the Galaxy 250W generated. I know that the digitals are more efficient at producing light, I just wanted to see what everyone else who has utilized both ballasts experience has been.

I have had just the opposite luck in that the digital ballast runs cooler than my copper core

My Galaxy was one of the originals they made. Maybe they have gotten better now. The guys at the grow shop said there were lots of problems with the first production runs. I never had any of the problems they mentioned, just the heat.

Digitals run way cooler now, also, digitals are silent, THIS IS A HUGE ISSUE. Next light I buy is going to be digital no question, the kinks are worked out and its the better unit now.

squishdoggydog said:

Howdy all. Out of curiosity, I wanted to get peoples opinions on heat generation from traditional magnetic ballasts versus digital ballasts. Just about every ad you read for digital ballasts say they produce less heat than traditional ballasts. I used to run a 250W Galaxy digital ballast. When I moved up to 400W, I got a traditional ballast because of the heat the digital ballast would generate. My Sunlight Supply Harvest Pro 400W traditional probably only generates about 1/3 of the heat that the Galaxy 250W generated. I know that the digitals are more efficient at producing light, I just wanted to see what everyone else who has utilized both ballasts experience has been.

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Magnetic ballasts are noisy, they generate more heat, they are bulkier, they are more efficient in routing electricity to your lamp fixture, and they consume a little less energy. I have a galaxy 600 W and a lumitek 400 both do not generate heat as much as the magnetic ballasts I had and switched out. And you cant beat the factory warranties on the digital ballasts they average 5 years.

Have the fixed the RF interference with them yet? I know before that only one company had "shilelded" ballasts. The other digital ballasts would mess with cable and stuff. If the cable company was looking for "cable leaks", the ballasts would show up on the detector because of the frequency they ran on.
A guy at the shop I frequent, had the cable company show up at his house because there was a cable leak. He turned off his lights when the cable guy knocked on the door, so when the cable guy looked for the "leak", they couldn't find one. The cable guy left, and the grower turned his lights back on. The cable guy came back like 20min later saying he was reading a leak again. But the guy told him, you were already here, you looked and didn't find anything, now go away.
Granted it wasn't a cop, but still, I don't want some guy nosing around my house just because of that.
So let me know if you guys know if they shielded the other ballasts. Thanks.

Magnetic ballasts are loud n hot as hell. digital is best in my eyes.

Another advantage of the digital ballast is that you'll get 10% or more light out of your bulb due to more efficient ionization of the gases in the bulb. They also soft start the bulb which is going to increase the life of the bulb.

Bongrippinbob brings up a very valid point as far as RFI. Most digital ballast are in an aluminum enclosure which "should" supress any significant RFI and most cables with a digital ballast are also shielded. They must comply with Title 47 Part 15 b which is a law that governs unintentional radiators. But still, Bob brings up an interesting point.

My "Greenhouse Digital Ballast" from HTGSupply works great. It gets warm but not hot. I don't experience any interference at all with the cable tv or wireless internet.

ShadowGod said:

My "Greenhouse Digital Ballast" from HTGSupply works great. It gets warm but not hot. I don't experience any interference at all with the cable tv or wireless internet.

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I am sure it is not right next to the tv or your computer though. And the equiptment they use to find cable leaks is more sensitive than your tv is going to be.
It shouldn't affect your tv and stuff. But if the cable company is looking for illegal cable, they may come knocking on your door. Depending on thick the housing on the ballast is, you may still have a "leak" according to the cable company.

you know what i have a digital 600 (lumatek) which is quiet and hot, a regular 430 which is quiet and cool (diamond lights) and a 250 mh that is noisy and hot (hydrofarm) generally the digital are quieter but i have some arguments for the whole cooler thing

my 250w ballast is silent. and not digital. and it runs decently cool, in fact, i use it to heat my closet since circulation is so good

Hey guys I seemed to have the opposite luck. I have 2 400 digital greenhouse ballasts. Both loud as hell. The buzzing is mega-loud. They do stay cool though. Now I use a coolstar 400 magnetic and its silent and cool and Im much happier now that my basement doesnt sound like a laboratory

I have never used a digital ballast, but my magnetic ballast is the last thing I can hear in my cab. I hear the fans going more than anything else. My ballast has a slight hum to it, but the sound of 747cfm flying through a duct is much louder!

I have seen more people complain about noisy digital ballasts than magnetic. And if you run a magnetic with a fan on it you can keep them cool enough to touch which ups the efficiency and makes them last 20-30 years.

So far I've never had a magnetic ballast go out but I do always mod them with a fan if they don't have it already. Digi's are nice but they are not superior in every way or always quieter or cooler.

I am having this problem right now. I am looking to upgrade my 400 magnetics to a 600. I am not sure if I should spring the extra 50 bucks and get a lumatek or just get a sunlight supply or something. More than the money is the RF Interference that I am worried about, next the noise I hear. I am hoping though that Lumatek is good. IDk, tho.

Lumateks are the shit! all the bugs are worked out of them. I have a computer, plasma tv, and cable all right above my ballast with no RF.

also a digital ballast with cooling fans is a joke. a quality digital unit should not make extreme heat to where fans are needed to keep the unit from meltdown. being resin sealed it a great plus too.

Eharmony420 said:

I am having this problem right now. I am looking to upgrade my 400 magnetics to a 600. I am not sure if I should spring the extra 50 bucks and get a lumatek or just get a sunlight supply or something. More than the money is the RF Interference that I am worried about, next the noise I hear. I am hoping though that Lumatek is good. IDk, tho.

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Check out htg supply. They have ballast kits that are super cheap. I have a 400watt and 600watt from them and they work great.

I got my 600watt HPS ballast and bulb delivered for like $170. You are probably going to pay more than that just for the ballast, plus shipping and a bulb.

thanks all. I got a hood too with a plug that i kinda wanna use. It is a wider hood than my 400 and it has plugs for sun and luma. but, yeah, htg's deals are good. i can always rewire. I did for the first 400. An economy ballast off ebay and htg's euro hood. Also my latest hood is like a foot wider then the euro hood!

I had to cut the cord and re wire my hood too. I have a Hydrofarm Radiant 6 and it had plugs for the hydrofarm ballasts. It was super easy to fix. And to save like $100, I don't mind having to cut some cords.