going digital

Im looking into getting a new light and was wondering if these digital ballasts are really as good as is claimed ?
Anyone got any experience ?

Never had one, but my hydro shop sure has alot of refurbished units on there clearance table..

Go figure..Im ol' school.

if you're going to be using more than 600watts i would go for digital bc it will save you a bit more $$ per kwatt. also the digital ballast burn 20-30% brighter and won't burn out your bulbs as fast as a core n coil magnetic ballast. another thing to note is that non digital ballast get pretty hot so if you need to keep the ballast in the grow area then i would go digital also. BUT you will pay considerably more for one of these. probably $50-100 and in some cases more.

all these things aside if you're just using 400watts and keeping it simple it wont really make a difference non your electricity bill. they are decently prices and they work perfectly fine, they just get hot and can be a bit noisy in the upper wattages.


i see both kinds all the time on craigslist so def give that a shot.

now that ive learned a lot and gotten more serious about my setup i would definitely stick to digital ballasts from now on. i got a really good deal on a nextgen 1000w digital. the thing looks like its from the future! it's a good investment in the long run and they give you a tiny bit of peace of mind. hope this helps!

bifter said:

Im looking into getting a new light and was wondering if these digital ballasts are really as good as is claimed ?
Anyone got any experience ?

Click to expand...

I use two 600 quantum digital with dimmer. Never had an issue with the ballasts - I've run them for months on flower cycle. I think they are great, and not much more expensive than the old style in the 600w model. I would swear that they are brighter, but it's just a subjective guess.
However, I have heard of and had personal experience with bulbs behaving badly in digitals. My solar max bulbs have no issues at all. I've tried a couple others, and one would take an hour to light up. I've heard that you need to be careful about the bulbs, and get a combo that someone recommends for best results.

i like mine, i would reccommend a dimmable.

I run 1600watts of hps/mh on digital ballast on a 24/0 light for the past 2 months and have only see a 30$ difference in electricity bills.

Dimmable? is that one that they advertise as having a super lumen button ? also whats the deal with the ones that are meant to run 400w AND 600w are they for real ?

bifter said:

Im looking into getting a new light and was wondering if these digital ballasts are really as good as is claimed ?
Anyone got any experience ?

Click to expand...

i have a 600w digital greenhouse system (bought from htg). i noticed the ballast runs a lot cooler (and has built in fan!). the energy bill is cheaper also...its more efficient.

its definitely something to look into.

mine only cost $250.

i say go for it personally.

not much a difference these days. you can get 600 watt lumateks on ebay for 180 bucks shipped.

bifter said:

Dimmable? is that one that they advertise as having a super lumen button ? also whats the deal with the ones that are meant to run 400w AND 600w are they for real ?

Click to expand...

My quantum has a power switch for 50% 75% and 100% - works real well, but I don't dim them very often.
The 'super lumen' thing may overdrive the bulb, I really don't know, but it doesn't sound like a good idea.
Never tried running anything but the largest bulb in there ( 600w ) , but with a dimmer, I don't really need to.