Electronic and Magnetic

[Sour Deez]

Whats the difference between electronic and magnetic ballasts and which is better?

 

[Melvan]

Better is subjective. You can get more control, as well as be able to switch back and forth on digital ballasts. They are quieter than a magnetic. (I'm not the only one who hears the humming am I?)

On the other hand, there is a chance that a digital ballast will interrupt phone or television service within a small area, like an apartment building, even if they're FCC compliant. Not to long ago there was a thread here from a guy who got a knock on the door from the FCC saying they had pinpointed outages being caused by something he had running in his apartment. The last thing you want is govt. agents at the door when you're growing pot.

Just something to think about.

 

[Sour Deez]

thanks what do you mean by switch back and forth ?

 

[Melvan]

You can get ballasts that let you go back and forth between two different wattages. I also believe you can get them that switch back & forth between hps & mh.

 

[Sour Deez]

oh ok thanks for info

 

[vdog]

SAY WHAT! Anyone else with these problems concerning disruptions?

 

[hollywood52]

na i have a few e ballasts and never any disruptions..but i did just read something about the ballast not being compatable with the hid bulbs causing often burn outs. ive had mine for a cpl yrs never any porblem w burnouts, change bulb once a yr. most e ballast come with a switch to boost the lumens, im not a big believer.

 

[Melvan]

Doesn't anyone else remember that thread? I can't remember who it was, but it was regular MP member at the time. Every time his 1000w kicked on it would knock out the phones and cable in his building. I think they did find out there though that it was a problems with unshielded wiring in the building.

Around the same time my friend who owns the grow shop said he had a guy bring back a Sunleaves 600 system that did the same.

 

[Wetdog]

SAY WHAT! Anyone else with these problems concerning disruptions?

Read around on different sites and stuff. It's not a UN common occurance.

I run magnetics and am in NO hurry to jump to digi.:ignore:

M2 ... Yes, I remember that thread quite well and more than a few others I've seen elsewhere.

Wet

 

[ozzydiodude]

Radio Frequency Interference ("RFI") and Electro- Magnetic Interference ("EMI")
Since electronic ballasts are operating at considerably higher frequencies than standard ballasts, they may create interference problems within communications systems. Many electronic ballast manufacturers have issued disclaimers on their product if used in conjunction with power line carriers. The FCC has established an acceptable level for class A applications, but ballasts operating in the high range of this standard can still cause problems in today's workplaces, particularly if the cabling is unshielded...and this is a fairly common situation.

There are some ballasts available, however, that operate in the low range of this standard and which will cause no problems, even in sensitive situations

C & P from hxxp://www.tvss.net/pq/ballast.htm

 

[dman1234]

i had a thread on this subject, its old and i cant find it.

basicaly the cable company came to my door and wanted to come in to my house, they had complaints from neighbours that at exactly 3pm everyday certain channels would be fuzzy,this would last for only a few minutes, well my lights come on a 3pm every day, they have equipment in there trucks to pin point interference.

i let them in with no intention of letting them near my room, he found a bad cable connector and changed it for me as he said this may be the cause, i had bought another ballast at the time so i used the suspect ballast for veg, i turned it on and never shut it off again, until it died recently, i still dont know if the ballast was causing it but they knew the exact moment my light came on so i think they were seeing the ballast come on with their equipment, i havent heard from them since, been about 2 yrs.

so in a nutshell, it is possible for a older or troubled digi ballast to cause noticable inteference. IMO

 

[Dewayne]

Man, that must have been a tight situation. One time i was growing outdoors way out in the country 18 miles from a store. Well i walked out on the front porch and seen at least 6 state patrol cars lined up with their lights off right outside my house.

I ran outside yanked up all the plants from the back yard thinking they're going to bust me any second...as it turns out, they were looking for someone who was claiming to have a gun and was "dangerous" or something. They knocked on my front door let us know and got back in the car.

The worst part about it, it had nothing to do with my marijuana growing but i just yanked up like 8 of my precious plants!

 

[Melvan]

i had a thread on this subject, its old and i cant find it.

basicaly the cable company came to my door and wanted to come in to my house, they had complaints from neighbours that at exactly 3pm everyday certain channels would be fuzzy,this would last for only a few minutes, well my lights come on a 3pm every day, they have equipment in there trucks to pin point interference.

i let them in with no intention of letting them near my room, he found a bad cable connector and changed it for me as he said this may be the cause, i had bought another ballast at the time so i used the suspect ballast for veg, i turned it on and never shut it off again, until it died recently, i still dont know if the ballast was causing it but they knew the exact moment my light came on so i think they were seeing the ballast come on with their equipment, i havent heard from them since, been about 2 yrs.

so in a nutshell, it is possible for a older or troubled digi ballast to cause noticable inteference. IMO

Now I remember, it was you!

 

[dman1234]

i had a thread on this subject, its old and i cant find it.

basicaly the cable company came to my door and wanted to come in to my house, they had complaints from neighbours that at exactly 3pm everyday certain channels would be fuzzy,this would last for only a few minutes, well my lights come on a 3pm every day, they have equipment in there trucks to pin point interference.

i let them in with no intention of letting them near my room, he found a bad cable connector and changed it for me as he said this may be the cause, i had bought another ballast at the time so i used the suspect ballast for veg, i turned it on and never shut it off again, until it died recently, i still dont know if the ballast was causing it but they knew the exact moment my light came on so i think they were seeing the ballast come on with their equipment, i havent heard from them since, been about 2 yrs.

so in a nutshell, it is possible for a older or troubled digi ballast to cause noticable inteference. IMO

They came to my door again today!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

i told them, been there done that and i politely closed the door.

 

[Mutt]

I also believe you can get them that switch back & forth between hps & mh.

my magnetic 1kw is switchable without a need for a conversion bulb. Draws more current then a digital needs, digis are quieter, have cooler paint jobs and flashing LEDs, but mag ballasts are built rugged, they are cheap and easier to get replacement parts, and a ton heavier. When they are shot can easily be converted to a boat anchor of course after robbing the copper from the transformer. ultimate in recycling. Keep it green. LOL.

 

[dirtyolsouth]

I do love my Quantum digital 1K switchable/dimmable ballast... It runs quite cool for a 1K, It's silent running and having the flexibility to run it at 1K, 750w or 500w gives me a lot of flexibility to use in in a variety of spaces. But even though it works great I have noticed lots of RFI on the a.m radio band when it's on.

I rarely listen to am radio but when my Quantum dig 1K is going there's extremely noisy Radio Frequency Interference all across the am band of the radio in my pad. I was listening to a game one night on my way home on am radio and I noticed that as I pulled into and got about half way up my driveway the noise started and by the time I was parked which is not far just outside of my grow bedroom, the noise made radio reception impossible.

I'm glad I have a long driveway cuz if the po po :cop: knew this they could drive around trolling for grow rooms with their am radio on...

Geez, huh?

Peace~!

 

[TheKlonedRanger]

That sucks dman!! Again?!? Nerves of steel bro. My wife would have definitely made me stop after that.

 

[OGKushman]

own both, buy both. each have different needs. 1000wt coil n core for hortilux eyes on flower 12/12 in 8ft rooms. digi switchable 600s for 6 ft rooms/tents.

 

[woodydude]

I have a 600w cheap magnetic that I have no complaints about. I checked it with one of those meters that tells you how much juice they are burning and it was 715W, it is 6 months old. My brand new Digitec electornic burns 635W without Super Lumens. My 400W magnetic that is replaced burned an amazing 645W!!!!!! Incredible inefficiency but it was 10 years old.
So, heres the maths on my kit.
12 hours burning an extra 80W for 8 weeks (flowering period of many plants we grow) = 7680W. My tarrif for electricity is 12p/kWh including tax so, that means it costs £0.92 extra over the 8 weeks. It cost £135 and my magnetic was £65 so it will take 76 harvests to make the difference back!!!!!!!!!! If you read Lumatecs advertising ** ( hxxp://www.growell.co.uk/?f=download.php&binacode=69 ), they claim 6 months.
The much older 400 is a different story, it was old, very noisy and the heat it gave off just wasnt funny.
Hope the maths bit was easy to follow and remember, these are the results of my setup, yours could be different.

Dont get me wrong, I am happy with the digi, it is much cooler and quieter than my magnetic and there is a 3 year warranty on it and I knew the facts above before I bought it.
If someone asks me, if you had to replace your magnetic, would it be with a digi or mag, then I would still say digi. If someone asks for advice on which to buy, for a new grower, I would say mag, a long term grower, it would be digi.

Hope this helps someone.
Stay frosty
W

 

[OGKushman]

And about interference.

The FCC says different guys.

If you have a problem with an electronic device, id contact the company or the FCC and BBB. It would be an illegal non conforming device.