Opinions on IPower Brand lighting

Hey I been looking at this 600W HPS setup.
I also saw this vivosun 600 HPS but not many reviews...

Has anyone used this or have any input or know of anything better for same price?
It will be for a 12-16 sq foot area. Soil grow 5 gal pots. About 6 plants.
Also Im currently using a 400W MH which has the ballast connected to the fixture all in 1. Would this light set up run hotter than my current 400 MH?
Thanks bros!

I havent' bought either of those brands but my experience with cheap digital ballast has been okay. The bulbs almost always need replaced and I always ran hortilux bulbs in my single ended hps.

The reflectors that come with a lot of cheap kits are also junk, by the time you upgrade bulb and reflector it might just be best to order a better kit.

I've got spl, Apollo, and ipower, other than the color they all look exactly the same, haven't had any problems with any of them.

PassTheShiZ said:

Hey I been looking at this 600W HPS setup.

https://www.amazon.com/iPower-Digital-Dimmable-System-Reflector/dp/B005GYRZV2?ref_=ast_slp_dp

I also saw this vivosun 600 HPS but not many reviews...

https://www.amazon.com/VIVOSUN-Hydroponic-Light-Cooled-Reflector/dp/B07R9HRCX3/ref=sr_1_7?dchild=1&keywords=vivosun+600+hps&qid=1595783871&s=lawn-garden&sr=1-7

Has anyone used this or have any input or know of anything better for same price?
It will be for a 12-16 sq foot area. Soil grow 5 gal pots. About 6 plants.
Also Im currently using a 400W MH which has the ballast connected to the fixture all in 1. Would this light set up run hotter than my current 400 MH?
Thanks bros!

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I have the Vivosun 1000 watt version with the same hood although mine came with both MH and HPS bulbs. The hood works well and when you put the extraction filter hose through it I find very little heat issues. Both the MH and HPS bulbs work well and have great reviews from what I have read. The Ballast sets at 600, 750, 1000 and 1100 watts. Cannot say regarding the other one but can say the Vivosun works well for me.

I have Ipower and Vivosun ballasts. They're both about the same. I prefer the Ipower a bit more though. Seems to be a little quicker on the trigger when you use the dimmer switch. But, when one goes bad I think I might give the "upgraded" Vivosun a try.
Not sure on the quality of their hoods except the basic batwing and they're junk like the rest of them all.

I can tell you if it's in your budget to order ballast/hood separately, you cannot beat the quality of this...

Or anything else from Sun System.

Thanks guys. I went with Ipower 600 but with wing hood. I read good and bad about both but ipower had more positive reviews on amazon.
Hope I made a good choice.
So anyway anything you guys can tell me about this light?
Can you put the dimmer all the way up too 100% or do you have to work it up slowly? And how far are you guys keeping 600 hps from tops with open hood?

PassTheShiZ said:

Thanks guys. I went with Ipower 600 but with wing hood. I read good and bad about both but ipower had more positive reviews on amazon.
Hope I made a good choice.
So anyway anything you guys can tell me about this light?
Can you put the dimmer all the way up too 100% or do you have to work it up slowly? And how far are you guys keeping 600 hps from tops with open hood?

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Did you get the wing hood or enclosed hood you showed links for?

PassTheShiZ said:

Can you put the dimmer all the way up too 100% or do you have to work it up slowly? And how far are you guys keeping 600 hps from tops with open hood?

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You should really use the correct wattage bulb for the different settings, 400 for 400, 600 for 600, but you can dim a 600 , just not as good as a 400w at 400w.
If you run at boost setting or super lumens then fire the bulb up at 600 let it run for 15min and crank it up after.
Its a pain in the ass but its what your supposed to do, even though nobody mentions it these days.
You can kill a bulb quickly otherwise.
Gets you the longest life out the bulb like that.

Doug Dawson said:

Did you get the wing hood or enclosed hood you showed links for?

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I just got the wing hood because I am not too worried about the heat and wasnt gonna hook up exhaust anyway and I read glass causes loss of lumens or some shit.

coreywebster said:

You should really use the correct wattage bulb for the different settings, 400 for 400, 600 for 600, but you can dim a 600 , just not as good as a 400w at 400w.
If you run at boost setting or super lumens then fire the bulb up at 600 let it run for 15min and crank it up after.
Its a pain in the ass but its what your supposed to do, even though nobody mentions it these days.
You can kill a bulb quickly otherwise.
Gets you the longest life out the bulb like that.

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yea I got 600 and I wanna run it at 600, just wanst sure if the plants needed to warm up to it first. Im not sure of settings, never owned a ballast so idk what is boost and super lumens, I just saw it has some dimmer. Ill have to figure it out I guess.

coreywebster said:

You should really use the correct wattage bulb for the different settings, 400 for 400, 600 for 600, but you can dim a 600 , just not as good as a 400w at 400w.
If you run at boost setting or super lumens then fire the bulb up at 600 let it run for 15min and crank it up after.
Its a pain in the ass but its what your supposed to do, even though nobody mentions it these days.
You can kill a bulb quickly otherwise.
Gets you the longest life out the bulb like that.

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No use the bulb for the ballast wattage. A 600 watt ballast will always start that bulb at 600 then reduce the wattage to the setting you have selected.

Oakiey said:

No use the bulb for the ballast wattage. A 600 watt ballast will always start that bulb at 600 then reduce the wattage to the setting you have selected.

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Back when digital dimmable ballasts came out they came with an actual instruction manual stating exactly what I said.
Which was the dimming feature it to run the corresponding bulb for that wattage.
Now they are all cheap and nobody mentions it and no manual provided.

Never sat with a kilowatt meter to test the start up wattage when dimmed down though, have you?

PassTheShiZ said:

I just got the wing hood because I am not too worried about the heat and wasnt gonna hook up exhaust anyway and I read glass causes loss of lumens or some shit.

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Yes, I believe 5 or 6 % loss but major benefit to heat control. If you don't need to worry about heat than that is awesome. I for one found the heat in my room went up a whole bunch when I went from LED to these bulb lights so for me it mattered. Glad you found what you were looking for.

coreywebster said:

Back when digital dimmable ballasts came out they came with an actual instruction manual stating exactly what I said.
Which was the dimming feature it to run the corresponding bulb for that wattage.
Now they are all cheap and nobody mentions it and no manual provided.

Never sat with a kilowatt meter to test the start up wattage when dimmed down though, have you?

Should I Dim My Ballast? (Learn What Dimming Does To Bulbs)

Dimmable ballasts offer some great advantages, but you need to use them the right way or risk damaging your bulbs and perhaps even your plants. That's why...

growlightinfo.com

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When I purchased my Vivosun recently I contacted them and they told me not to use any bulb other than 1000 watt with my unit even when dimmed. I had wanted to buy 600 watt bulbs to used when dimmed but they said not too. That may just be Vivosun but that was what they told me. Could be it jolts the bulbs with 1000 watts before it dims but not sure.

Doug Dawson said:

When I purchased my Vivosun recently I contacted them and they told me not to use any bulb other than 1000 watt with my unit even when dimmed. I had wanted to buy 600 watt bulbs to used when dimmed but they said not too. That may just be Vivosun but that was what they told me. Could be it jolts the bulbs with 1000 watts before it dims but not sure.

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Cheers Doug, ive contacted a couple of the higher end ballast makers to see what they say too.
Happy to be wrong, could be I misunderstood the manual many moons ago and had been doing it wrong all them years.

coreywebster said:

Cheers Doug, ive contacted a couple of the higher end ballast makers to see what they say too.
Happy to be wrong, could be I misunderstood the manual many moons ago and had been doing it wrong all them years.

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Hey, I wish I could say for sure but only have what Vivosun told me to go by. I would not say you are wrong, could be I got bad info from Vivosun. I really wanted to have the 1000 watt ballast but the ability to run 600 watt bulbs for efficiency when needed. I worried about dimming the 1000 watt bulbs for fear of lowering their life expectancy and altering light spectrum. I figured if I dimmed to 600 watts and used 600 watt bulbs I would keep proper spectrum but Vivosun told me I shouldn't do that. It could be ballast specific. All I can think is the initial starting voltage might be 1000 watts and than it dims so might blow a 600 watt bulb. I would have thought it would start at max 600 watts when set to 600 but I cannot say for sure. You may be completely correct, I wish I could say for certain either way.

When I go to https://vivosun.com/products/vivosun-1000-watt-ul-listed-dimmable-electronic-digital-ballast-for-mh-hps-grow-light-bulb-lamp it says:
Note: Ballast should be the same watts as the bulb, or it may blow your bulbs. The extra setting is to adjust the brightness (lumen) of the bulb. Different lumens have different effect on the plants.

Again that could just be for safety or could be the way they make their ballast.

Doug Dawson said:

Yes, I believe 5 or 6 % loss but major benefit to heat control. If you don't need to worry about heat than that is awesome. I for one found the heat in my room went up a whole bunch when I went from LED to these bulb lights so for me it mattered. Glad you found what you were looking for.

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Well Im not sure tbh but hoping for the best. Now I run a 400 MH but without separate ballast and it stays about 75-78 degrees at soil level. Its really a work light and its very old, so I am just assuming the much newer 600 hps with separate ballast should not raise my temps too much if at all.

Also basically just keep it 100% for the 600 bulb then? What about boost or super lumens? Are they useful or cause premature wear on the bulbs? Idk if this model will have those but just curious.

PassTheShiZ said:

Well Im not sure tbh but hoping for the best. Now I run a 400 MH but without separate ballast and it stays about 75-78 degrees at soil level. Its really a work light and its very old, so I am just assuming the much newer 600 hps with separate ballast should not raise my temps too much if at all.

Also basically just keep it 100% for the 600 bulb then? What about boost or super lumens? Are they useful or cause premature wear on the bulbs? Idk if this model will have those but just curious.

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I believe the overdrive is mainly for older bulbs to get a bit more life out of them. Over driving new bulbs would likely shorten their life span significantly.

I've wanted to the overdrive the t8 over my 55g but never did, only running one buld, be easy to hook the other hot wire up.

I don't think it hurts the bulbs or the Spectrum under driving hids.

Think a month of overdriving one is like burning one for a couple years.

Oakiey said:

I've wanted to the overdrive the t8 over my 55g but never did, only running one buld, be easy to hook the other hot wire up.

I don't think it hurts the bulbs or the Spectrum under driving hids.

Think a month of overdriving one is like burning one for a couple years.

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From what I read it does hurt the spectrum. Take a look at this link showing the spectrum of a MH and HPS bulb when dimming. https://eyehortilux.com/grower-education/how-light-affects-plants/effects-of-dimming-on-spectrum/ Now this is just one source and could be inaccurate I suppose but have a read if you are interested.