Which Bulb for 600w Solis Tek?

Hey everybody, I have been using an iPower 600w for vegging my Sensi NL and Skunk #1 autos. I recently purchased a 600w Solis Tek as a back up ballast in case the ipower shits out. if the ipower makes it through veg I will probably switch to the Solis Tek when i begin flowering with my HPS. If anyone has a solis tek ballast what kind of lamps are you using? Which ones are compatible? I've been hearing all this crap about digital ballasts blowing out bulbs, and all this crap. Will the Solis Tek run the Hortilux Super Hps bulb? Any recommendations? Thanks very much for all the help guys!

I run an ushio with my solis tek 1k. I prefer ushio or hortilux bulbs but usually use ushios as they are cheaper

Awesome man, thank you very much for the advice, I was looking at the Ushio as well, will be picking one up. How has you solis tek been treating you? how long have you had it?

I would like to test out my new ballast, however I only have an iPower hps and mh that I am currently using on my digital ballast. Do you think I would be able to fire it up with one of those bulbs just to ensure it is functional?

K

whitnasty1 said:

I would like to test out my new ballast, however I only have an iPower hps and mh that I am currently using on my digital ballast. Do you think I would be able to fire it up with one of those bulbs just to ensure it is functional?

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I don't see why not.



I would try the bulb you aren't currently using though incase it fucks it up.



J

Alright that's what I was thinking too. only reason I'm kind of worried is the ipower bulb box says it's rated at 60hz and the Solis Tek runs at 84khz over 100 times the frequency.

I have been using Solis Tek for just over a year now, i have pretty much used them all and Solis Tek has been the best ballast i have used. When i first got the Solis Tek i could not get digital bulbs so was using Bushmaster MH and Gravita HPS with no problems and great results, then Solis Tek brought out the matching bulbs for there ballasts and now use them with even better results. From my experience you wont find a better fit for a Solis Tek than a Solis Tek.
Wow i just realized that is my first post in 3yrs lurking on this forum

Solis teks are great but my only complaint is there is a glue or black sealer that will leak out over time near the lamp cord. First time I saw it I was a bit worried and got it switched out at the hydro shop. But when the other 3 started to do it I suspected a manufacturer defect. If you remove the knob than the four screws that hold on the front plate most of the glue can be scraped off and the problem minimized. Pointing a fan directly at the ballast will also help. imo they're great ballasts

Im currently running there 1k hps and it's very bright and even brighter when maxed out with Solis boost. Dosnt even have that red look to it I see with other hps I have used in the past. I have a 6k 1000w mh coming in the mail to swap out as I'm in veg right now. And will be getting there 10k mh for the last 2 weeks when that time comes. So far love the Solis teks and so do my babies

Solis tek lies about their products. You can tell by their site and packaging. Look at their bulbs. Each wattage has the same spectrum but different cri.. How is that possible? Cri doesn't change by watt output. Fake spectrum charts and fake readings

chernobe said:

Solis teks are great but my only complaint is there is a glue or black sealer that will leak out over time near the lamp cord. First time I saw it I was a bit worried and got it switched out at the hydro shop. But when the other 3 started to do it I suspected a manufacturer defect. If you remove the knob than the four screws that hold on the front plate most of the glue can be scraped off and the problem minimized. Pointing a fan directly at the ballast will also help. imo they're great ballasts

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I know this is an old thread but I was trying to find someone else who has this problem. I'm on my 2nd solis tek and quality has not been good. The adjustment knob was already broken on my last one. Now this one is oozing black sealant around the lamp cord. I have a purple lumatek right next to it and that thing has outlasted any other ballast I've bought. Solistek is cheap junk. I've noticed it puts out a slightly different spectrum too, with the exact same bulb, compared to my other ballasts. I think it runs at a higher frequency and causes the spectrum to be more white, but I can't say for sure if that's the reason but the difference is undeniable. I don't think I'll ever purchase another solistek ballast after this.

whitnasty1 said:

Hey everybody, I have been using an iPower 600w for vegging my Sensi NL and Skunk #1 autos. I recently purchased a 600w Solis Tek as a back up ballast in case the ipower shits out. if the ipower makes it through veg I will probably switch to the Solis Tek when i begin flowering with my HPS. If anyone has a solis tek ballast what kind of lamps are you using? Which ones are compatible? I've been hearing all this crap about digital ballasts blowing out bulbs, and all this crap. Will the Solis Tek run the Hortilux Super Hps bulb? Any recommendations? Thanks very much for all the help guys!

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flowering
https://www.amazon.com/SolisTek-600W-HPS-Digital-Lamp/dp/B00R2Q7LES/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1481597315&sr=8-1&keywords=solis+tek+600w+hps

finishing
https://www.amazon.com/SolisTek-600W-10K-Metal-Halide-Digital/dp/B00R2Q7GB6/ref=sr_1_4?ie=UTF8&qid=1481597360&sr=8-4&keywords=solis+tek+600w+10k

this is a 10k uvb bulb .....use it last week before u cut down tighter buds more resin/oil
the hps is a slighter higher output in lumens then horilux/ushisos

chernobe said:

Solis teks are great but my only complaint is there is a glue or black sealer that will leak out over time near the lamp cord. First time I saw it I was a bit worried and got it switched out at the hydro shop. But when the other 3 started to do it I suspected a manufacturer defect. If you remove the knob than the four screws that hold on the front plate most of the glue can be scraped off and the problem minimized. Pointing a fan directly at the ballast will also help. imo they're great ballasts

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That's a bummer to hear since I am planing on picking one up soon. when you took off the front plate did it look like it was spreading inside of the ballast or just outside?

This picture shows one of my ballast that is starting to leak. I just noticed it the other day when I was moving some stuff around. This is on a ballast that is less than 1 year old and kept in a climate controlled room at 75 F with a fan blowing on it. It's just barely squeezing out around the sides of the socket, but hasn't shown signs of getting worse. At first I thought it was some kind of grease but then I remembered that they use a black sealant on the internals. Not a good sign, especially considering I have 5 year old Lumateks that are still kicking and run cooler to the touch.

Midnite Gardener said:

This picture shows one of my ballast that is starting to leak. I just noticed it the other day when I was moving some stuff around. This is on a ballast that is less than 1 year old and kept in a climate controlled room at 75 F with a fan blowing on it. It's just barely squeezing out around the sides of the socket, but hasn't shown signs of getting worse. At first I thought it was some kind of grease but then I remembered that they use a black sealant on the internals. Not a good sign, especially considering I have 5 year old Lumateks that are still kicking and run cooler to the touch.

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Shit I don't like that at all. I think I will email them and see how many complaints they have received and if they fixed the problem.

Also I'm guessing yours isn't the matrix since that's all digital and doesn't have a knob. is yours the 600w?

chronnie49 said:

That's a bummer to hear since I am planing on picking one up soon. when you took off the front plate did it look like it was spreading inside of the ballast or just outside?

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After having a few of these i can they are garbage, I'd look for a new brand. Seemed ok at first like maybe thay had a bad run or two at the factory but for aure they all suck. Quantum does the same thing and a fraction of the opice, galaxy has some good stuff too that does the same thing

Midnite Gardener said:

This picture shows one of my ballast that is starting to leak. I just noticed it the other day when I was moving some stuff around. This is on a ballast that is less than 1 year old and kept in a climate controlled room at 75 F with a fan blowing on it. It's just barely squeezing out around the sides of the socket, but hasn't shown signs of getting worse. At first I thought it was some kind of grease but then I remembered that they use a black sealant on the internals. Not a good sign, especially considering I have 5 year old Lumateks that are still kicking and run cooler to the touch.

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Had the same problem once, they offered a new ballast. You should give them a call.

chronnie49 said:

Also I'm guessing yours isn't the matrix since that's all digital and doesn't have a knob. is yours the 600w?

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It's 1000w, but not the Matrix.

I have a Solis-tek matrix 2 1000w with the remote control have been using it with the solis-tek spliter so I have 2-600w solis-tek hps running the ballast at 1100w (using the boost feature) on my second grow and I love it. I went from a "Gro-lite 1000w doing the same thing and it ran very hot After 3 months it got so hot that it fused the power cord to the ballast where you plug the cord into the ballast burning it out and blowing the breaker. Grow-lite would not warranty it THEY SUCK ! The spliter option was supposed to work with the Gro-lite they said it was my fault because I did not keep checking the power cord to see if it had lossened???? The Solis-tek runs probably 40-50 degrees cooler. Go with the Matrix 2 The built in timer feature also works great.