# Digi users poll



## nvthis (Dec 7, 2009)

Well, the time has come. I am about to drop some $$$coin$$$ for a new boomer. My original intention was to stick with Lumatek as they have yet to steer me wrong. However, in my search for the 'right' package I can't help but notice the array of cheaper ballasts that usually come with better goodies. Are those ballasts of a lesser value? Are they made with cheaper parts? Most of these come with a 3 year warranty compared to Lumateks 5 year. So what's the real difference?


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## zipflip (Dec 8, 2009)

personnally after every review, post , website , etc which ive read anythin on ballast discussion, THE NUMBER 1 THING  which i gather is to avoid any them ballasts with the fans built in them. no experience personally wit them but just everythin ive read leads me to believe that these are your worst ballast to go with as tehy burn out faster.
  i noticed the fan ones are generally cheaper as well too so :confused2:
  my concern with a fan would be whether the fan is intake or exhaust on the ballast, there still got be air flowein roundd insid ethe ballast so i woudl imagine alot of dust, and fuzz etc would get all up in the thing, NO?  mayeb thats wat causes them to burn out quicker idk.
  anyone else have any experience wit them.?
 but personally i think taht any ballast no matter brand etc would definately pay for itself but which one will last longer :confused2: 
 i personally woudl go wit lumatek. jsut alot of good rep ive read etc of them. as well as bein a longer warranty than most ballasts on the market.
 but im no expert so im a pull up a chair and listen to others feedback as well if ya dont  mind here try some this NV  :48:
 i too am lookin to buy a bigger better lighting setup in the future someday too so ...
  good thread/post :aok:


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## nvthis (Dec 8, 2009)

Hey Zip! Yeah, I have heard the fan thing before, and I guess it makes sense. But then I have also heard the horror stories about the fire danger of Lumateks. I don't know that I buy the rumors about the fires. I mean there would be some liability you would think. Enough so that if Lumatek were putting out dangerous or faulty equipment they wouldn't have stuck around for so long. It just doesn't make sense. On the flip side, now that I think about it, I may have read about the fan problems of other digis _from_ lumatek. So, who knows?


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## zipflip (Dec 8, 2009)

> the fire danger of Lumateks


 
:huh:  i guess i havent heard that rumor of lum's yet either :confused2: but i agree wit ya points bout the liability and haven stuck round this long with still yet a decent rep. 
  confusion confusion.
  :hairpull:  hence the reason i havent upgraded lighting yet myself. maybe after i hear  enuff of em all to make a well educated choice so taht i get a good bang for buck.
 hopefully bunch more will come in and spill their ups and downs of diff ballasts.


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## pcduck (Dec 8, 2009)

I read that when using a dimable ballast, the ballast is still using the wattage it was rated for. A 400 watt ballast turned to 50% is still using 400 watts.


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## PUFF MONKEY (Dec 8, 2009)

how ? does the ballast shunt off some of that to dim the bulb ? where does the power go ?


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## pcduck (Dec 8, 2009)

PUFF MONKEY said:
			
		

> how ? does the ballast shunt off some of that to dim the bulb ? where does the power go ?



I do not know Puff Monkey?? But was read on either Qualtums or that other dimable web site


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## PUFF MONKEY (Dec 8, 2009)

hmm...that sounds weird...i'll look into that...the dimmed powersavings was a selling point for me...i'll still buy 2 of em though(1000).


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## Growdude (Dec 8, 2009)

Coil and core, nothing more reliable.


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## zipflip (Dec 8, 2009)

> Coil and core, nothing more reliable


 im ballast illiterate here GD. is taht magnetic or electronic/digital?


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## gmo (Dec 8, 2009)

coil and core is a magnetic ballast zip.


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## zipflip (Dec 8, 2009)

> coil and core is a magnetic ballast zip.


 :aok:  :48:

why you think that magnectic ballasts are more reliable GD?


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## PUFF MONKEY (Dec 8, 2009)

cause they've been around for the better part of 60 years and very rarely have any problems and a broken one can usually be fixed for under $50.


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## FA$TCA$H (Dec 8, 2009)

:goodposting:  gonna see what yall weigh in with, :48:  next


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## nvthis (Dec 8, 2009)

Wow, really? No one is using the other brands? Now that I honestly did not expect.


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## PUFF MONKEY (Dec 8, 2009)

lumatek does indeed seem to be the ballast of choice in the digital catagory, but the more i think about it the old mags seem to be just fine...once the digi's become as reliable as the mags, thats when i'd make the switch.


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## sundancer245 (Dec 9, 2009)

so whats the advantage of digi's? ive read that their cooler, and that they have soft start technology? guess to make the bulb life longer? IDK... if they break down more often im not sure i would think the advantage worth it...


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## monkeybusiness (Dec 9, 2009)

Quantum ballast here plugged into 220. Runs cool and efficient. No complaints, but nothing to compare it to except a magnetic ballast i have. Only use the dimmable feature briefly when 1st putting plants under it.
 Good luck with your choice!


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## Budders Keeper (Dec 9, 2009)

Can't speak for digi...but I have a cheapo magnetic 400 that's had no probs for 6 yrs, and a good mag. 400 that's been problem free for 5. 
I keep waiting for 1 to go out so I can replace with a digi but the longer they keep goin the more I wonder if I should. Never blown a bulb either...or even had 1 fail, but I do replace bulbs every 6 mo.


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## The Hemp Goddess (Dec 10, 2009)

I have one 600W Lumatek and one of these:

hXXp://www.coolbluetech.com/600W_digital_ballast.html

I noticed that the Lumatek uses 5.67 amps and the CoolBlue uses 5.05 amps to fire the same bulb.  I only have one light going right now and am using the CoolBlue ballast.  It seems to be working great.


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## zipflip (Dec 10, 2009)

wats the 3 year "swap out warranty" mean on them cool blues, THG?


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## The Hemp Goddess (Dec 10, 2009)

zipflip said:
			
		

> wats the 3 year "swap out warranty" mean on them cool blues, THG?



Generally a swap out warranty means that you get a new whatever you had.  It is not prorated over the life of the warranty, like many products.  I hope I don't have to find out.


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## zipflip (Dec 10, 2009)

call me stupid but wat exactly are the terms taht descibe the prorated warranty?  
 im just tryin to uderstand the whole "language of the ballast" LOL - before i  do decide ever to go out and upgrade when i do.
   warranty's are a good selling point to me sometimes too. it kinda speaks of/for the vendor in some cases i think.
i.e. :
 excellent warranty = confident vendor = usually good reputation product etc =  happy zip the consumer :aok:  lol


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## The Hemp Goddess (Dec 10, 2009)

zipflip said:
			
		

> call me stupid but wat exactly are the terms taht descibe the prorated warranty?
> im just tryin to uderstand the whole "language of the ballast" LOL - before i  do decide ever to go out and upgrade when i do.
> warranty's are a good selling point to me sometimes too. it kinda speaks of/for the vendor in some cases i think.
> i.e. :
> excellent warranty = confident vendor = usually good reputation product etc =  happy zip the consumer :aok:  lol



Well, I don't think that they called them anything special--prorated warranties are still called warranties--the prorated part is usually in the fine print.  Many vehicle parts are warrantied on a prorated basis--tires and batteries come to mind--and you pay for "what you have used".

Companies can promise anything.  It is their willingness to back it up that really matters.  This is (I believe) a new company and I took a chance on one of their ballasts.  Whether it will prove to be a good idea or not, only time will tell.  It is operating just fine right now.


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## Droopy Dog (Dec 15, 2009)

PUFF MONKEY said:
			
		

> lumatek does indeed seem to be the ballast of choice in the digital catagory, but the more i think about it the old mags seem to be just fine...once the digi's become as reliable as the mags, thats when i'd make the switch.


:yeahthat: 

And when the price becomes more in line with the mags.

For myself, I can't really see any advantage, especially with the price difference.  Just not worth it IMO.

Plus, many advanced bulbs can't be used with the digi ballast.  Or, did they fix that?

DD


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