lumatek or quantum E-ballast

best product in E-ballast


  • Total voters
    108

pitbull420

Well-Known Member
I'm just saying from all the research I've done on these two ballast it seems more people have had serious problems with the lumateks then the Quantums.. Anything ranging from bulbs constantly blowing to basllast going out in less then a month to more serious electrical problems...
 

jkmovies

Active Member
I'm just saying from all the research I've done on these two ballast it seems more people have had serious problems with the lumateks then the Quantums.. Anything ranging from bulbs constantly blowing to basllast going out in less then a month to more serious electrical problems...
Where? I found nothing like that. Do you have a different internet than me?
 

RawBudzski

Well-Known Member
Lumatek is win I am running 2x 600s. never fail and HPS Super Lumen Switch makes you feel warm inside. :D
 

Rrog

Well-Known Member
I'm going through this decision process right now myself. Any other comments? Both seem to have a strong following, so I imagine you're great with either. I've heard a few places about Lumatek and bulbs, but haven't heard as much in the way of negatives for the Quantum.
 

Total Head

Well-Known Member
i've been using a lumatek for almost 2 years (400w) and i have not had a single issue. i don't even use special "dig ballast bulbs" and my bulb over a year old and still fine (although in need of replacement). i use an eye hortilux super hps bulb. the thing makes no noise at all and i like the fact that it's dimmable and both bulb types can be used. if there is a short circut the unit will shut down for safety. the warranty is very good, also. my bulb warms up fully in about 4 minutes. most people agree that they are also more efficiant with electricity use and lumitek claims the light is more stable. you can use blubs of different wattages in the higher watt units. plus they look cool :eyesmoke:
 

Rrog

Well-Known Member
Both have fiercely loyal followers. Nice to be able to compare two quality items like this.

Do they both still draw full power even when dimmed?
 

RELIC5150

Active Member
i have a 1000 watt quantum i got because its the only digi ballast of its kind that uses a safe frequency like 60 hz which is the same as magnetic ballast,plus its a no brainer to know lumatecs fail all the time because they have no built in fan and operate at unsafe hz , also theres a difference between electronic ballast like the ones many people call "digis" even though theyre not, and digital ballast like quantum, the difference is that digital ballast are smart ballast and electronic are not, also because most ballast like lumatek are electro ballast without fans, they can get too hot and fry because they cool using heat sink transfer,instead of transfering heat with a combo of fans and fins ( the fins help cool ballast)they only use fins.also when u "overclock" bulbs with super lumens feature of lumatek u get alot more heat,as far as magnetic ballast theres not much difference between mag and digis except dimming, noise and maybe 30 or 40 watts diff. but with mag ballast u can use many types of bulbs that u cant use on digi. overall im happy with quantum( 3 years ) but im probably going with vho t5s next time i buy or maybe even a mag ballast for half quantum + lamp price. im using water cooled liquid lumens with bubbleponics systems all around,will post pics later.
 

meowth

Active Member
i have a 1000 watt quantum i got because its the only digi ballast of its kind that uses a safe frequency like 60 hz which is the same as magnetic ballast,plus its a no brainer to know lumatecs fail all the time because they have no built in fan and operate at unsafe hz , also theres a difference between electronic ballast like the ones many people call "digis" even though theyre not, and digital ballast like quantum, the difference is that digital ballast are smart ballast and electronic are not, also because most ballast like lumatek are electro ballast without fans, they can get too hot and fry because they cool using heat sink transfer,instead of transfering heat with a combo of fans and fins ( the fins help cool ballast)they only use fins.also when u "overclock" bulbs with super lumens feature of lumatek u get alot more heat,as far as magnetic ballast theres not much difference between mag and digis except dimming, noise and maybe 30 or 40 watts diff. but with mag ballast u can use many types of bulbs that u cant use on digi. overall im happy with quantum( 3 years ) but im probably going with vho t5s next time i buy or maybe even a mag ballast for half quantum + lamp price. im using water cooled liquid lumens with bubbleponics systems all around,will post pics later.
Some say fans as moving parts make the ballast more prone to fail.
 

RELIC5150

Active Member
that is untrue because if it fails it becomes the same as one without fans, its not like it runs fans because its hotter but rather because it protects it from the number one cause of failure in electronics,overheating.also both ballast save electricity when u dim them, all dimmable ballast save electricity when dimmed, i have tested this with a meter.
 

kbo ca

Active Member
I have to drop my two coins here. Just had my lumatek blow a fuse, called the company rep and he said i need to return it and get a new one. If you don't mind sending your ballast back in everytime a fuse blows and having your garden sit in the dark while you wait, then don't worry about it. I will never use another digital ballast in my grow room, they aren't worth the trouble.
 

Sir.Ganga

New Member
Umm.....Im not sure...
power003.jpg

Had Q's did'nt last, cost too much.

Looks GREAT though!

Im back to stay with the Lumies:clap:

IMO

Vaper
 
that is untrue because if it fails it becomes the same as one without fans, its not like it runs fans because its hotter but rather because it protects it from the number one cause of failure in electronics,overheating.also both ballast save electricity when u dim them, all dimmable ballast save electricity when dimmed, i have tested this with a meter.
Companies don't put extra stuff in - esp things like fans (that are another moving part that fail - most common failure in PCs) - if they don't need it - OR if they're putting it in for backup - in which case they push that redundancy hard in all their ads.

Read them both. From the manufacture site.

Quantum doesn't say "we put in a fan as backup but you don't really need it". They say "we have a fan to help cool it".

Lumatek says (paraphrasing) "with careful design we eliminated the need for a fan thus eliminating a failure point"

So Lumatek has specifically designed cooling - as well as most likely component sizing - to not need a fan to run properly. Quantum has not. And likely everything about the design is dependent on that (smaller MOSFETS, over or less-under driven components, etc).

So you can't just say Quantum with dead fan is just like a Lumatek that never came with one. Such a comparison is just too simplistic.

For another quote about "unsafe hz" that's also not founded in reality. Darn near every electronic power supply, embedded or not, that isn't some old huge wall-wart ,is a switcher, and they all run at very high frequency. 40-100khz. They do that because all of the circuitry is both more efficient and more compact at those frequencies. . On that same line, even car/electronics inverters go 12V -> 145V (usually) and then down convert to the target voltage. These (both, or all) are probably doing just that (common design) and then down converting to bulb voltage not 12V (and leaving it A/C not DC) So if you're worried about safety of switcher frequencies put a tin foil jacket on because you're surrounded by them ;)

Which is better? I dunno. I just ordered a Lumatek 250 dimmable. Based on exactly this type of discussion - apparently better electronics design by my read of specs. And having often to fight fans in computers know they're a failure point (that type of fan is highly dependent on quality). On the other hand, I have a Vector car Inverter that has a fan. And at 10+ years, it's a noisy one for the first 10 minutes. And it needs to fan to run full load. But it's still OK.

There do also seem to be a lot of truly crappy clones. What's the quote? "Go ghetto and expect ghetto". But for Lumatek and Quantum: by my read and the fiercely loyal followers, both would probably serve you well. The Lumatek at least won't have a fan fail to shut it down (even if temporary may affect your grow). Just don't go ghetto.

I felt (from their docs) Lumatek spent more time and electronics on a better more reliable design. So I went that way.

I'll also note that PCHydro has Lumatek 250W dimmable for $90 which is an outstanding price.
 
Found this thread because I wanted to know more about digital ballast...I'm a first time grower..I went to the hydro store on Tuesday. i don't know the in and out about Digital ballast but I went there for a 600w Lumatek.. because of people on "here" advised me on that brand...Anyhow, the store recommend that I don't use Lumatek because of their excessive heat and high failure rate. They did have them in store for people who won't use anything else though. Well instead I left with a 600w Infinite Ballast. This one has a fan in it, comes with 5 years warranty, it's said 99.9 powerfactor, dimmable 600.400.250 on the box. I plug it in today and it's runs cool I guess. So I went to 2 store in LA, one of them didn't have 600w Lumatek and the other recommend I don't use them.
View attachment 2141231
 

mantiszn

Well-Known Member
The truth of the matter is, people in the hydro store will sell you whatever they make the highest profit margin on
And they will tell you whatever you want to hear to make that sale.

Fans are great for cooling, but like it has been mentioned, what happens when that fan stops spinning? 5 year warranty? Great but what is going to illuminate your garden whilst organising a replacement.

also that 5 year is the standard 3 year full 2 year prorated


Found this thread because I wanted to know more about digital ballast...I'm a first time grower..I went to the hydro store on Tuesday. i don't know the in and out about Digital ballast but I went there for a 600w Lumatek.. because of people on "here" advised me on that brand...Anyhow, the store recommend that I don't use Lumatek because of their excessive heat and high failure rate. They did have them in store for people who won't use anything else though. Well instead I left with a 600w Infinite Ballast. This one has a fan in it, comes with 5 years warranty, it's said 99.9 powerfactor, dimmable 600.400.250 on the box. I plug it in today and it's runs cool I guess. So I went to 2 store in LA, one of them didn't have 600w Lumatek and the other recommend I don't use them.
View attachment 2141231
 

Rrog

Well-Known Member
The truth of the matter is, people in the hydro store will sell you whatever they make the highest profit margin on
And they will tell you whatever you want to hear to make that sale.
True. This sums up the whole grow industry, sad to say. We'd all be growing in soil if it were not for this.
 

somedude247

Well-Known Member
Just a side-note Im not sure anyone has touched on, but I noticed with my dimmable ballast (600w Quantum-but Lumatek is awesome also) that the color spectrums of the bulbs change with each setting and saw significant decrease in plant response and not much decrease in heat with lower settings. If youre not running 100%, you dont know what colors you light is producing. My Digilux MH turns orangeish when dimmed and my plants didnt like it, even moving the light closer. Just what Ive noticed anyways.
 

BLVDog

Well-Known Member
anyone used this Ice-Pack-Ballast-Fan-for-600w-1000w-Ballasts? kinda seems like the company knows there product has aflaw and made this to help
 
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