Lumatek or Galaxy?

[friendlyfarmer]

Or neither?

Buying a new ballast. Both of these companies, from what I can tell, make a pretty good electronic ballast. Both ballasts are exactly identical in function (both run 250/400w, hps/mh, and 120/240). This is what has really drawn me to them. Switchable between wattages? That is just awesome. It's two ballasts in one! They also have some switchable between 400/600/1000. Too much for me at this stage as I have a 41''x41''x6.5' Both are very reasonably priced at HID Hut, with just a few dollars difference. Can anyone give me some information that would make or break one of these brands? If not I'm just going with the one I like to look at the most, which is still a hard choice lol. + rep to helpful comments.

After doing some thinking I'm also considering a magnetic ballast, but I don't know anything about which brands are good. So if anyone cant point me in a direction here that would be awesome.

thanks in advance!

 

[staple]

go with digital ballast the extra money will pay for itself in energy savings i cant speak for galaxy ballasts ive always had lumateks and they have never disappointed me all my friends also use lumatek never had any issues with them not working correctly!

 

[racerboy71]

i went with the galaxy ballast, and have been happy with it so far.. runs super cool and has been working great...

edit.. forgot to mention that my galaxy is dimmeable, and is able to run 400's, 250's and has a turbo charge setting that i've yet to use.. and like all the new digital ballast, is able to run both mh and hps bulbs...

 

[ledgrowing]

lumatek 600watter does 360 400 600 and super lumens wich will run a 1000w light

 

[jkmovies]

Both are premium electronic ballasts. You can't go wrong with either brand. I have a 250W Galaxy and a 400W Lumatek, both have been flawless.

 

[Snow Crash]

The guy at Bay Area Hydroponics talked me into a Galaxy ballast. The reasoning was the cool start, the poor track record of lumatek ballasts (he got a lot of replacement returns), and because most good reflectors are from Sun System and they are totally compatible.

If you know anything about computers, or electronics in general, selecting compatible hardware goes a long way towards the life span of your hardware. Running the Galaxy Ballast with the Sun System reflector, he claimed, would result in longer bulb life and that could translate into lower costs over a few years.

My vote is for Galaxy. Mine runs super cool.

I just do suggest you go with 600w, or 1000w ballast. If you get a digital 400w ballast you won't be able to run CMH bulbs that are just fucking epic sweet for growing with.

 

[resinousflowers]

i use a maxibright compact ballast.its been faultless,and its completely silent and has good safety features.

 

[BiteSizeFreak]

lumatek 600watter does 360 400 600 and super lumens wich will run a 1000w light

That's the ones I use and they stay cool to the touch. Great ballasts. I run 400MH for veg then switch the bulbs and turn the nob to 600HPS for flower.

 

[BiteSizeFreak]

The guy at Bay Area Hydroponics talked me into a Galaxy ballast. The reasoning was the cool start, the poor track record of lumatek ballasts (he got a lot of replacement returns), and because most good reflectors are from Sun System and they are totally compatible.

If you know anything about computers, or electronics in general, selecting compatible hardware goes a long way towards the life span of your hardware. Running the Galaxy Ballast with the Sun System reflector, he claimed, would result in longer bulb life and that could translate into lower costs over a few years.

My vote is for Galaxy. Mine runs super cool.

I just do suggest you go with 600w, or 1000w ballast. If you get a digital 400w ballast you won't be able to run CMH bulbs that are just fucking epic sweet for growing with.

My Lumatek plugged right into my Cool Sun reflector with no problem. Or am I not understanding what you're saying?

 

[FootClan]

Or neither?

Buying a new ballast. Both of these companies, from what I can tell, make a pretty good electronic ballast. Both ballasts are exactly identical in function (both run 250/400w, hps/mh, and 120/240). This is what has really drawn me to them. Switchable between wattages? That is just awesome. It's two ballasts in one! They also have some switchable between 400/600/1000. Too much for me at this stage as I have a 41''x41''x6.5' Both are very reasonably priced at HID Hut, with just a few dollars difference. Can anyone give me some information that would make or break one of these brands? If not I'm just going with the one I like to look at the most, which is still a hard choice lol. + rep to helpful comments.
After doing some thinking I'm also considering a magnetic ballast, but I don't know anything about which brands are good. So if anyone cant point me in a direction here that would be awesome.

thanks in advance!

lumatec dosent have a good track record for making quality long lasting products.......They were one of the first digi ballast made mainstream and they still are using there old technolegy that they first used years ago......If your going to get a digital ballast get a good one like quantum ballast or atleast one that is aircooled and as the full RFI plating on the inside....

 

[Snow Crash]

They will fit together fine. It's more of a company thing. They make their stuff specifically for their stuff. Lumatek is just piggybacking their way in on someone else's tech.

They of course will work (Hydrofarm is a different story) but the concept is that the compatible hardware works together to keep everything running well. That's what the dude told me at least.

 

[deezy305]

my 600 lumatek was a yr old and start having problems like it'd shut off by itself. brought the lumatek to my hydro-store with no recept of purchase and came back out with a new one!

 

[Kolchak420]

The guy at Bay Area Hydroponics talked me into a Galaxy ballast. The reasoning was the cool start, the poor track record of lumatek ballasts (he got a lot of replacement returns), and because most good reflectors are from Sun System and they are totally compatible.

If you know anything about computers, or electronics in general, selecting compatible hardware goes a long way towards the life span of your hardware. Running the Galaxy Ballast with the Sun System reflector, he claimed, would result in longer bulb life and that could translate into lower costs over a few years.

My vote is for Galaxy. Mine runs super cool.

I just do suggest you go with 600w, or 1000w ballast. If you get a digital 400w ballast you won't be able to run CMH bulbs that are just fucking epic sweet for growing with.

The person(s) at Bay Area Hydroponics misled you.

Don't get me wrong. Galaxy is certainly a great brand. You'll be happy. But Lumateks are very good as well. Sounds like your hydro store had an overstock of Galaxy's.

 

[Snow Crash]

Enh, same price, basically the same thing. I shouldn't have gotten a 400w, that's for sure... but live and learn. I'm alright with the thing, I'll have it for years and it's already paid for itself.

 

[friendlyfarmer]

from the sound of things, i may go with the galaxy since it looks so cool, no one seems to have too many negative things to say other than old lumateks had problems, which i was sort of already aware of.

another question, can anyone tell me if these ballasts are compatible with a cool tube? i can always splice power cords together but I'd rather not. i know a lot of people aren't fans of the cool tube b/c of it's reflector and stuff, but this is something i'm already sold on. I want the option to go verticle in my cab once i get a pheno that will work well for my plan, otherwise I'd go with the euro cool or w/e. at any rate, I figured for the most part a lot of reflectors and ballasts had the same hookups and stuff, but i just want to be sure. I almost made a mistake once of ordering an HTG Supply ballast (the cords of which are not detachable from the socket it comes with, or the ballast itself) with a cool tube, which would have been a waste of time and money.

 

[friendlyfarmer]

I just do suggest you go with 600w, or 1000w ballast. If you get a digital 400w ballast you won't be able to run CMH bulbs that are just fucking epic sweet for growing with.

I would love to run 600, but I'm afraid of heat issues in my cab.

Also, Isn't the Hortilux Blue MH the one with the epic spectrum? Correct me if i'm wrong i just hough conversion bulbs were usually lacking on the spectrum. I also was told about some new MHs that are supposed to replace HPS while i was at my "local" (2 fucking hours to the nearest one) hydro store. The catch was that they have multiple color temps to switch between for the entire grow cycle, but it seems pretty interesting. If PAR is higher, then I guess they would beat out an HPS. I think they were called "pulse" lights or something, but i'm not sure. I only looked at the catalog briefly as I was checking out.

 

[jack ripa]

Lumatek is my choice. All you need is a cable adapter to plug into the square plug, sun systems I think. I have had a handful of Lumateks, they run with no problems. I am buying 6 new 1k dimmables in a few days. Great ballast. The others may be fine as well but I swear by what I know....just like anyone. Gotta love the digis, forget the old burning hummers.

 

[jack ripa]

Make sure you go 240v or at least get a switchable ballast. You are gonna want that option when you see your electric bill at 120v.

 

[the real mccoy]

My local hydro shop stopped selling Lumatecs! Too many returns.

 

[Snow Crash]

Make sure you go 240v or at least get a switchable ballast. You are gonna want that option when you see your electric bill at 120v.

That was retarded...

Watts are watts. 240V is a better option based on a lower amperage required. Most home circuits are 15amp. Sometimes you'll get a 20amp for things like the kitchen (range+microwave+fridge+dishwasher+blender+garbage disposal) or for the washer. Dryers are usually on a 220v/240v circuit so they can pull more watts on the same amps.

What the electric company is measuring is your wattage, and that's what they charge you for, so it doesn't matter to your bill if you have a 240v system. 1000w on 120v and 1000w on 240v... both are 1000w (usually about 1.1kw per hour). Where 240v systems really come into play is when a grower has a large room wired up. You can run a 20amp 120v for things like fans and pumps and then run a 20amp 240v circuit for the lighting. This allows for about 2400w total on the 120v circuit and 4800w on the 240v circuit.

I think a lot of people miss that when they see 12KW grow rooms. It goes right over their head that even at 240v that's still 50 fucking amps minimum. That's a nice little investment right there. I recently ran into this issue. I have around 2000w total in my room at one time and the 15amp 110v/120v circuit can't handle much more that 1800 before it flips. I have to run an extension cord (for the time being) from a 20 amp circuit in another area of the house, just for a smaller sized setup.

Just food for thought.