bulb does not match the ballast

Yesterday I finally got my HID package. There were a few surprises. First, total assembly required for the reflector (makes sense for shipping, but wasn't expecting it). Second, the temp control blower is enormous. Third, HTG shipped me a 1000W ballast instead of the 600W that I ordered. I'm certainly not complaining, but the problem is that they still shipped me the 600W HPS bulb. The 1000W ballast is dimmable to a 600W setting, so I could conceivably use this combination provided I never raise the power setting, but I also discovered that the bulb labeling specifically states "for use with s106 ballast." The question is . . . should I even try this bulb, or should I sell one of my kidneys on the black market so I can afford the proper 1000W AgroMax bulb. I looked at numerous forums addressing this exact issue, and about 50% say you should never use the lower wattage bulb even on a dimmable unit. The other 50% suggest that matching the wattage setting to the bulb is the only way to go because an over-rated bulb will have a shortened life span if you dim the ballast to a lower setting. Does anyone actually have a credible source (manufacturer, etc.) who can say one way or the other? Also, if this bulb is designed for use with a S106 ballast, will it survive under the power of a digital ballast?

Here's the verdict. The tech guy at HTG told me it is their policy to inform customers that they should not install a lower wattage bulb than the maximum wattage rating of the ballast. In other words, you should not use a 600W bulb with a 1000W dimmable ballast. However, he also said that the reason for the policy is that people are stupid, and some customer is guaranteed to install the lower rated bulb and forget to set the ballast at its appropriate level, in which case something is going to be damaged almost immediately. Off the record, he said that the 600W bulb would work perfectly with my ballast. Been running it all day with no issues.

Agromax is a proper bulb? Ok if you say so. Do not use a 600w bulb with a 1000w ballast even if it is dimmable. You will end up blowing your bulb then potentially lighting your garden on fire. Also using a 1000w ballast dimmed to 600w just is not efficient. You're still pulling 1000w of power but it's going through a dimmer to lower the wattage to the bulb, I would only imagine this taking a toll on the ballast as well seeing as it's made to run at 1000w. Also as long as the bulb is rated to run on digital/electronic ballasts you can use any brand ballast. Digital/electronic bulbs are designed to operate at higher frequencies than a bulb designed to run off a magnetic ballast.

ZOMBIESxWEED said:

Agromax is a proper bulb? Ok if you say so. Do not use a 600w bulb with a 1000w ballast even if it is dimmable. You will end up blowing your bulb then potentially lighting your garden on fire. Also using a 1000w ballast dimmed to 600w just is not efficient. You're still pulling 1000w of power but it's going through a dimmer to lower the wattage to the bulb, I would only imagine this taking a toll on the ballast as well seeing as it's made to run at 1000w. Also as long as the bulb is rated to run on digital/electronic ballasts you can use any brand ballast. Digital/electronic bulbs are designed to operate at higher frequencies than a bulb designed to run off a magnetic ballast.

Click to expand...

^^this post is so full of misinformation it's scary^^

Running a 600w at a dimmed setting on a 1kw digi ballast is just fine. I even know growers who run 600w lamps on magnetic 1k ballasts (I don't recommend this) forever without issue. I have a 400w dimmable and have run a 250w lamp in it for months on a dimmed setting. If the ballast was still pulling 1kw in the dimmed setting, where does the other 400 watts go? Sorry, but it draws less than the max wattage at the dimmed settings. It's simple electrical theory actually.

PJ Diaz said:

^^this post is so full of misinformation it's scary^^

Running a 600w at a dimmed setting on a 1kw digi ballast is just fine. I even know growers who run 600w lamps on magnetic 1k ballasts (I don't recommend this) forever without issue. I have a 400w dimmable and have run a 250w lamp in it for months on a dimmed setting. If the ballast was still pulling 1kw in the dimmed setting, where does the other 400 watts go? Sorry, but it draws less than the max wattage at the dimmed settings. It's simple electrical theory actually.

Click to expand...

Of course everyone has an opinion :/

From another post with similar discussion.

https://www.rollitup.org/indoor-growing/707668-dimmable-ballast.html

Yes. The other thread is covering the same information at the same time. Is there any way to merge them?

Suggesting that the dimmable ballast set at 600W still pulls 1000W is not correct. If you don't believe me, put an ampmeter around the black wire that goes from the wall outlet to the ballast (if you're willing to strip the jacket off of a perfectly good cord). At 600W it should be pulling a little over 5 amps, and at 1000W it should be pulling a little over 8.3 amps.

In my research on this subject, one manufacturer says that running a 1000W bulb at one of the dimmable settings will not change the light spectrum. It will appear to change because the drop in lighting intensity (reduced lumens) creates an optical illusion. They did however say that running a bulb at a lower wattage than its rating will reduce the life of the bulb.

So far I have no issues with the 600W bulb running at the 600W dimmable setting. In fact, I am surprised that the HPS bulb creates less heat than the 648W of T5-HO that it replaced, and the ballast is barely warmer than ambient temp. Even when I get 1000W bulbs, I'd doubt that it's a good idea to run them at the "Super Output" setting. Maybe it's the manufacturer's strategy to sell more bulbs.

ZOMBIESxWEED said:

Of course everyone has an opinion :/

Click to expand...

It's fact not opinion.