Questions about lighting...htgsupply?

I was checking out htgsupply's site for lights and it looks like they market their own brand of old school magnetic ballasts on the cheap but I'm a little concerned about how the quality might be.

Anybody have any experience with htgsupply's lights? I can get a 400w/ an air cooled hood for about $200 and the coolstar for $400 ($450 w/hood) but that just seems like overkill and it will take me a lot longer to save up for.

If I cheap out and go with the htg ballast / hood for $200 then I was thinking about using a high quality bulb like a hortilux or an agromax to juice up the lumens and light quality a bit. Any thoughts / opinions?

Also I'm going to be growing in a 3x3x6 tent and was wondering if a 600w unit would be overkill? I'm really leaning toward the 400 at the moment b/c I'll have fewer heat issues, both from the ballast and the bulb.

How hot does a 600w magnetic ballast really get? The inline fan that I'm using to cool it will be a 5" S&P td-125 rated @ 197CFM so I think it will adequately cool either lamp but I guess I'm just really concerned about the ballast noise and heat.

I was originally planning on using a lumatek digital ballast w/a 600w but I don't want to wait the extra time it will take to save for it....I blew a little too much on my tent so I gotta trim some corners here =]

Have you checked out HydroFarm's SG Lite series of magnetic ballasts? That company is solid 4sho and a better price to boot. You can find a 1000w convertible for $120 if you look hard enough.

I used an htg 250w hps for years (until it was stolen) and was perfectly happy with it. No problems at all. I'm considering getting a new one wih the AgroMax bulb.

TheMan13 said:

Have you checked out HydroFarm's SG Lite series of magnetic ballasts? That company is solid 4sho and a better price to boot. You can find a 1000w convertible for $120 if you look hard enough.

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Damnit now you went and gave me more options to think about.....their prices aren't bad and I really would love to gloat about having some high quality shit like hydrofarm gear powering my secret jardin. However the all in one sale @ htg for a ballast hood & an hps & mh bulb is very very tempting.

Now I've got a week to think it over...

Try out www.plantlightinghydroponics.com Nobody beats their prices and they are good for MI shoppers, they ship fast, like same day. I got my bulb I just ordered in 2 days.

The HTG 400w HPS setups with HPS and MH-conversion bulbs are nice, especially if on a budget. They perform well and have a nice warranty (save your boxes and receipts!)

The only drawback is the socket is hard-wired to the ballast. They give you a lot of cable between the two, but being permanently attached can mean pains when fitting into certain closed grow setups.

goblyn said:

The HTG 400w HPS setups with HPS and MH-conversion bulbs are nice, especially if on a budget. They perform well and have a nice warranty (save your boxes and receipts!)

The only drawback is the socket is hard-wired to the ballast. They give you a lot of cable between the two, but being permanently attached can mean pains when fitting into certain closed grow setups.

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I'm using this light system, and it's worked well for me so far. And yes, to get the reflector into a tight space, I had to unscrew the socket first, then reattach once it was in position. But other than that, it seems like a well-functioning unit.

If you go with an online order make sure you get free S&H because those bitches are heavy!

Check this place out Johnnynobody"
Light System Package Deals

To answer some other questions for you johnny. I had a 3.5x3.5x6 tent with a 220cfm fan in it to exhaust. I started with a 400w with good results and went up to a 600w in the middle of summer when temps were 85-90 degrees and i had np with heat in the tent. Hope it helps in making the decision. Honestly if your trying to save money just get the 600 right away....it'll save you money in the future. Although my 400 is just gonna be used for veg now with a cmh bulb in it

Wanted to add that I did have to open the bottom corner of the door during the day as humidity did become an issue when I increased to the 600w.

TheMan13 said:

If you go with an online order make sure you get free S&H because those bitches are heavy!

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No doubt. Some of these places look good at first with prices....but then you add shipping and you could have just gone to a local grow shop and bought it there for the same price.

FatMarty said:

Check this place out Johnnynobody"
Light System Package Deals

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I wish they had packages with magnetic ballasts....would be cheaper.

HTG supply lights is all I have used. I am currently running 4 of their 400 hps. No problems at all. They work with hps or cmh. No complaints. You can easily take the ballast wire apart from the socket and rewire it. All you need is a small phillips. They have brick and mortar stores in Detroit and Lansing. (and I think traverse city) Prices usually the same as online. I go to the one in Lansing as they have been quite dickly at the one in Detroit.

Htg has very good stuff, I just bought the same thing u speak of. Cheapest 1000w they had with a cool tube hood, got a great deal on it. I'd suggest getting a rewards points card, points add up real quick and u get free shit like lights, soil, etc.

TheMan13 said:

Have you checked out HydroFarm's SG Lite series of magnetic ballasts? That company is solid 4sho and a better price to boot. You can find a 1000w convertible for $120 if you look hard enough.

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Doing you have experience with this model? I see a seller on EBay selling a new one for $104 shipped. Is it repairable like typical mag ballasts? Convertible means it runs both MH and HPS right? Any downsides to this model?

chuckduck said:

Doing you have experience with this model? I see a seller on EBay selling a new one for $104 shipped. Is it repairable like typical mag ballasts? Convertible means it runs both MH and HPS right? Any downsides to this model?

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Yes, the conversion is HPS/MP as well as 110/220. It's nice to switch rooms from grow to flower or mixing up HPS/MP bulbs without all of the rewiring

None found here yet, I cannot give enough props. That said it is a relatively new product on the market, all be it old technology.



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hunter22375 said:

I wish they had packages with magnetic ballasts....would be cheaper.

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Well they got magnetic ballasts for $120, ($130 for MH/HPS switchable), and bulbs for as low as $35 for "used" HPS.
Then there hood prices are way cheap.
I just ordered one there for @ $175 that is biggest glass area they make; 8" Magnum XXXL.

So figure a smaller hood is gonna be as low as a hundred bucks.
Add a new HPS lamp and you might get out of there just over $300.

That's 1000 Watt.
I think the 600 Watt magnetic ballast could be a bit more than $120.
But still you're in a nice price spot there for the quality.
All Sun System.

After what my one friend went through with RF interference from his digital ballasts I don't even want to look at one.
So yeah you got to make your own package I guess.

I have be using HTG 1000w digital ballasts for two years in my 12k room and four 600w digital in veg no problems so far. I also found 1000w hortilux super hps bulbs from Bulk Hydro for 72.98 with free shipping and 5% off order, just got my 12 bulbs from them last week, well packaged.

I really have no experience with HTG's HID's but I do have four T5 fixtures I picked up from them. Also, the bulbs in my HID's are HTG's brand. I've also had one of HTG's cooltubes. So far I've had nothing but great experiences at HTG. They will replace any of their stuff right on the spot and I'm pretty sure you don't even need a receipt to do it (in store of course). The guys at my local HTG have always been really good to me. I have three Big Kahuna hoods I bought from HTG. Anybody who has purchased air cooled hoods before knows they usually don't include the cordsets. Well, I didn't have enough cash to get the cordsets, and the manager threw them in for free just to make sure I had everything I needed to keep running smooth. Same thing happened when I switched from Fox Farms nutes over to Root Organics. I didn't have enough cash to get all the stuff I needed so he gave me a little discount just to make sure the grand total fell under my budget.

All in all, HTG has been nothing but fantastic for me, especially how they handle customer service.

stumpjumper said:

Try out www.plantlightinghydroponics.com Nobody beats their prices and they are good for MI shoppers, they ship fast, like same day. I got my bulb I just ordered in 2 days.

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Do they ship large stuff in the manufacturers boxes or
do they repack the goodies in plain cardboard?

treetopmmmp