400w to 1000w upgrade

First off please forgive my rambling i will try to keep it short. I am planning on upgrading from my 400w to a 1000w so that I can grow my plants to 5-6 feet and still get some light to the lower areas.

I am having a very hard time though debating between digital and coil, and also 600w vs 1000w. Ive done hours of reading posts and I have a good understanding of the advantages and disadvantages of each. Ive even gone so far as comparing the prices and brand options.

I have a couple questions though.
1) Does anyone have experience with Next Gen digital ballasts?. This is the only brand I'm able to get because I live in Canada, and the site I use for supplies has much better pricing (not on the ballast but on bulbs+reflector) than anywhere else in canada, and if I order from the US I'm looking at $50-$80 in brokerage fees making the price for a digi kit from anywhere besides my supplier $150+ more even if I order from other canadian sites. I just dont want to buy it if people are blowing out bulbs or the unit is failing, or if they aren't noticeably brighter.

2) Ive looked and looked but can't find an actual light intensity meter comparison between digi and mag, just theoretical and mathematical. I find it hard to believe that the bulb is actually producing 30% more lumens, I beleive that the 30% comes from the difference in frequency. Digitals run on much higher frequencies reducing the amount of time the bulb is actually off during lights on hours (the bulbs constantly flicker on and off quicker than the human eye can see). This is where I think the digital ballasts are overhyped because the lumen output, electrical efficiency, "flicker free operation" advantages are really not 100% true. They may be slighty better than mag in these catagories but I do not think +30% output is correct. it is not +30% brighter it is simply on more of the time because of the higher frequency and lower "flicker time", see what I mean?. Granted they may well be brighter, but not 30% imo. Most of that 30% is the extra lamp time you get per day because of the difference in flicker time.

Having said that, has anyone switched to a digi and noticed brighter output?
Know of someone who has done a comparison with a meter instead of theoretical/mathematical?

3) Anyone who has used 600's and 1000's - what am I looking at in terms of penetration difference? I've looked at penetration charts but I'd like to hear from personal experience. Idk if those charts consider the fact that the 1000 is hotter and may need to be placed higher above the canopy than a 600 would (I have an AC hood so probly wouldnt have to move the 1000 much higher than my 400 currently is, right?)

I realize digis do have their advantages; soft start, mh/hps compatible, less heat+noise loss, less weight. But I can buy 2 mag ballasts for the price of 1 digi and they have the same warranty. That kind of kills the extra 30% output from a digi doesnt it lol? Granted you will be paying much more to run the 1000's.

Any input is greatly appreciated thx.

due to the lack of input and the numerous accounts of bad experiences with digitals, im going to stick with magnetic. with the $200 i'll save I can buy a second kit or something else. ive also confirmed that the 30% lumen increase is not the brightness that some companies advertise(their marketing teams playing statistics games as usual) but instead the amount of flicker downtime time due to the frequency differences between digital and magnetic, over a 12 or 18 hour cycle the light will be on 30% more of the time compared to a magnetic running at 60Hz. This is an advantage but again i think a little over-advertised. Plants dont respond to dark periods lasting .01 seconds so I don't really think plants are going to respond as if they are getting 30% more light. I cant see the flicker so I doubt the plants do.
also i'm going to go with the 1000 over the 600, figure if I'm going to upgrade I might as well go all out or I may regret it.

Hey I give you a good tip. Skip up grading the light. Buy a nice string of Daylight CFL 100 watt equiv at Walmart along with the attendant work reflector from the automotive section. Sprinkle them around the midsection of the plants or as to where your heart tells you they might be needed. If it gets too hot turn a few of them off for a while, if it turns cold keep them all burning. Your babies will thank you much more than having a thousand watt hot box beating them to death from the overhead position. Thats how I do it so it bound to be right. Hope this helps.

BW

^LOL. I'm sure he'll trade in his HID for a set of ghetto CFL's pronto after that convincing advice.

But seriously, I don't think you can go wrong with either magnetic or digital. They both have advantages and disadvantages that you have well, so it is just personal preference at this point. The substantial difference in price between the digi and mag 1000w would probably drive me to go mag as well. I only chose a digital 600 because the price difference wasn't as big between the two.

thanks for the replies. Ive used CFL's in the past to start up my outdoor crop. the 400w has proven itself tenfold in veg, but the sativas in my lineup are already having light penetration issues and the indicas will be as well in a week or 2. and after doing some math you would need a rediculous amount of CFL's to equal the lumens and par that you get from a 1k hps. granted you must deal with the heat but with an ac hood and inline fan and my room is fairly large, i think i will be ok.
i dont mean to diss CFL users as ive seen some impressive results. I just think hid lighting puts off that much more light per watt that the plants grow so much faster, making hids more efficient for plant growth.

I ended up ordering a 1000w hps magnetic with SilverStar AC hood and Eye Hortilux Super HPS Bulb. 145,000 lumens should give me some decent penetration compared to the 36,000 im running now. my goal is to grow trees and maximize my yield per plant.

It depends. I'd think that the digital ballasts are more efficient. They are way more quiet, as there is no humming. I would also guess that the digital ones draw less amps. A good comparison thread would be the Hydrofarm Powerhouse vs. the Lumatek.