Cheap WELLTHINK Ballasts.. are they any good?

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creq2

New Member
Does anyone here happen to have one?

I'm able to get a deal on some 400w ones right now and I'm wanting to take the guy up on it as they're half or even a third of the price of any I've ever seen.. (only problem is I have to get more than I need but I can prob sell the rest on craigslist at this price)

They're convertible (handle hps & mh), digital ballasts from Welthink...

Thanks a lot,
CreQ
 
wonderblunder

wonderblunder

Well-Known Member
Just found this
Pros: Cheap.

Cons:....Cheap. Gets too hot. If it is outside the room it is warm, if it is inside the room it gets hot, and this is with the 400W selection on the switch. The 600 Watt selection seems to get hotter. As in, it will almost burn you if you touch it, even outside the room.
Turns out it is made in China.

Other Thoughts: Have been going back-and-forth with the owner of DaystarHID. I originally asked him "Do the ballasts run 400W MH and HPS bulbs" he answered "yes, ballasts work with 400W bulbs."

False!! They will start and run HPS bulbs at 400, 500, and 600 Watts, but to have a Metal halide start you MUST have a 600W bulb in the 600W ballast.
I did not know this at the time, or I would never have bought this ballast, I would have gotten 1000W instead. 600W MH bulbs do not exist.

Rating: All in all, I give it about 1 out of 5 stars. Price is very good, but Ballast is very cheap, plus the owner of DaystarHID seems to not know his product.

This one is a DO NOT BUY!!
Spend the extra money and get a cooler-running product from a company you've heard of before.
 
C

creq2

New Member
Dono bout those 600 watters, but these 400watters seemed fine to me..
it lit the 400w HPS & MH bulbs I brought along..didn't seem to get too awful hot
I'm able to get 5-10 of them at 60ea$
I'm thinking 5. haha. I'm just making a chamber not a warehouse! =b
Anyone used these ballasts?
I'd really appreciate some feedback hehe.
I'm gonna get 'em either way cuz I know I can sell the others on CL here in SD, the Medical MJ market is huuge =P
And to the dude who wants one just gimme a msg. I don't mind sending you one at my price if you don't mind paying the shipping..it'd be doing me a favor =P
2 more avail if anyone else wants one just gimme a pm
-CreQ
 
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creq2

New Member
Well I went by the doods shop this morning and picked them up.
It gets warm, but no where near burn-your-hands-off.
As far as the heat it generates i'm making a grow box (enclosed), 400w = 400w, heat produced is the same.
The only diff might be how hot-to-touch the ballast gets, but it's not getting much hotter than my hydrofarm one.
(I can't tell the diff by touch at least)..could just be that dudes 600w ones..

I want to run them for a couple weeks before I chance selling one with my name on it..esp since I'm not taxing =P

I ended up getting 5 of them this morning for $300, so w/ shipping it'd be $75ea.

And btw these are NOT dimmable, so if you're looking for dimmable (like 300/350/400w all-in-one-unit) these ARE NOT them.

http://www.welthink.com/PDF/WEX120-400B.pdf
That's a link to the mfg website for this exact model that I just got 5 of this morning.

Later,
-C
 
C

chief greenleaf

Member
Whats up creq I was interested in pickin up 5 or 10 of the dimmable 600s, are you getting those wholesale thru daystarhid.com? Thats the only place Ive seen the wellthinks, but I dont see any prices lots of 5 or 10. If not do ya mind hookin me up with your source? Im not looking to sell em I just dont wanna pay 3 or 400 bucks a piece on my ballasts ya know.
 
super2200

super2200

Well-Known Member
chief greenleaf said:
Whats up creq I was interested in pickin up 5 or 10 of the dimmable 600s, are you getting those wholesale thru daystarhid.com? Thats the only place Ive seen the wellthinks, but I dont see any prices lots of 5 or 10. If not do ya mind hookin me up with your source? Im not looking to sell em I just dont wanna pay 3 or 400 bucks a piece on my ballasts ya know.
Click to expand...
http://www.dchydro.com/category/BST0/Grow-Light-Ballasts/

these guys have awesome prices and fast delivery
 
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chief greenleaf

Member
Thats one of the wellthink ballasts that this thread was started about, for 65 bucks if it works for one grow youd be gettin way more than your moneys worth! Im not messin with the digitals yet, they havent worked out all the kinks yet. A study was done you can read on thc farmer, none of the major brand digitals could out perform the magnetics! Not in efficiency, lumen output, etc. Plus bulbs arent made to be compatible with them yet so a bulb ends up burning up way faster in a digital. Unless your using the new sun pulse bulbs I think thats what theyre called, its the same company that makes the spinner lights. Theyre the only ones that make bulbs that work properly with digital ballasts. So Ive heard...
 
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creq2

New Member
I ended up just getting one from that ebay guy..
I have to say -- i like.
It gets warm but it doesn't get hot or anything, you can touch it just fine.
I like =P
I sparked it up with a 400w sylvania bulb from home depot, it looks like i have the fucking sun in my room =P
(edit here's a pic I put it in my bath tub lol)

The ballast from that ebay guy came with a plug too (the bulk i was gonna buy didn't), I got a socket w/ a computer plug wired to it at a local hydro store for $12 and then spliced it with 'butt splices' from home depot (crimp on, easiest way to splice and better than a wire nut) the 3 cords were the same color. The cords the system came with were really thick compared to the cords on the socket (like handle-1000w-cords) hehe. That's the best info I can give guys, good luck.
I offered him 75 via contact member for shipping and everything and he did it but then i did the math and realized it was 82 so i might coulda gotten away with 60 or 65, i'd try it
 
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creq2

New Member
Bulb ends up burning out faster with digital??
They've done studies that show that in the time it takes a magnetic ballast to burn a bulb down to 50% brightness/efficiency, a digital ballasts will be operating still at 75%
Google it..
 
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creq2

New Member
f-yeah it's a steal hehe =P
I want another one just I'm putting a cab in an enclosed bedroom, in the closet, with no outside ventillation minus what leaks thru to the rest of the house, so I think 2x400w is gonna be a lot of heat, that 1x400w heats my bathroom up to 85-90 degrees with no ventillation
 
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badfinger101

Member
I bought 4 of them for 220 I found that if the cord was too long they would not start the mh lights . but when i shortend the lamp leads they work just fine also dc hydro is a really good place to shop
 
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chief greenleaf

Member
creq2 said:
Bulb ends up burning out faster with digital??
They've done studies that show that in the time it takes a magnetic ballast to burn a bulb down to 50% brightness/efficiency, a digital ballasts will be operating still at 75%
Google it..
Click to expand...
http://www.eyehortilux.com/EYELU600.pdf

This is only one of a few articles Ive read about digital ballasts but this is the only one that I know where to find!
Its actually a really good read, they tested 3 major brand digitals compared some magnetics. Results came back about same lumen output, same efficieny, and that bulbs could possibly burn out prematurely because theyre not designed to be compatible with digital ballasts. I do know that the new Sun Pulse bulbs are reported to be working great with digital ballasts but if you wanna use cheap bulbs you might have problems.
Ive read a lot of the same info on digitals being all around better myself but these guys ran em side by side with magnetics in a lab and those were the results. This test is done by Hortilux who is one of the most well respected companies in the business but who knows that test could be wrong! Its the only side by side Ive seen so far but I have seen alot of reports on bulbs burning out prematurely in digitals. But check it out for yourself and lemme know what you think.

"In summary, our tests showed that the
current electronic ballasts seem to operate
lamps about the same as traditional​
magnetic ballasts. Energy efficiencies and​
light output are basically equal between
the types with only the expected variation​
you would find in any group of samples.
No flicker was detected on traditional ballasts
running at 60 hertz, but was detected​
in lamps running on electronic ballasts.
Be advised that some of the acoustic resonance
created by electronic ballasts can​
lead to early lamp or ballast failure."
 
Mike Huntstinks

Mike Huntstinks

Active Member
Cut & Pasted from another forum...

-------------------- cut ----------------------------------

My company imported 500 ballasts from Welthink in HangZhou China under an OEM agreement in early 2009, over 50% of the units have been returned in less then 8 months. Problems range from poor quality caps and other internal components burning out to units that completely blow up and start fires. I mean, we have seen units where the fuse is completely blown out of the unit!

Also, Welthink has been less then cooperative when it comes to honoring their warranty. They avoid our calls and emails and try to accuse us of tampering with the units.

Sonny from Welthink in VA eventually sent us out 48 1000W units as replacements (ALL Welthink brand, not our label) and EVERY one burned out within 3 months.

Now when we try and have Welthink sort out the warranty issue they completely ignore our requests. No emails returned, no phone calls answered and no replies to our Alibaba requests.

You get what you pay for when you deal with Welthink and Sonny in Virgina Beach, VA! Remember, if it sounds too good to be true it probably is and this is definately the case with Welthink Ballasts.

you can check out http://www.welthink.info where you will find complete details of our dealings with Welthink along with detailed photos of these garbage units.

Save your cash and buy from a reputable manufacturer. Welthink manufactures crap ballasts. My company is out over $50K as a result and Welthink is running for the hills. Let my bad experience save you from learning the hard way!!!

--------------------- paste ----------------------------

I also can testify that these ballasts are complete SHIT. I bought 20 of them and all 20 were eventually faulty! One damn near burned my effen show down. And these pricks DO NOT honor their warranty. I have $4k worth of worthless burned out SHIT Welthink ballasts. Save your hard earned cash and buy from an established company with a proven track record. Welthink is a joke!!!
 
Drr

Drr

Well-Known Member
I have a 400w and a 600w.. the 600 is still kicking.. 3 months now..

the 400w clunked out after 5 months of 20/4 and some 24/0 time.. although when I got the new ballast the 400 mh that I was running didn't turn on.. I tested it before I shipped it back with the hps and it didn't come on.. (so i thought ballast for sure) But i'm not too sure I gave it enough time for the bulb to fire up since I had 3 2' T5's and a 2bulb T12 fixture in there that lights it up decently.. So I may not have noticed the hps start to fire up and unplugged too quick and ruled it the ballast...that or the ballast blew the bulb when it went...

I called the guy.. he exchanged it no problem.. but I had to wait till the new shipment came in to him though..

Not as bad as people say.. maybe they have gotten better I don't know...
Not that hot either..

You do get what you pay for.. BUT maybe your dealer guy is buying up all the refurbished or "failed company quality" products.. who knows..
 
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