Digital ballasts

[ehorst]

I'm considering buying a lumatek digital ballast. Does anyone know the differences between the 120v and the 240v. Is this ballast worth the money at $315.00 for a 1000w light?

 

[mcdandc]

What is your household voltage??

 

[P@ssw0rd]

I have a lumatek 400, I love it, it's silent! 120v is a common wall outlet in the USA, 240 is used for big stuff like dryers and stoves. You probably need the 120v

P@ssw0rd

 

[ehorst]

I have room in my fuse box and the know how to run a 220 amp line. Does the 240 volt use less electric?

 

[Picasso345]

I have room in my fuse box and the know how to run a 220 amp line. Does the 240 volt use less electric?

220 amps? Are you electrocuting elephants or something over there?

I don't know if 240v is more efficient, but if it is it must be negligible.

 

[ganjagoddess]

1.) There is no way you can and or should run a 220amp sub Breaker..

you have to go less than the main breaker. then factor in how many amps are being drawn off that from all the other sub breakers, then see what you have left over, run like a 20 or 30 amp from there (although it is best to do 15's or 20's)

a 1000 watt light draw 9 amps...

you could just plug it into a normal outlet and you will be fine...

and 2.) 240volt also you to draw twice the voltage as half the amperage.

so for example a 1000 watt light on 240v only draws around 4.5 amps..

1000 watt light
120v@9 amps
or
240v@5 amps...

 

[southfloridasean]

I purchased 5 of these Digis & they are fantastic. No regrets.

New 600 Watt 95,000 LM Digital MH/HPS Dual V Ballast - eBay (item 150255408841 end time Jun-11-08 15:33:15 PDT)

New 1000 Watt 150,000 LM Digital MH/HPS Dual V Ballast - eBay (item 260248037171 end time Jun-11-08 14:53:23 PDT)

 

[normlpothead]

Jesus, old thread... Ganjagoddess is the only one who got it right.

Running a 220 volt (not amp) line will save you money, it draws less amperage. If you have a large operation definately run the 220 lines, you've probably already harvested by now. Hahaha

 

[MrFishy]

I know this is an ancient thread, but have a quick digital ballast question.
On the set-up instructions for HTG, there's a pic of a ballast anchored to a concrete wall.
Do I need to firmly secure my new 600 digital ballast.

 

[MisterMicro]

i have a brand spanking new 400 w digital lumatek ballast for sale, 240v with the 240v-120v converter

 

[ganjagoddess]

I know this is an ancient thread, but have a quick digital ballast question.
On the set-up instructions for HTG, there's a pic of a ballast anchored to a concrete wall.
Do I need to firmly secure my new 600 digital ballast.

It is best to have the ballast off the ground if possible, and better to anchor to a heat absorbing material such as concrete if possible...

What I do though is I have my ballasts sitting on ceramic tiles, seems to work well.

 

[normlpothead]

You don't have to secure your ballast, it won't sprout legs and walk away. J/k.

It won't vibrate enough to move anywhere, mine have little rubber feet, they just sit on a ledge encase i want to play toss with em.

Keep off the floor for water reasons.

 

[normlpothead]

This thread isn't worth it, but, the shorter the electric lines the more efficient, I shortened everything in my garden, ran new 220V lines from the panel straight to the growroom and installed a sub panel, and four outlets per room, the ballasts could be mounted on the hoods, but there was a ledge in the room big enough for the ballasts, I shortened all the lines from ballast to amp and used a higher gauge braided wire.

When you're running lots of juice... 8X600W HPS, efficiency and safety is a priority.

 

[normlpothead]

Shorten your ductwork as much as possible too...


Nasty STATIC wastes money.

 

[MrFishy]

The only water upstairs will be from a failed roof in my case. Thanks repliers.