I'm looking to pick up a switchable magnetic ballast 600 watt to replace a digital Ipower impulse buy. I don't want rfi to give me away or make myself suspicious as I am in a Nazi state when it comes to cannabis, Florida. Comcast has already come knocking once.
Does a magnetic and digital ballast use the same lamp cord connector?
Which magnetic ballast is recommended for low noise and good heat displacement?
Which company or brand is most reliable?
There are only two major lamp cord connectors in the US: COMMON (Sunlight Supply) and BAREF (Hydrofarm). There are also adapter cords to convert from one type to the other. Ideally, the less connections the better, so try to get a ballast that matches your lamp cord. Vendors aren't always clear on what type of connector is on a ballast; verify before purchase.
In my experience, Hydrofarm, Sunlight Supply, and Lumatek offer professional grade equipment. None of these should have any RFI problems. Digital ballasts are basically silent while you will experience a slight humming noise from a magnetic ballast. However, due to the way digital ballasts are constructed, a magnetic ballast is practically guaranteed to outlive them. The magnetic types are also repairable where digitals are not. Beware of fans on a ballast, this is a weak point; the fan will likely fail before the ballast and it not usually an easy matter to find a correctly sized replacement fan for such equipment.
Plenty of used magnetic ballasts on the market that work just fine although I'd probably limit the age to 10 years or so.
