Club 600

[Heads Up]

A few tips, unless you are growing in a greenhouse with high humidity, go with a plain aluminum body, not painted, they dissipate heat better. I would go with a digital ballast, it's a softer start on your lights, mine give off next to no heat, one spot on the ballast gets barely warm to the touch, they are almost silent except for the fan in them, no vibration. I got most of my stuff from www.htgsupply.com

I went with their digital greenhouse ballast. I now have two and no complaints. I also use either their own brand of lights which I think are called grow-brite? or argosun lamps. Both have a higher output of blue in them then a standard hps lamp. You can get a whole kit for lack of a better word that includes both lamps and you can upgrade to any reflector they carry. I use the easycool 6 and wish I had gone with bigger reflectors. I also bought their six inch inline fan for my lights and their four inch fan/filter combo for smell. Their ballast run at twenty thousand hertz instead of sixty. They offer a couple of metal halide conversion lamps, one puts out 66k lumens the other 72k. Either of the above mentioned hps lamps put out 95k. It's not the best stuff in the world, but it's efficient and they are great with their customer service if there is a problem.

 

[Heads Up]

Another thing, in florida it is illegal for the cops to point a thermal device at your house, that's not to say they weren't pointing it at a squirrel when they happened to cross your house and see flames coming out of your attic with it you're giving off so much heat. I refuse to give in to paranoia. Hell, the chief of police lives behind me, I feel plenty safe.

 

[DST]

man i dont know where u heard that. the pros of a digi ballast. 1. way less heat my ballest never even gets warm to the touch at all. 2. almost completely silent, no buzzing or vibrating from the ballast. 3. safer to use. 4. mush smaller saves some space. 5. less than half the weight of a electronic.6. power bill is a bit lower and in my own opinion the bulbs start up better on a digi ballast as to a electronic. cons of a digi. a few extra bucks. this is just me though i was usin a electronic and i love the digi much better

Sure you are not a politician McPurps, love the emphasis on the Pro and then a little con about a few bucks, perhaps saying two or three time the cost doesn't sound as good.

But seriously, does anyone have any statistical info on it. I would be interested. If you can save the money you spend on a digi back over a period of time then perhaps it's worth.

 

[Heads Up]

Here's some info on a Digital Greenhouse ballast, it's what I am using.

The DIGITAL GREENHOUSE Electronic ballasts are more efficient and reduce energy consumption. The DIGITAL GREENHOUSE Electronic ballast improves lighting quality and increases garden yields.
The DIGITAL GREENHOUSE ballast features patented "soft-start" technology which increases lamp life and stops voltage spikes on your power meter. The soft-start technology allows for 50% less power consumption during lamp startup.
The DIGITAL GREENHOUSE electronic ballast is lighter, smaller and more reliable than standard technology "core and coil" ballasts. It is also virtually silent, no noise or hum.! The ballast is totally sealed, which protects the unit from dust and dirt, ensuring a lifetime of trouble-free operation.
The DIGITAL GREENHOUSE electronic ballast operates at a high frequency (20,000Hz) instead of the lowly 60Hz of standard core&coil ballasts. This allows the lamp to operate more efficiently, produce more usable light for plants and last longer. Lamp lumen loss is minimized allowing for a brighter system over time and extending usable lamp life.
Energy consumption is reduced and on average will save over $60 per year on electric bills.
The DIGITAL GREENHOUSE electronic ballast operates cooler than standard systems improving ballast life and reducing temperature in your growing area.
The DIGITAL GREENHOUSE electronic ballast will automatically adjust to any input voltage from 90 volts up to 260 volts. It comes equipped with a 10' grounded power cord, and plugs into standard 120v household current. You can easily change voltage to 220 or 240 volts if you wish.
SUPERIOR TO OTHERS on the Market!
Item is in stock and ready to ship!
Digital Greenhouse ballasts are now UL listed! What does this mean? This means that Digital Greenhouse ballasts are now certified for safety by Underwriter Laboratories, the worlds leading electrical product safety organization. Check the other brands, are they listed, probably not. Demand safety, demand Digital Greenhouse.

Digital Greenhouse ballasts now come standard with a 5 year warranty, 3 years complete, 2 years pro-rated!

 

[mcpurple]

Sure you are not a politician McPurps, love the emphasis on the Pro and then a little con about a few bucks, perhaps saying two or three time the cost doesn't sound as good.

But seriously, does anyone have any statistical info on it. I would be interested. If you can save the money you spend on a digi back over a period of time then perhaps it's worth.

i havent really seen a electronic ballast around here that is that much less than the digi. i only put that down because that is all i noticed that is bad. but even a few extra bucks spent i think its worht it in the long run. this is just my opinion though. heads up im pretty sure i have the same one is it all grey

 

[mcpurple]

Sure you are not a politician McPurps, love the emphasis on the Pro and then a little con about a few bucks, perhaps saying two or three time the cost doesn't sound as good.

But seriously, does anyone have any statistical info on it. I would be interested. If you can save the money you spend on a digi back over a period of time then perhaps it's worth.

i havent really seen a electronic ballast around here that is that much less than the digi. i only put that down because that is all i noticed that is bad. but even a few extra bucks spent i think its worht it in the long run. this is just my opinion though. heads up im pretty sure i have the same one is it all grey

 

[Heads Up]

mcpurple, it's more silver than grey and has a fan at one end. My lights are off for the day but if this stoner remembers, I'll get ya' some pics up tomorrow. Did you get yours from htg?

 

[Heads Up]

I've decided to chop my sour cream this sunday. That will put her one day into week eleven before I release her spirit. A bit of history, a useless bit but nonetheless a bit. The reason alcohol is referred to as spirits, in the olden days of distilling it was believed that by distilling you released the spirits from the body, sooo, when dried and cured I intend to release the spirits of my girls into a vaporizer. I'll keep ya'll updated.

 

[mcpurple]

yes a silver color and ya mine is from htg. im pretty sure we got the same ones but different hoods

 

["SICC"]

Nice Budz Purp

 

[Don Gin and Ton]

so digitals are quieter lower temps and output better light eh!? well i guess if my present ballast ever dies ill switch tho i still reckon the difference in quality product or weight at the end is negligable and more to do with the bulb used. cheers for all the info 600!!!.

hortilux eye bulb is not stocked in the UK at all ebay =
80.00 USD

=

51.8286 GBP

ouch...

nice nuggs mcpurple!

 

[Wavey Crockett]

I think digital is the way to go. I've been using 1 for my current grow and I really forget it's there. No heat, no noise. If cost is an issue, like it was for me, I'm sure you can find a good deal online. Found a 600W lamp and ballast kit for a little over $200. The whole setup for this grow cost about $325 and that's including seeds and nutes.

 

[Don Gin and Ton]

im totally overhauling my op, my present tents zip is bust my bulbs getting on a bit. ive switched to airpots and just ordered auto pots. im switchign from many trees to 4 on a rotation scrogged.

ok so why dont hortilux have any retailers in the uk? i know were on a different amount of volts and have an earth wire but surely i can just get one off ebay and stick it in the fitting right? or am i missing something?

 

[DST]

Thanks for the post HeadsUp. Interesting info.

 

[smokinmayne]

im totally overhauling my op, my present tents zip is bust my bulbs getting on a bit. ive switched to airpots and just ordered auto pots. im switchign from many trees to 4 on a rotation scrogged.

ok so why dont hortilux have any retailers in the uk? i know were on a different amount of volts and have an earth wire but surely i can just get one off ebay and stick it in the fitting right? or am i missing something?

4 girls under one 600?

 

[thatguy858]

i know were on a different amount of volts and have an earth wire but surely i can just get one off ebay and stick it in the fitting right?

See this is why the Brits are masters of the English language. "Earth Wire" makes it sound so much cooler than our "ground wire". "Dr Who" would suck if made in America.

BTW fuck you for inventing Robin Hood. I first had to sit through Kevin Costner and Brian Adams, now I need to sit through a Russell Crowe version?

 

[DST]

Do you really want to start the topic bru, hehe.

Ok, can't help myself. One thing about the English (US) language, as Microsoft have dutifully called it, it certainly utiliSes the Z(ee) a lot more. Of course, one is merely pulling your leg dear chap.

DST oot.

(I ken ah missed the U in oot, it's how ah talk no.)

 

[thatguy858]

Hey, Im not making fun of the way you talk. I was born in South Africa, again, another former colony of the empire. Everyone in my family has an accent, except for me. Im just saying, due to your reckless literary nature, not only did I have to read Dickens in high school, I now have to deal with Russell Crowe in tights. This is bullshit. BTW liberal labor party ftw. no?

 

[DST]

Hey, Im not making fun of the way you talk. I was born in South Africa, again, another former colony of the empire. Everyone in my family has an accent, except for me. Im just saying, due to your reckless literary nature, not only did I have to read Dickens in high school, I now have to deal with Russell Crowe in tights. This is bullshit. BTW liberal labor party ftw. no?

No worries bru, I knew you were not making fun, you were complimenting if anything. My good wife is South African, what part are you from? Can't wait until July, off to the World Cup...have I mentioned that before...well I'll probably mention it again, haha.

EDIT: Not really sure about what will happen in the UK election. I don't live there anymore and will probably not for a number of years (planet surviving) to come. One thing I have tried to do since being an Expartiate is to avoid politics. Saying that I was talking to a friend about the Lib Dems....perhaps a complete change would be good, a party that has never run anything before....?!?!?!

 

[justlearning73]

Hey I will say they talk funny. But then again people say people from Texas talk funny too. LOL Hey DST how are things in the DAM? HAs the eruption caused many problems over there?