Regular or Digital Ballast?

Can anyone please explain the pros and cons between the 2?

I'm looking at either:

Digital:
High Tech Garden Supply

or

Regular:
High Tech Garden Supply


As you can see there is quite the price difference. Any suggestions? I am a person that likes to buy something one time (I dont like mickey mouse junk), so keep that in mind =)

Thanks in advance,
-bwbig

If you can afford the upgrade to digital get it. No cold stars saves bulb life.Less heat and less intial power surge on startup so no power usage spikes.The ballast are quieter and more energy efficient.

Thanks for the quick reply!

Does the Digital one I linked appear to be decent? or do you have a better one to suggest?

I plan on getting a 4' T5 system (4 tubes, 20,000 lumens) for vegging, and a HPS for flowering. It seems HPS is the best for flowering as I have seen nothing so far come close to 55,000 lumens on those puppies!

400 watt should be enough for what I plan on doing with it (personal smoke)

Thanks in advance,
-bwbig

did you look at this one they have. i noticed the regular one you linked to was hps and mh, this is just a 400 watt HPS no MH and it's with the enhanced bulb, my dad ordered this same one 2 months ago and he loves it, it really is nice, especially considering they are only $120 that's a good deal I have never seen anyone come close too.

High Tech Garden Supply

I'm grabbing one of these for some extra boost in my flowering room, I don't really need it but at that price i can't resist.


also I'm an electrician and I also own a repair shop, so i can tell you from experience that digital ballasts are great, but a regular ballast may make some noise, run warmer and so on, but they are tanks and you can get up to 20 years out of a standard hps ballast and i've never seen digital preform that long without needing service...not even close.....Digital is great but it has it's down falls too.....like the price and the life.......so if you have the cash and don't mind having it fixed in 7 years(manufacturers will tell you that digital ballast have longer life...hahahahaha, only in theory on paper) go digital...if you have little money and want a ballast that can last you up to 20 years go standard.

Thanks for the info.

I sounds like digital is what I want. I was thinking of going with a MH/HPS combo just in case I have nothing flowering and want to use that light as vegging (should I even worry about a duel system since I am going to have a T5 floro for vegging?)

I'm trying to create a setup for a SoG of personal smoke (for my pops arthritus).

This is the one I use, and I love it.
Peace

bwbig said:

Thanks for the info.

I sounds like digital is what I want. I was thinking of going with a MH/HPS combo just in case I have nothing flowering and want to use that light as vegging (should I even worry about a duel system since I am going to have a T5 floro for vegging?)

I'm trying to create a setup for a SoG of personal smoke (for my pops arthritus).

Click to expand...

If you want to do SOG, you need 2 seperate rooms, you will always have plants flowering, vegging, and cuttings rooting.So with that in mind just get the HPS since you will have the t5 for vegging, and you will always have the hps flowering....

videoman40 said:

This is the one I use, and I love it.
Peace

Click to expand...

That's a nice one.......but I keep my ballast in another room than the grow...wouldn't work for me.But that is nice and compact though,pretty sweet.

Yeah got room all setup and everything built. Put it all on a 20 amp breaker all to itself.

The space is about 8' X 10'. I have a little 3' X 10' area I call the workshop (for planting pots, storing stuff, etc)... Each room is about 4' X 4' X 6'. Got little pullies hooked up for moving the lights up and down. Bathroom vent fan in each room pulling the air out (on a thermostat if I need it). I'm actually pretty impressed with what I did with the help of reading all these posts on the board (being this is my first time) =) Maybe someday if I get brave enough, Ill post a pic of the room on here =)

I think I'm leaning towards just a HPS and not the MH/HPS combo.

Thanks for the information so far, it has helped.

Cheers,
-Bwbig

I did a lot of research and I got the Gallaxy digital ballast, it's amazing and I can keep it on the inside of my grow cab without any heat issues, plus it has a built in surge protector to gaurd against shorts etc.

northerntights said:

I did a lot of research and I got the Gallaxy digital ballast, it's amazing and I can keep it on the inside of my grow cab without any heat issues, plus it has a built in surge protector to gaurd against shorts etc.

Click to expand...

damn that is awsome... .......as soon as I get some extra cash, i might invest in a nice digital.

I was reading that some digital ballasts can emit high RF interferance that can cause radio/cable signals to get messed up? Read that it can interfer with cable causing the cable guy to pay you a visit?

Is that all nonsense? The nearest neighbor's garage is about 150-200 feet away. The room is close to the main cable box of the house though. Will this cause any problems?

Anyone have any expirence with the digital ballasts around pets? They are at 20k hertz, does it bother dogs/cats?

Thanks!
-bwbig

y post n old threads?

jsllxm said:

The most important is that you must buy a high quality electronic ballast. The con is the price. But EB will save you a lot money if you use it for a long time. It is the trend.

We produce high quality electronic ballasts in China. In the past years we only sell them to Europe, from 2008 we are selling them in USA and Canada.

If you want to learn more, you can send me an email: [email protected].

Click to expand...

Unfortunately Chinese made electronics have a very poor reputation for quality and as an electronics engineer I'd strongly recommend against buying a Chinese made ballast.

I agree, i have heard nothing but bad things about chinese digi's.......


go american, they have more safety standards and just better built.....kind of like a china made ballast on steriods

Wrong site and economy to hussle chinese shit............Take it some where else........

I just got a digi ballast a week ago . Best buy yet for my room that annoying humm is gone and the heat trouble is gone

Deffently go 4 a digi one ..... Look about 1st thou somtimes you can pick them up cheaper on ebay. mines was starting price £1.00 ended paying 50 ..It still is sweet

i got the digital it is really quite but i never had the other one. i got mine off of ebay i won it off an auction. thier is a guy that puts one up every week. he has a store. mine was 122. plus 40 ship. i like mine.

Dude, you have ask an honest question that needs an honest, non-biased comment. The complaint was the general rep. of Chinese Products. I'll not get into a pissing contest. I am a proud Southern White Boy, FYI. The cost, the warranty, & replacement time span. But in this case, a malfunction, even with warranty & replacement, could very well, wipe out the growing projects. If your China made car broke down, a replacement on the spot could be had. But a light is different. It's almost like buying an oxygen machine for somebodies life support. A Hospital can take care of things until the problem is solved. But not in this case. There lies the rub. If I had to pay twice the cost, but was assured that I had a reliable product, then I would pay gladly. A failure on a $200 product could kill a $2,000 dollar investment. Being cautious is not an insult. Tell us how a replacement can be at our door step within 24 hours, and you may be in the running. "Give us something to believe in", in writing.
Also, I see nothing wrong with promoting a needed product on this site. It gives us a chance to ask questions. If there is no response, they will not be back. If they respond, at least we are taking to people with answers to tough questions.
A knife blade was found in a sheet of plywood from China at a Cabinet shop I worked at. The saw blade hit it..... no eyes was lost, nobody injured. A fucking sadistic joke, from China. If I can try to be fair, I hope all the RIU People can be also.

jsllxm said:

I don't want to argue with you guys. But have you trialed or used our products?
If our product is shit, please tell me where I can buy a better one?

º¼ÖÝÍþ¶ûÐŵç×ÓÓÐÏÞ¹«Ë¾

Thanks!

Click to expand...