Most Reliable / Desirable Ballast? Old Magnetic or New Digital

Rrog

Rrog

Well-Known Member
I like the idea of digital ballasts but when they crap out, you have to get a replacement. Not cool when you're in flower and trying to keep hermies away.

If the older mag ballasts simply require a bit of maintenance, they would seem to be more reliable or at least faster to get back in action.

I'm asking here because I don't know, but why would I want a digital ballast?
 
Rrog

Rrog

Well-Known Member
That's the info I'm looking for. I'm not trying to compare brands of ballasts so much as I'm trying to compare the technologies. Do the mag ballasts have components that might degrade over time that cannot be replaced? Slow degradation of light output?
 
Rrog

Rrog

Well-Known Member
Here are some comments that I have found so far:

The pros of magnetic ballasts are that they are a little less expensive and drive the bulbs better, producing more light and PAR than electronic ones. As mentioned, the pros of electronic ballasts are that they are more efficient and allow greater bulb life and are cooler. Many people prefer magnetic ballasts over electronic ones as they drive the bulb harder getting more bang for you buck. But as electric bills are adding up, the move to electronic ballasts seems to be in full force.

AND

Magnetic = heavy, more heat, more energy consumption, shorter bulb life.

If you can afford an electronic version, it really is a better choice. Your bulbs last longer and take less electricity to run them.

So mags are hotter, make more noise, use more electricity and are larger. They are also cheaper and easier to fix and produce more light. So I guess a big question would be how much shorter is the bulb life and how much more juice do they use?

Another thought is that I believe the mags are not variable. With digitals you can dial down the juice from 1000w to 600, etc.
 
S

Slow2Grow

Member
While searching for ballast for my first grow I've noticed the magnetic ballasts are not really cheaper to buy. Atleast from what I've seen.
If they are they are only a few bucks cheaper. Also if they're cheaper the expensive shipping for the heavy ballast makes them the same cost as a digital/electronic ballast.
But that's just what I've found. I know I haven't searched everywhere on the net though, but I've searched ALOT of places.
 
Rrog

Rrog

Well-Known Member
Good observation. Interesting because most posts that I've read say mags are cheaper, though I have not shopped around for any yet.
 
jondamon

jondamon

Well-Known Member
I actually started growing 2 years ago with a Century grow systems 600w mag ballast, Great ballast for a good price.

Today i use a LUMATEK 600w DIMMABLE electronic ballast, i have used this for 1 harvest so far and it is fantastic.


However i do still have my mag ballast as a JIC (just in case)



J
 
B

BettaBudda

Member
I use mag ballasts and prob will continue to do so. The primary reason I went with mag is because they were cheaper, and you can buy a kit from someplace other than a grow store. CMH bulbs (Which Im currently using) also require(d?) mag ballasts. I currently have 400w mh veg and 400w CMH flower. Mag ballasts are so cheap that I can keep spares just in case.

I also like that I dont have any concerns about weird electrical signatures or anything like that that you see some people post about with electronic ballasts.
 
unclebobbyb

unclebobbyb

Member
Rrog said:
That's the info I'm looking for. I'm not trying to compare brands of ballasts so much as I'm trying to compare the technologies. Do the mag ballasts have components that might degrade over time that cannot be replaced? Slow degradation of light output?
Click to expand...
There used to be a problem with digi's and pre-mature lamp failure as well. Threads here on RIU talked about it a while back.

https://www.rollitup.org/grow-room-design-setup/359183-magnetic-vs-digital-ballasts.html
 
jcdws602

jcdws602

Well-Known Member
I have had both digi and mag ballast...guess which ones I still have running flawlessly......both lumatek have burnt out on me....my oldest mag ballast is 10 years old and still runs like a champ....guess what kind of ballast I will continue using bongsmilie and finding them used on craiglist is cake.....all these folks upgrade to digi ballastso they are always selling them cheap...:lol:
 
vilify

vilify

Well-Known Member
you have to be careful with electronic ballasts. actually high frequency ballasts will lower bulb life. but advanced nutes has a low freq, ballast.

that would be the only electronic ballast I would recommend to someone.
other than that. magnetic.. reliable enough, and parts easy to replace.
 
T

toto34

Active Member
Old magnetic ballast cause heat problem if you are growing Indoor. Last year If i did not get back home for a 2-3 hours more it got veery close to cause fire. I was very lucky. You can even cook on top of the ballast. So my AC wasnt enough to cool it down. I definetly prefer lumatek ballasts.
 
jcdws602

jcdws602

Well-Known Member
toto34 said:
Old magnetic ballast cause heat problem if you are growing Indoor. Last year If i did not get back home for a 2-3 hours more it got veery close to cause fire. I was very lucky. You can even cook on top of the ballast. So my AC wasnt enough to cool it down. I definetly prefer lumatek ballasts.
Click to expand...
Fire pshhh.....I have never had a fire hazard with any of my mag ballast....your were doing something wrong...I live in a hot as desert 110+ in summer 2000+ watts of mag ballast with in my indoor grow room.....no fire....
 
Rrog

Rrog

Well-Known Member
Is there anything that can irreparably break on these? I guess everything goes completely to shit someday. I guess I mean are they plagued by a common failure?

So far I'm hearing a lot of loyal mag ballast followers. I really like the dependability. Wonder if they can be wall mounted? They must
 
jcdws602

jcdws602

Well-Known Member
They can.....all mine are wall mounted.....thats safety tip numero uno with any ballast,hang them in an open area that has plenty of air circulation,not too high where hot humid air accumulates...
 
eDude

eDude

Well-Known Member
jcdws602 said:
They can.....all mine are wall mounted.....thats safety tip numero uno with any ballast,hang them in an open area that has plenty of air circulation,not too high where hot humid air accumulates...
Click to expand...
Yup, and mount them so that the fins are pointed up and down.. It's better for cooling.. a bit.

Also, Core-n-coil HPS ballast are super easy to work on. Three parts to it and two are the most likely to go out. the igniter and capacitor. MH only has two parts, coil and capacitor.

please keep in mind that you never open or work on a ballast while it's pluged in and you always have to discharge the cap. Use a screw driver to short the two poles, while holding the insulated part.. If you don't you run the risk of getting a nasty shock.. real nasty.

There are two types of caps dry and wet. Wet look like a metal can and dry are white plastic. Signs of a bad cap are leaking oil, any bloating or mishaped can (wet), or gray plastic stuff looking like it's ooozing out of it (dry).
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Top