i have noticed that most electronic ballast are dimmable however, most bulbs are not dimmable. in fact most bulb manufactrurers do not reccomend overdriving or underdriving the bulbs ? i just bought a new hps bulb and right on the box it says to only drive the bulb at the recommended wattage and that it can cause premature wear out of the bulb and a possible fire hazzard. even hortilux recommends on there website to run the bulb at the proper wattage. are all these new electronic ballasts that are dimmable giving us growers bad info ??
why are most electronic ballasts dimmable ?
- Thread starter 711grower
- Start date
skulljam420
Member
I will give this a shot..
I think that the ballasts are dimmable now because they have the technology to lower the wattage it puts out..they have it so simple its a twist of a knob.. bulbs such as 400 Watt should not be used on 250watt because that's just a waste.. if u put a 400 bulb in a 1000 Watt. It would probably go real bad 0.0 but I see it as example..
U got 400 Watt mh ballast dimmable with that 400 Watt bulb it can go up to 400.. so if u went down to 250 it would be less spectrum but you would save some $ on bills
I think that the ballasts are dimmable now because they have the technology to lower the wattage it puts out..they have it so simple its a twist of a knob.. bulbs such as 400 Watt should not be used on 250watt because that's just a waste.. if u put a 400 bulb in a 1000 Watt. It would probably go real bad 0.0 but I see it as example..
U got 400 Watt mh ballast dimmable with that 400 Watt bulb it can go up to 400.. so if u went down to 250 it would be less spectrum but you would save some $ on bills
racerboy71
bud bootlegger
i have a select a watt, which is a lil different to the dimmeables imo.. with my type, i simply select either 250 or 400, and just use the right sized wattage bulb for w/e i have it set for.. works great, plus i have more options for say when it get's hot or cold...
that's a really good question though about the ones that say you simply dim by 50% or w/e.. i would imagine it's not the best for bulbs, and espeically the ballasts that have that turbo option like mine has that will burn a bulb at a slightly higher wattage, say the 400 watter at around 430 watts.. i would never use that option as i think it would simply kill the bulb life...
good question, i'd like to hear some more responses....
that's a really good question though about the ones that say you simply dim by 50% or w/e.. i would imagine it's not the best for bulbs, and espeically the ballasts that have that turbo option like mine has that will burn a bulb at a slightly higher wattage, say the 400 watter at around 430 watts.. i would never use that option as i think it would simply kill the bulb life...
good question, i'd like to hear some more responses....
racerboy71
bud bootlegger
yah, i think when they first came out they were more dimmable, ie, 50% power, 75% Power, but i think most of them have gotten away from that and are now mostly select a watt like the one i have...
there may be a few out there that are strictly dimmeable, but for the most part i think villify is right and they are going more towards select a watt..
vilify
Well-Known Member
yeah, I was going to say.. I have never come across a ballast that has the 50,75,100% etc. in a hydro store that is.
I have seen a few older ballasts that have it, but they are fairly aged
racerboy71
bud bootlegger
here you go vilify. the quantum runs that way, 50 / 100% power still...http://www.quantumhort.com/quantum-1000-watt-dimmable.html
vilify
Well-Known Member
good find. interesting to know they are still being produced that way.
Medical420MI
Well-Known Member
I just use that feature to utilize different bulbs. I veg with a 400w MH and flower with a 600w HPS using the same lumatek ballast. I ran it on "super lumens" and it killed my bulb pretty quick.
Fresh 2 De@th
Well-Known Member
@Racer- i read somewhere that the super lumens feature was to get the very last life of the bulb before you swap it out for a new one. when i find the thread it was stated in, i will post for everyone to see.
@711-also, it's been recommended to switch or use proper bulb for each setting, dimming a ballast without the proper wattage decreases the life expectancy of the bulb. assuming that is the case, this is the reason why we are now seeing more select-a-watt ballasts instead of the dimmed ones.
it would make more sense if the dimmable electronic ballast companys would say its necessary to change the bulb to match the proper wattage but they dont. most of the bulb manufacturers clearly state to run there bulbs at the proper wattage. i believe the electronic ballast manufacturers might be putting us consumers at risk by saying its dimmable. who is really keeping 3 different wattage bulbs around to match the proper wattage...
Fresh 2 De@th
Well-Known Member
i totally agree with you. tbh the way i look at it is that we were testers and if no problems arose from dimming the bulbs nothing was to be said.