Which Metal Halide Bulb for Lumatek 600w MH/HPS E-Ballast?

I am trying to find out what kind of MH bulb I can use with my 120v Lumatek 600w MH/HPS E-Ballast.

On the instructions that come with it, it says, "a 400w Halide lamp should not be used with a 600w ballast."

Do you guys have any suggestions on which bulb I could, or should use?

Should I just get a 400w setup for vegging, or should I just run a 600w Eye Hortilux Super HPS bulb through veg and flowering?

Any suggestions would be very helpful.

Thanks in advance.

I would stay safe with the 600. What i you try the 400 and it blows and fries the ballast...?

I just received my new Lumatek 600w. Interestingly it has options for 300w 400w 600w and Super Lumen. Even the instructions that came with it don't even say it can go to 300w!! What's up with that? Is mine really that new? My instructions DON'T say anything about NOT using a 400mh....that kind of worries me.

I've come across some posts saying they can run 360w bulbs, but I've never even heard of those, so I dunno what's up.

Going to do some research on how usable these "dimmer" features are. I'd like to know what the quality and quantity of the light is when using a lower setting. Ie. is running a 600w bulb on the 300w setting really half the lumen and watts being used? Is the light spectrum the same? How does it affect the life of the bulb? Questions like that...so if anyone can answer those please do here, otherwise I might post back later when I find some answers.

I've also heard the Hortilux bulbs don't like the Lumatek 600w, and that the Usio bulbs are best.

def go with ushio, i made the mistake of gettin an eye hortilux with a 600w lumatek...worked fine for a week, then would randomly shut off my lights. bought an ushio, problem solved.

idohcvtecexi said:

I am trying to find out what kind of MH bulb I can use with my 120v Lumatek 600w MH/HPS E-Ballast.

On the instructions that come with it, it says, "a 400w Halide lamp should not be used with a 600w ballast."

Do you guys have any suggestions on which bulb I could, or should use?

Should I just get a 400w setup for vegging, or should I just run a 600w Eye Hortilux Super HPS bulb through veg and flowering?

Any suggestions would be very helpful.

Thanks in advance.

Click to expand...

The MH spectrum is optimal for veg. IMO wattage isnt as important in veg as it is in flowering. Id go with the 250w MH for veg and switch to a higher wattage HPS for flowering.

I like the Sun Pulse Pulse Start MH in a 6.4K temp for veging. It's one of the few 600 watt MH available. Most are conversion bulbs. The Sun Pulse is also designed for digital ballasts. We use mostly these bulbs in our grow. The only difference is, we use 1000's, and I prefer the Hortilux Daylight Blue for the first few weeks of HID lighting in veg. You can have a look at my thread. The Sun Pulses are on the floor plants, the Daylight Blues are lighting up the table.


https://www.rollitup.org/indoor-growing/407048-20-000-watt-medical-grow.html