600w hps boost?

Growingitalone

Growingitalone

Well-Known Member
I have a digital ballast with a 600w hps.
It has the 660w boost option. At what point should it be switched to the boost option for anyone who has used them. I'm currently on week 3 of flower and wondering if I should switch it now or should it be left on 600w throughout the full grow?
 

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conor c

Well-Known Member
Growingitalone said:
I have a digital ballast with a 600w hps.
It has the 660w boost option. At what point should it be switched to the boost option for anyone who has used them. I'm currently on week 3 of flower and wondering if I should switch it now or should it be left on 600w throughout the full grow?
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Long as its a dimmable bulb you using in it u can turn it up if you want
 
Growingitalone

Growingitalone

Well-Known Member
I'm only going to use this bulb once so wear isn't a concern for me. I dont need extra light but my thinking is why not increase to 660w and try to get the most out of this bulb. If it's advisable to keep it at 600w then I would. This is my first grow so I'm still learning what is best. I will keep this one at 600w as its doing well upto now as is, I'll maybe experiment on future grows with the added boost option.
 
jondamon

jondamon

Well-Known Member
Star Dog said:
For the price of a bulb wear wouldn't be a concern of mine, I'd boost it 4-5 wk 12-12.
I only use a bulb for 2 grows max preferably one, my thinking is even 1% increased yeild makes it a bargain at £25
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I’ve always been under the impression that “boost” ability on ballasts were meant for an older bulb that had lost some of its efficiency and then you hit “boost” to get those lost lumens back before replacing the bulb.
 
Growingitalone

Growingitalone

Well-Known Member
jondamon said:
I’ve always been under the impression that “boost” ability on ballasts were meant for an older bulb that had lost some of its efficiency and then you hit “boost” to get those lost lumens back before replacing the bulb.
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I'm not sure as I'm new to this that's why I asked the question, I did think it was to try and increase yield during flower myself, by maximising the lights output. The bulb can be replaced for £20 so replacing isn't an issue after each cycle. I'm going to leave as is though just incase I do have any issues using it.
 
hotrodharley

hotrodharley

Well-Known Member
Growingitalone said:
I'm not sure as I'm new to this that's why I asked the question, I did think it was to try and increase yield during flower myself, by maximising the lights output. The bulb can be replaced for £20 so replacing isn't an issue after each cycle. I'm going to leave as is though just incase I do have any issues using it.
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Check bulb manufacturers literature on it. Personally I’d just buy a 1000 dimmable before I started boosting.
 
Star Dog

Star Dog

Well-Known Member
jondamon said:
I’ve always been under the impression that “boost” ability on ballasts were meant for an older bulb that had lost some of its efficiency and then you hit “boost” to get those lost lumens back before replacing the bulb.
Click to expand...
Yes iirc that was the intended purpose but with intending to change them frequently I wanted the most from them, there's also a little more heat on boost which doesn't go wrong when I'm trying to keep down humidity.
 
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