Lumatek dimmable ballast question

Hey I'm new to the forum this is actually my first post and want to learn as much as i can. Ive learned so much all ready thank you community.

My question is I just purchased a lumatek lk1000 dial a watt digital ballast. I have a 1000 watt hortilux hps bulb. I want to know is it ok to strike up my 1000 watt bulb with the ballast dialed down to 600w or 750w ? will this hurt or destroy my ballast over time? If im posting anything im not supposed to please let me know thnx much.

Shouldn't hurt it at all. If anything it will lower the life on your bulb.

Wont be an issue.. I have lumatek 600w dimmable.. & for 2 months, an entire grow.. I had 1 ballast turned down to 360watts.. I did not findout till harvest. HAH, talk about being pissed?

RawBudzski said:

Wont be an issue.. I have lumatek 600w dimmable.. & for 2 months, an entire grow.. I had 1 ballast turned down to 360watts.. I did not findout till harvest. HAH, talk about being pissed?

Click to expand...

Oh man! Haha...I bet you were thinking "Damn, this 600 is running cool!"

That's what i was thinking as well. I didn't want to break my new ballast. Thank you appreciate that.

hahaha, I was wondering why the MH seemed warmer next to it.

Metasynth said:

Oh man! Haha...I bet you were thinking "Damn, this 600 is running cool!"

Click to expand...

you might want to ask the manufacturer, but i wouldn't be surprised if the power it uses to strike the bulb is exactly the same, regardless of whether you've got it dimmed or not. the unit is, after all, digitally controlled. i run mine dialed down frequently to compensate for running the central a/c more during hot or damp weather and haven't had any problems in almost a year.

incidentally, i recently discovered that lumateks are slightly less efficient when running dimmed. nonetheless, using a 1000watt lumatek ballast dimmed to 600watts will likely be more efficient than a 600watt lumatek ballast running at full power. i don't have a 1000, but my 600watt lumatek runs a 400watt bulb more efficiently than my 400watt lumatek ballast running full blast when comparing input wattages with an appliance load tester.

RawBudzski said:

hahaha, I was wondering why the MH seemed warmer next to it.

Click to expand...

Haha, thats sick, man...I'm glad to hear the heat difference is that great when you turn it down, I'm on the verge of adding a dimmable 600w hps to my 400w magnetic hps...

Thanks Haole420 and everyone else for answering my question. The information was just what i needed to know. I'm looking forward to all the info the community has to offer. And hopefully one day give back to the community what I've learned.