Ushio DE ballast compatibility

Anyone know if we can just use any electronic ballast for these DE bulbs or do we have to use Gavita/specifically designed ballasts for them?

I'm specifically looking into the Ushio DE Pro Plus bulbs

http://www.ushio.com/HiLuxGRO/

Thanks!

You're gonna need a DE ballast. Gavita, Phantom, Nanolux, Solis Tek, and im sure many more make them now. You can buy DE ballasts that are compatible with standard MH and HPS bulbs but i dont believe u can plug DE bulb into just any digital ballast not designed for it.

Yeah, that's what I thought too until I ran across a review of the AC/DE reflector from monstergardens on youtube where they light up a DE bulb on an old Lumatek 1kW ballast.


Skip to ~2min 9s to see the ballast

I know it's not the newer DE ballast because if you pause and look, you can see the price as $120 which is nowhere near the "new" "DE compatible" ballasts.

I get the idea that people are being swindled by being told only new ballasts are compatible to get them to buy another set of ballasts instead of truly for compatibility reasons which is why I'm coming on here.

From http://growershouse.com/blog/best-indoor-grow-light-test/

Quoting "Admin" who works from growershouse.com on compatible DE ballasts -

There are currently 3 ballasts we at GrowersHouse recommend to use safely with Double Ended Bulbs,
1. Lumatek Sealed (non air cooled)
2. Galaxy Grow Amp Select-A-Watt Turbo Charge 1000W
3. Phantom 1000W HPS Double Ended E-Ballast

Click to expand...

From that, I can surmise that most high frequency ballasts will work with DE bulbs. Now if only somebody who has used these things can confirm...

Well according to the video the Ushio bulbs can be used but not Gavita bulbs. And on Ushio's website they list the ballast type as HPS S52 Electronic which would lead me to believe that any electronic ballast would work for it. in the video they were running it on 1100w, I wonder if you could still dim them?

i have emailed Ushio and should be hearing back shortly. i will share my findings.

BShillington said:

From http://growershouse.com/blog/best-indoor-grow-light-test/

Quoting "Admin" who works from growershouse.com on compatible DE ballasts -



From that, I can surmise that most high frequency ballasts will work with DE bulbs. Now if only somebody who has used these things can confirm...

Click to expand...

I'm using the Galaxy ballast that you mentioned in your post. Using Ushio pro DE bulb. I can't run the 1040 W because it was too fucking bright for my small room (4.5x4.5). I've been burning it now for 4 months (630w) without a problem. It's pretty hot though so air conditioning is a must in the summer but I try to grow in the winter and fuck off all summer.

Over the phone the Ushio Rep said any HPS S52 Electronic ballast but she did not sound too sure.

http://www.greentreegardensupply.com/blogs/news/15094933-double-ended-hps-bulbs-and-reflectors
General consensus seems to be that a higher frequency ballast is going to be better, but u can fire the lamp with most digital ballasts.
i would love to hear more info tho

Ushio Technical support had a much more complete answer:

Hello clayawesome

Please see notes below and attached:


Please see spec attached, electronic ballast with typical 100-150kHz required, min 80kHz.

Not all of electronic ballast will drive the Double Ended lamps, subject to test.

We recommend to use Electronic Ballasts designed and labeled to be used for Double Ended HPS types, like Philips, Gavita, Hydrofarm, Sunlight, E-Papilon, PL Lighting.

Awesome. I've found a few sources for high frequency ballasts on alibaba.com for 130 shipped. Just pretend to be a bulk buyer and request a few "samples" and they'll ship it via DHL. ~$100 per sample and $30 per ballast DHL shipping. 130 is still much cheaper than a rebranded import marked up to $200.

The USHIO claim regarding "S52 Electronic" is not quite correct. I think most electronic ballasts will fire the bulb, but it will not work right. The high frequency output is required for proper operation. I just tried the Plantmax HPS DE bulb on my Xtrasun Dial-a-Watt and got excessive flicker at 1000 watts. Works fine on the 750 watt setting. That makes sense as I understand that the typical SE electronic ballast generates increasingly higher frequencies as the wattage setting is lowered.

The Lumatek non-air cooled ballast is supposed to have had the high frequency feature added years ago and that is why they are reported to work with DE bulbs.

Just. Checked the frequency levels of several electric ballast including phillips, they are all 2khz. So a cording to this any electronic ballast should be able.

On another note. frequency filter(rectifiers) on cheap electronic ballasts, I remember reading about an updated design.

bluerock said:

The USHIO claim regarding "S52 Electronic" is not quite correct. I think most electronic ballasts will fire the bulb, but it will not work right. The high frequency output is required for proper operation. I just tried the Plantmax HPS DE bulb on my Xtrasun Dial-a-Watt and got excessive flicker at 1000 watts. Works fine on the 750 watt setting. That makes sense as I understand that the typical SE electronic ballast generates increasingly higher frequencies as the wattage setting is lowered.

The Lumatek non-air cooled ballast is supposed to have had the high frequency feature added years ago and that is why they are reported to work with DE bulbs.

Click to expand...

You're right about the dim causing a shift in frequency, but there is quite a large difference in frequency between a standard electronic ballast, like Lumatek, Galaxy, and others and a DE ballast. Standard electronic ballasts have an operational frequency of 30kHz, while a DE has an operational frequency between 85-105kHz, The more you dim the higher the frequency, but the more color shift away from what the bulb was designed for.

I know for a fact that Lumatek doesn't have a true DE 100kHz ballast. They have told people their "high frequency" 30kHz ballast will run a DE bulb, but like you saw when you put your DE bulb into your Xtrasun that runs at 30Khz also you will not get the true color rendering, nor the increased lumen output, plus you'll see flickering.

There are two types of high frequency ballasts. Those that run at 30kHz like most of us are familiar with, then there are DE ballasts that run at 100kHz. This is the proper frequency to run any DE bulb. The added 150-200W of output power increase the lumen output 10% while increasing the PAR value through frequency and temperature.

What's funny is Lumatek doesn't even list the frequency of their ballast. It just says high frequency.

Nanolux lists at 30kHz for the OG and 100kHz for the DE. Gavita is the same as Nanolux even though they don't list it.

Here's some testing data comparing three DEs. It shows efficiency, output, and frequency. Cool stuff if you're a data freak like me.

Ive been thinking of trying to convert to DE HPS but my ballast specs are currently this

Specifications-
Operating Temperature: -40*C ~ 65*C.
Operating Voltage Range: 100V ~ 265V.
Power Supply Frequency: 47 ~ 63 Hz
Operating Frequency: 25 ~ 100 kHz
Power Factor: > 0.99
Total Harmonic Distortion (THD): < 10%
Crest Factor: < 1.7
Dimmable Power Levels: 50%, 75%, 100%
Dimming Control: knob
Open & Short Circuit Protection
Ignition Failure Protection
Overheating Protection
End-of-Bulb-Life Protection

So after reading some of the comments here I dont think it will have quite the operating frequency eh?

Thanks for any input!