Who Makes the Best Digital Ballast?

I have a 1k. It's way brighter than the coil ballast I had, but the fan is super loud. I mean so loud I'm not sure I want to get another one... I also had mine just shut off on me several times. I'd go in the room to check on my girls and find that the ballast was on and running but the red light was on and the light was off. I took it in to my local shop and had him send it back to have it looked at.

The guy in the shop says you can spray the fans with a little wd-40 to reduce the squeal. I haven't been able to try, since I haven't got the ballast back yet..

I'm about to buy 4 new digital ballasts within the next couple weeks so please keep the best digi ballast opinions coming

Has anyone had their digi ballasts interfere with their wifi networks? Which ones get the hottest? Has anyone tried wd-40 to quiet the fan on their nextgen?

Thanks!

I've got 2 NextGen 400w/600w ballasts, 1 is super quite, and the other has a high pitched hum. I have them in tents in the same room as is my Wi/Fi and HDTV with no problems.

IIRC, I read (posts over a year old on a different forum) that a few 1000w units had fans that would lock up and cause an overheating problem and shut the unit off. I hope they get you fixed up right..........wd40?

Cheers,

Yeah that was my reaction to his suggestion to use wd-40. Squirting any liquid into something that has electronics in it doesn't sound like a great idea.

I'm no expert as I don't have any real personal experience with this stuff...yet. I just bought two Via Volt 600 watt electronic ballasts. I don't have everything set up so all I have done is plug'em up to test them. They were real inexpensive but they are anything but cheap. All of the ballasts we're talking about are made in china including lumatek so unless I'm mistaken that isn't really an issue to compare. The ballasts that I bought are beautiful. I was really impressed when I pulled them out of the box. Very solid, consistent anodize. Nicely machined aluminum wattage selector (50%,75%,100%,110%). A great feeling of quality. They are totally silent. If I'm not mistaken the specs with a 99% power factor it is more efficient than the lumateks and cheaper. Apparently lumatek 600 watt ballasts have had issues with bulb compatibility and interfering with constant ph and ppm meters.


These ballasts were 140.00 each and one of the nice features they have is an 8 minute restart. Here are the specs :

New! The 600 watt Switchable Electronic Ballast features a five year warranty and has hot lamp restart protection and a 8 min delay.

Features:

5-YEAR WARRANTY
• Extruded aluminum housing is engineered to dissipate heat and keep the components cool
• Without noisy fans
• 120V, 240V,347V, 95-264V, available
• 250W, 400W, 600W, 750W and 1000W models
• Detachable power cord allows easy change over
• Operates both HPS & MH lamps
• Completely silent and lightweight
• Extremely efficient – 99% power factor
• Comply with UL, CUL, EMC standards
• Generator ready
• Dimmable - Ballast can be dimmed to 50%
• Multi-Wattage - Power different wattage lamps on the same ballast
• Super Lumens - Up to 10% more light at the flip of a switch
• Dual-Voltage - E-Ballast with the same light output on 120V or 240V
• Internal RF Shielding - best on the market
• Enhanced Lamp Compatibility - works with all major brands of lamps
• Soft Start - increases lamp life and lumen depreciation
• Internal resin coasting - projects components for long life
• External breaker system - protects against power surges
• Sunlight Supply Ready - fitted with Standard Connector for accepting Standard/Sunlight Supply lamp cords
• Features a 5 year warranty (3 year plus 2 year prorated for repair or replacement)

5-YEAR WARRANTY: If there is a warranty related issue within the first 5 years, we will replace the ballast within 24 hours and ship it UPS ground along with a pre-paid call tag to get the original ballast back. For faster shipping, charges apply.

I have a 400W/600W Nextgen and I blow the fans off once a month with a can of air. Just a few short blasts to keep clean.

Originally Posted by dadio161

I have a 400W/600W Nextgen and I blow the fans off once a month with a can of air. Just a few short blasts to keep clean.

Yup thats basically the difference between it and the other digital ballasts. Lumatek are good, phantoms are the best. They have all the features plus their completely silent and able to be mounted vertically. Lumatek makes a good dual ballast though with no competition on the horizon

Originally Posted by Lt. Dan

I've got 2 NextGen 400w/600w ballasts, 1 is super quite, and the other has a high pitched hum.

Cheers,

The one with the high pitched hum has no hum anymore. I guess the fans needed a break in period.
One complete grow with NextGens using Digilux bulbs with no problems.

I haven't seen any real reason that lumateks are considered good. I suspect that at this stage of the game that they are considered the best because they occupy the highest price point.

In this market there doesn't seem to be any kind of independent product testing and limited sharing of information. My local hydro store (a lumatek dealer) had stated that none of the brands they sell had distinguished themselves as being signifigantly more reliable than the others. They are all made in china.

I know that measuring real ouput from a ballast and bulb requires an integrating sphere which is a pricey bit of equipment and it would be a huge mistake to assume that ballasts from the same company are the same week to week . Operating environment, power quality and even circuit quality can effect a ballasts operation which makes it even more difficult to compare apples with apples.

It would be great to get what you pay for but with the dynamics of a global market that just isn't the case at all anymore. I think that you are more likely to get the best marketing department when buying at the highest price point.

I contend that there are great ballasts at all price points and that throwing money at the problem is the wrong way to go about it. I bought 2 Via Volts that may turn out to be shit. I'd heard that I could get lumateks for just 40 dollars more and at first regretted my purchase until I saw that my Via Volt ballasts actually have BETTER specs than the lumateks I was again pleased with my purchase. I do think that it would have been a good decision to buy the lumatek at that price point though. I would have kicked myself and seriously regretted my purchase if I'd bought a lumatek ballast for what some companies are charging for them.

I don't believe I would regret my purchase even if the Via Volt ballasts fail during my first grow. I haven't seen anything anywhere to lead me to believe that any of the ballasts made by any company are unreliable and that , unfortunately , failures happen.