# What is the best digital ballast?



## moaky (Feb 7, 2010)

hXXp://www.bghydro.com/BGH/static/articles/0506_digiballasts.asp
the above site tested about 5 diffrent lights to find out the effeciency. the one thing i noticed is they didn't test other 600's besides the galaxy.  it feels like something is being left out.  xtrasun has the digital ballast.
I wanted to know if anyone had opinion on what digital ballasts are worth buying.  BG hydro choose lumatek to sell and before i found this site i had a gut feeling that they were the brand to get even though they are cheaper than other name brand digital lights. I think all members would like to hear some input for when they feel they are ready to upgrade. maybe you senior members could even restate this so it makes more sense with better info.
thank you for your input.


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## Locked (Feb 7, 2010)

I don't hve one and I am not saying it is the best but Lumatek is a good one...


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## Time4Plan-B (Feb 7, 2010)

And also the most expensive hamster

Ive got 2 x poots and if there good enough for the dutch greenhouses they will do for me man.

lol

t4


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## gypsydog (Feb 7, 2010)

Got the Lumitek 1000.  Its a nice ballest no trouble so far.  Only been runnin it for a couple of weeks.


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## Mr.Wakenbake (Feb 7, 2010)

for a digital.... lumatek, galaxy, or future brite.

If you want the best cheap digital, digital greenhouse brand is pretty good from HTG supply.


I personally run lumateks.  a 600 and a 400.


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## Time4Plan-B (Feb 8, 2010)

well one of my digital poots is now 2 years old and performs faultlessly and considering it cost brand new including shade and growlux bulb and delivery £120 ya cannot beat that  until i bought another last month which was £119.99 free delivery btw lumateks are about £200 for the ballast alone.

t4


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## PUFF MONKEY (Feb 8, 2010)

why are you going with digital if i may ask ?


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## mikeybtoken (Feb 8, 2010)

moaky 
can't go wrong with the top three industy standards lumatec, galaxy, futurebrite. I've smoked alot of weed grown form these three and I know for a fact that they all work very well!!!
Good Luck 
Peace 
MBT


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## moaky (Feb 8, 2010)

Thanks to everyone for their input. its much appreciated
the galaxy in the test(first post of thread) that hg hydro did was the least effecient and it had problems firing a new bulb the first time.  and althought the lumatek is more expensive i tend to think, in this game you get what you pay for I don't know what these "poots" are.  can't find anything about them except on another forum that says they don't have a metal jacket to protcect the cord into the ballast from am radio interfernce which i gather, can make your ballast less effecient.


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## Time4Plan-B (Feb 8, 2010)

well my poots dont interfere with any frequencies in my home.

you do get what you pay for but i got 2 x poot complete systems ballasts bulbs and reflectors for the price of one lumatek ballast alone and 2 years later no issues with it.

t4


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## moaky (Feb 8, 2010)

Time4Plan-B said:
			
		

> well my poots dont interfere with any frequencies in my home.
> 
> you do get what you pay for but i got 2 x poot complete systems ballasts bulbs and reflectors for the price of one lumatek ballast alone and 2 years later no issues with it.
> 
> t4


what are these 2 x poot complete systems you are talking about.  do you have a link for the product.  cause nothing comes up when i try and search for poots


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## fellowsped (Feb 8, 2010)

PUFF MONKEY said:
			
		

> why are you going with digital if i may ask ?


            Aren't the magnetic ballast pretty much the same price just run less efficiantly, louder, and run hotter?  Also a digital ballast will keep your light brighter longer than a magnetic ballast will as i understand it with a magnetic the bulb starts to loose it's brightness the instant it turns on.


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## moaky (Feb 8, 2010)

exactly but what ballast would be recomended from personal use
most say lumatek.  others say the cheap digi's are just as good.


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## Locked (Feb 8, 2010)

moaky said:
			
		

> exactly but what ballast would be recomended from personal use
> most say lumatek.  others say the cheap digi's are just as good.



I hve the bargain brand digi from HTGsupply and just about 1 year later it is still working great...if I had the cash I wld go with lumatek but the bargain one from HTG has been no slouch...


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## pcduck (Feb 8, 2010)

I run two 600 watt lumateks with no problems. Has a great lumen per watt ratio.


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## Rusty Gribble (Feb 8, 2010)

i have a 400w digital greenhouse and havent had problems with it, only been running it for a month and a half though.....


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## nvthis (Feb 9, 2010)

mikeybtoken said:
			
		

> moaky
> can't go wrong with the top three industy standards lumatec, galaxy, futurebrite.


 
Think you left out NextGen Mikey.. 

The best digital out is the one with the best, no hassle warrenty, period. You can chisel the price online, but what do you do if it breaks? (same story with magnetic, by the way..) 

My choice is store bought lumatek with the 5 year. If it breaks, I take it to where I bought it, trade it for a new one and have it reinstalled with in the hour. In my opinion, that's the _only_ way to do it.


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## Old_SSSC_Guy (Feb 9, 2010)

i dunno, consider the source.  BG Hydro ripped me off and i wouldn't trust a word they said if it came notorized!


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## PUFF MONKEY (Feb 9, 2010)

fellowsped said:
			
		

> Aren't the magnetic ballast pretty much the same price just run less efficiantly, louder, and run hotter? Also a digital ballast will keep your light brighter longer than a magnetic ballast will as i understand it with a magnetic the bulb starts to loose it's brightness the instant it turns on.


i recently ran a 240v line to a CAP4 and noticed that both of my 1000w ballasts not only run brighter, but also don't hum anywhere near like they used to but that they also run pretty cool..i was about to make the digi jump myself but the 240v operation changed my mind...mag ballasts have a much better track record than digi's do but if i was gona go digi, i would go for the lumatek brand over the rest.


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## Time4Plan-B (Feb 15, 2010)

fellowsped said:
			
		

> Aren't the magnetic ballast pretty much the same price just run less efficiantly, louder, and run hotter?  Also a digital ballast will keep your light brighter longer than a magnetic ballast will as i understand it with a magnetic the bulb starts to loose it's brightness the instant it turns on.



All above is true and this is extra.

Yes and digital have no warm up time where by a magnetic ballast warms the light orange yellow blue white light over say 2-4 mins where as a digital instant white light.

t4


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## nouvellechef (Feb 16, 2010)

Well I guess its digital as winner. There all good, digi wise. Magentic wise, I run many ballasts, all Harvest Pro, if it breaks I take in it, no waiting. NV was right, whatever you buy, have backup plan if something fails, thats the best advice. On another note, I know many growers that will put there homemade ballasts for cheap up against any digi, but the point is. What you get outta what you got in the end is what matters.


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## MindzEye (Feb 16, 2010)

I have a 400w lumatek that Ive had for 2 years and it works great, I just bought a 1000w lumatek and it works great..

Im not sure why everyone says they are so expensive? I shopped for mine on e-bay and found a good deal on a ballast, air cooled hood and bulbs... It came out to be the same price as the cheap systems that Hid Hut carries..  I think the HTGsupply systems are a bit cheaper, but I was warned about fan cooled ballasts, not sure if its true but I went with Lumatek and Im happy.


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## RUDEBWOY (Feb 17, 2010)

I also went with HTG Supply .. I run 2 x 600 wt. hps w/digital ballast and have had no problems with them as of yet ... 

EZ&SAFE


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## MindzEye (Feb 18, 2010)

Time4Plan-B said:
			
		

> well one of my digital poots is now 2 years old and performs faultlessly and considering it cost brand new including shade and growlux bulb and delivery £120 ya cannot beat that  until i bought another last month which was £119.99 free delivery btw lumateks are about £200 for the ballast alone.
> 
> t4




I notice your not using a dollar sign $$$, thats Brittish pounds right or Euro's? If so the reason none of us have heard of that brand of ballast is European electricity is different than American.. Our electronics arent compatible.. Thats why most electronics sold out of Europe says they wont ship to USA... Our outlets that we plug into are even different..

Europe standard outlet power is  220v @ 50 hz

American standard outlet power is 110v @ 60 hz

Even if we ran a 220v circuit and got an adapter for the plug on the ballast our electricity flows at 60 cycles a second, that ballast needs 50 cycles a second.. We would have to buy a power converter along with the ballast, after spending that money we could have just bought a Lumatek...


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## H2OGanjaFarmr (Feb 19, 2010)

Anyone using CAP NextGen Ballasts?

I heard nothing but praise... even from the techs at R&M which is the manufacturer of CAP. I originally bought 3 400/600w Nextgen's... worked great untill I switched over to HPS... all of a sudden I would come in and the lights wouldn't be on... I'd have to unplug them... wait so long and plug them back in to reset the circuit breaker... the next day same thing... the next day same thing... then they'd work, then they wouldn't... funny thing is they'd all be in unison except for acouple times when one wouldn't and the other 2 would, Most of the time it would take two resets to get them to light up. I shipped them back to R&M one at a time and they were supposed to send me new ones but about 1 week after they were replaced it all started again... I don't think I was paranoid in thinking they got them back tested them, they tested fine so they sent them back to me. So during this process of sending them back to them I told them I wanted a back up at a discount... they sent me a refurb 400/600w which rattled when I moved it so I sent that back and got a new one... after the 3 replacements I believed to be the same ballasts started acting up again I told them I wanted 3 brand new ones sent to me before I sent the 3 I had back... they did it I sent the 3 back and had them untill the end of harvest which ended up being about a month and they worked fine... before I could start using them again I was Illegally raided and they were all seized, I'm currently fighting for my equipment back... so hopefully when I get them back they'll work as good as they were when I had them... LOL. 

I feel like I gave Nextgen quite a bit of leway instead of just getting different ballasts... I did it mainly because I liked the idea of them... ie... small lite ballast, can be mounted 65' from lamp, with many possibilities for reflector plugs without having an adaptor. I think what happend is I got a bad batch and when I sent them back they plugged them up and they worked so they sent them back... if they would have tested them for a week I bet they would have had the same issues... if I just plugged them in they'd work but when they were on a timer they stopped working on and off, and I know it wasn't the power or timer cause while I was still having problems and sending them one at a time back to R&M I had a magnetic on the same timer and it never failed once... 

I plan on buying more 600's in a couple months and I'm not sure weather I should go NextGen, Lumatek or Quantum... If I don't hear anymore bad about them I'll probably go 400/600w NextGen... 



H2OGanjaFarmr :joint:


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## MindzEye (Feb 19, 2010)

H2OGanjaFarmr said:
			
		

> Anyone using CAP NextGen Ballasts?
> 
> I heard nothing but praise... even from the techs at R&M which is the manufacturer of CAP. I originally bought 3 400/600w Nextgen's... worked great untill I switched over to HPS... all of a sudden I would come in and the lights wouldn't be on... I'd have to unplug them... wait so long and plug them back in to reset the circuit breaker... the next day same thing... the next day same thing... then they'd work, then they wouldn't... funny thing is they'd all be in unison except for acouple times when one wouldn't and the other 2 would, Most of the time it would take two resets to get them to light up. I shipped them back to R&M one at a time and they were supposed to send me new ones but about 1 week after they were replaced it all started again... I don't think I was paranoid in thinking they got them back tested them, they tested fine so they sent them back to me. So during this process of sending them back to them I told them I wanted a back up at a discount... they sent me a refurb 400/600w which rattled when I moved it so I sent that back and got a new one... after the 3 replacements I believed to be the same ballasts started acting up again I told them I wanted 3 brand new ones sent to me before I sent the 3 I had back... they did it I sent the 3 back and had them untill the end of harvest which ended up being about a month and they worked fine... before I could start using them again I was Illegally raided and they were all seized, I'm currently fighting for my equipment back... so hopefully when I get them back they'll work as good as they were when I had them... LOL.
> 
> ...




Why would you buy the same ballast that has given you problems? If I spent money on them and the company refused to fix them, Id tell that company where to stick them and switch to another brand..


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## H2OGanjaFarmr (Feb 19, 2010)

MindzEye said:
			
		

> Why would you buy the same ballast that has given you problems? If I spent money on them and the company refused to fix them, Id tell that company where to stick them and switch to another brand..


 

The company never gave me problems... besides the possible I sent them the ballasts then they sent me the same back... Which I would blame on the technicians, It was the ballasts... if they've fixed the problem then I'd prefer those ballasts... other than the problem I had they were very impressive. I want to wait till I get my property back from the sherrif... if those perform as good as they were I would probably get more. I'd like to see if anyone else is having problems with NextGen but I haven't come accross too many people using them. I did meet a guy on a forum who went all the way thru his grow with 6 600's and no problems... I heard a rumor somewhere that it could be the ballasts incompatability with the bulb... where the ballast doesn't think the bulb is the correct wattage or something and goes into fault mode. Not quite sure how true that is but it was SunMaster Bulbs that were the supposed problem... I believe I was using SunMaster but I can't see because I don't have them now... the sheriff does. I was either using SunMaster or SolarMax.



H2OGanjaFarmr :joint:


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## MindzEye (Feb 19, 2010)

H2OGanjaFarmr said:
			
		

> The company never gave me problems... besides the possible I sent them the ballasts then they sent me the same back... Which I would blame on the technicians, It was the ballasts... if they've fixed the problem then I'd prefer those ballasts... other than the problem I had they were very impressive. I want to wait till I get my property back from the sherrif... if those perform as good as they were I would probably get more. I'd like to see if anyone else is having problems with NextGen but I haven't come accross too many people using them. I did meet a guy on a forum who went all the way thru his grow with 6 600's and no problems... I heard a rumor somewhere that it could be the ballasts incompatability with the bulb... where the ballast doesn't think the bulb is the correct wattage or something and goes into fault mode. Not quite sure how true that is but it was SunMaster Bulbs that were the supposed problem... I believe I was using SunMaster but I can't see because I don't have them now... the sheriff does. I was either using SunMaster or SolarMax.
> 
> 
> 
> H2OGanjaFarmr :joint:




The old 1000 watt Lumateks had bulb compatibility issues but the new dimmable ballasts dont have this problem.. Im just saying if your going to spend the money why buy somthing that you have had problems with? Lumateks really arent that big.. Its your garden do what you wish, but I prefer reliable equipment in mine. If you decide to get more I hope they work better for you 

How did the Sheriff get you equipment? Doesnt sound like a secure location to me.. Im a legal grower, I have all the documentation to prove it, but the cops still dont know Im growing, neither do my friends or family.


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## H2OGanjaFarmr (Feb 19, 2010)

MindzEye said:
			
		

> The old 1000 watt Lumateks had bulb compatibility issues but the new dimmable ballasts dont have this problem.. Im just saying if your going to spend the money why buy somthing that you have had problems with? Lumateks really arent that big.. Its your garden do what you wish, but I prefer reliable equipment in mine. If you decide to get more I hope they work better for you
> 
> How did the Sheriff get you equipment? Doesnt sound like a secure location to me.. Im a legal grower, I have all the documentation to prove it, but the cops still dont know Im growing, neither do my friends or family.


 

I guess I'm forgiving... being that they replaced them as quick as they could and it very well may have been a fluke... I've only come accross one other person who has had the problems I have and I run through lots of forums looking for info... I like the distance ability and the multiple style reflector socket... I'm sold on NextGen as long as they can prove themselves reliable.

Apparently the sheriff doesn't approve of the new law...  I was robbed at gunpoint while interviewing a soon to be patient which it turns out was in on it... I called the police... Told them the truth and they seemed cool about it... the next day they called me in to fill out a "full report"... not 10 min. into the damn "full report" 2 Narcotics Enforcement Officers came in and told me how I looked like I was as healthy as a horse and there was no way I had bad enough medical problems that I should be able to use Medical Marijuana... well at that point the law went out the window cause as we know it's not up to the police to tell a person they don't qualify its up to a doctor or the state.  They took my card, ransacked my car and raided my grow... apparently they ran a background on me and went by every place I used to live till they found one with a running meter and noone living there.  I read the affidavit for a search warrant and it stated that I told them where it was and told them I was over my plant max and I wasn't a caregiver... all three being total B.S. One, I lawyered up as soon as they started telling me what the law was, and their version was not what was in the law book, so out of the 4 times I asked for a lawyer I never got one and I never gave them any info... they also never asked if I was a caregiver... now my lawyer is making waves... it's quite entertaining to say the least... yeah it costs me but if it's gonna cost me at least I'm getting entertainment out of it right?  Funny thing is I never told the cops I was growing, just that I had marijuana on me which was legal because I had my patient card which I showed them... somehow they came to the conclusion that I must be a grower then went through all kinds of trouble to find my grow then drew an illegal warrant, disregarded my civil rights and broke the Medical Marijuana law by seizing my equipment...  they treated it like it was a regular narcotics bust... After all is said and done I don't think I'll have a problem getting my lawyer fees and plants payed for via the ACLU and what should be an entertaining lawsuit...


H2OGanjaFarmr   :joint:


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## MindzEye (Feb 19, 2010)

H2OGanjaFarmr said:
			
		

> I guess I'm forgiving... being that they replaced them as quick as they could and it very well may have been a fluke... I've only come accross one other person who has had the problems I have and I run through lots of forums looking for info... I like the distance ability and the multiple style reflector socket... I'm sold on NextGen as long as they can prove themselves reliable.
> 
> H2OGanjaFarmr   :joint:




Im not trying to argue here but you said they didnt replace the lights and sent you the faulty ballasts back to you, plus they allready have proven unreliable, if you have to reset them every day somtimes multiple times a day then that isnt reliability..

Im a caregiver also, but I dont directly care for my patients, I have a representative for me, Im nameless and faceless.. My representative is someone I would trust with my life since Ive known him for 12 years... I think you should get a better providing system so you dont get robbed and have cops show up... To tell you the truth even if that did happen I wouldnt let the cops know, I would cut my losses and go on with my life and not even deal with cops..

Im not trying to be rude at all and it sucks you got robbed, but never trust the law...


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## H2OGanjaFarmr (Feb 22, 2010)

MindzEye said:
			
		

> Im not trying to argue here but you said they didnt replace the lights and sent you the faulty ballasts back to you, plus they allready have proven unreliable, if you have to reset them every day somtimes multiple times a day then that isnt reliability..
> 
> Im a caregiver also, but I dont directly care for my patients, I have a representative for me, Im nameless and faceless.. My representative is someone I would trust with my life since Ive known him for 12 years... I think you should get a better providing system so you dont get robbed and have cops show up... To tell you the truth even if that did happen I wouldnt let the cops know, I would cut my losses and go on with my life and not even deal with cops..
> 
> Im not trying to be rude at all and it sucks you got robbed, but never trust the law...


 

No... I "think" the Techs just tested it and sent it back... I don't think it was necessarily "the company"... and now I know how to deal with them... LOL. The ones I had before being raided were working fine... When I get those back which I believe I will I will find out if they are fine or not... That will be my test. 

Unfortunetly I found out the hard way not to trust the law... They put their best effort into screwing me over even though I was legal... Well at least I may get some payback with the lawsuit... LOL. I was actually working on a better system... I had a person with me I trusted and would be doing the "dirty" work for me but I had to teach him the ins and outs of how to sign a patient up... I'm actually glad I was there otherwise it may have been worse for my friend. I was thinking about cutting my losses but the law was pretty new and I didn't know how the police were going to act, I knew they would go after the guys and I was feeling extreme hate for them so I called. I told them what happened leaving out some of the info I felt they might screw out of proportion and when they caught the guys they sung like canaries instead of lawyering up, weird enough I've seen their statements and they were definitely directed by the police so the police could come after me... I blame the detectives not the officers... The detectives are the dirty ones in this situation... the officers just looked at my cards and left me alone. 

I'm not saying I'm glad I called the cops or I'm happy with the situation I'm in but NOONE GETS AWAY WITH PUTTING A SHOTGUN TO MY TEMPLE!!! If I would have found out who it was I can't say I wouldn't have been too out of my mind with anger to not literally beat some heads in. I can't stand people who think they can take something just because they want it. I was doing something completely legal and they felt it okay to put a gun to my head over some marijuana... If you're gonna put a gun to my head you had better pull the trigger cause I'm not gonna stop coming after you untill you're missing years from your life weather that be in prison or the hospital and I'd much rather have legal revenge than illegal revenge. So I'm happy the police caught them and are actively persuing legal action. I'm not happy the police have me in their sights but I guess they'll learn as well not to screw with a man who is LEGALLY GROWING MEDICAL MARIJUANA... at very least they'll learn not to screw with me while I'm legally growing medical marijuana and legally distributing it my patients. In the end I feel I made the right decision.

Anyway, what's done is done so I'm concentrating on what isn't done and trying to find as much amusement in what would normally be depressing as I can... 

You'd better believe I'll be eating a good brownie in court... 


H2OGanjaFarmr :joint:


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## nvthis (Feb 22, 2010)

H2OGanjaFarmr said:
			
		

> all of a sudden I would come in and the lights wouldn't be on... I'd have to unplug them... wait so long and plug them back in to reset the circuit breaker... the next day same thing... the next day same thing... then they'd work, then they wouldn't... funny thing is they'd all be in unison except for acouple times when one wouldn't and the other 2 would, Most of the time it would take two resets to get them to light up. I shipped them back to R&M one at a time and they were supposed to send me new ones but about 1 week after they were replaced it all started again... I don't think I was paranoid in thinking they got them back tested them, they tested fine so they sent them back to me. So during this process of sending them back to them I told them I wanted a back up at a discount... they sent me a refurb 400/600w which rattled when I moved it so I sent that back and got a new one... after the 3 replacements I believed to be the same ballasts started acting up again I told them I wanted 3 brand new ones sent to me before I sent the 3 I had back... they did it I sent the 3 back and had them untill the end of harvest which ended up being about a month and they worked fine... before I could start using them again I was Illegally raided and they were all seized, I'm currently fighting for my equipment back... so hopefully when I get them back they'll work as good as they were when I had them... LOL.
> 
> I feel like I gave Nextgen quite a bit of leway instead of just getting different ballasts... I think what happend is I got a bad batch and when I sent them back they plugged them up and they worked so they sent them back... if they would have tested them for a week I bet they would have had the same issues... if I just plugged them in they'd work but when they were on a timer they stopped working on and off, and I know it wasn't the power or timer cause while I was still having problems and sending them one at a time back to R&M I had a magnetic on the same timer and it never failed once...
> 
> I plan on buying more 600's in a couple months and I'm not sure weather I should go NextGen, Lumatek or Quantum... If I don't hear anymore bad about them I'll probably go 400/600w NextGen...


 
This is exactly why I would prefer to pay slightly more for _'in-store'_ products  What a nightmare


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## joseaf (Feb 22, 2010)

I have the greenhouse from HGT since June 2009.  Fires each and every time.  I have 3 crops from the unit and I am please with the price and value.  I got the air cooled hood, bulb and ballast from under $250.  Grew 4 plants and get over a 1/4 pound in my 2x4 grow area.  Currently there are 6 plants using drip system hydro and the buds are FAT!!!


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## H2OGanjaFarmr (Feb 23, 2010)

nvthis said:
			
		

> This is exactly why I would prefer to pay slightly more for _'in-store'_ products What a nightmare


 
Actually since all of this I've made a friend of my local Hydro shop owner and he gives me internet pricing so I could bring it back to him but I would be using 4 to 6 400/600 ballasts... if they all went bad he wouldn't have enough in stock for me... At least not of the same model...  LOL.



H2OGanjaFarmr :joint:


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## Cesar Chavez (Feb 24, 2010)

H2OGanjaFarmr,
I currently own/use the 400w/600w digital ballast from NextGen. I have used this ballast for one full flowering cycle, and I am a little over a week into my second flowering cycle, and it has performed flawlessly. In fact, I am seriously considering adding a second NextGen setup for my current grow. I use the following:
400w/600w NextGen Digital Ballast (Only used 600w feature)
LumenAir 6 Air-Cooled Reflector
EYE Hortilux Bulb (HPS)
To be fair however, I am extremely new to growing, and have never used any other brand but C.A.P (NextGen). I originally was drawn to the Lumatek, but decided on the NextGen after further research, mainly, the switchable 400w/600w feature. I hope this helps. Good Luck!


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## matt612346 (Feb 25, 2010)

lumatek


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