• Here is a link to the full explanation: https://rollitup.org/t/welcome-back-did-you-try-turning-it-off-and-on-again.1104810/

Preferred 1000 watt hps brand

hornedfrog2000

Well-Known Member
Lumatek for midrange. Hortilux for bulb. Bought two quantums, and one took a shit. My two lumateks are still running strong. Who know if that means quantum is junk or not because that is a small sample size. That being said I'm going to replace my quantum that blew with a lumatek. You want top of the line Phantom is the way to go imo.
 

see4

Well-Known Member
Ushio or any decent cheap bulb will do the trick. You can get 2 or 3 cheaps sunleaf bulbs for the same price as one H Eye. 3 cheap sunleaf bulbs will last you much longer than that 1 H Eye. And yes the H Eye has slightly better lumen output... but unless you have your grow down to an exact science, it wont make much of a difference.

For ballast, Lumatek has done the trick for me. I also have a greenhouse brand ballast that has lasted just as long. I also have 4 magnetic ballasts that are doing really well too.
For peace of mind, go with Lumatek if your heart is set on a digital ballast.
 

bigv1976

Well-Known Member
Imo a digital ballast is a digital ballast and most of the people that reccomend Hortilux are doing so based on the fact that 10 years ago they added more light in the bluish range. I know for a fact that Hortilux has a huge problem with lumen depreciation. I run DG ballasts and Digital Plus bulbs. My 600 watt DP bulbs are almost a year old and are still putting out close to 90,000 lumens for $50 and they add the extra blue light just like hortilux and every other bulb now.
 

neosapien

Well-Known Member
I have 3 (600) Digital Greenhouse ballasts each going on 5+ years. Never a problem with either one. Bulbs I use are whatever deal the grow shop guys throw me. My buddy has a 1000 Lumatek and likes it. Not sure what bulb he uses. CN, please enlighten Neo on these "Ushio" bulbs. Your using them must mean something, as you're kind of smart.
 

see4

Well-Known Member
Ushio bulbs are great. I use them in my garden. I have a lumen sensor and Ushio bulbs tend to keep up high range lumens better than other bulbs. Ebay has them at really good prices.
 

neosapien

Well-Known Member
Thanks see4. Unfortunately the one item I've ever bought on Ebay resulted in a high-jack and complete drain of my checking account. It took 3 months to complete the damn investigation and refund my money. I've had a permanent stop payment on paypal for 6+ years now lol. Thanks for letting me know the dealio though.
 

silasraven

Well-Known Member
I have 3 (600) Digital Greenhouse ballasts each going on 5+ years. Never a problem with either one. Bulbs I use are whatever deal the grow shop guys throw me. My buddy has a 1000 Lumatek and likes it. Not sure what bulb he uses. CN, please enlighten Neo on these "Ushio" bulbs. Your using them must mean something, as you're kind of smart.
more like pray for me to have such good memory skills, and regurgitation skills. random ballast off ebay, but still say 150 minisun will do some decent things. go with a cooltube.
 

joe macclennan

Well-Known Member
Thanks see4. Unfortunately the one item I've ever bought on Ebay resulted in a high-jack and complete drain of my checking account. It took 3 months to complete the damn investigation and refund my money. I've had a permanent stop payment on paypal for 6+ years now lol. Thanks for letting me know the dealio though.
I use ebay frequently. Rarely have problems.
 

cannabineer

Ursus marijanus
I have 3 (600) Digital Greenhouse ballasts each going on 5+ years. Never a problem with either one. Bulbs I use are whatever deal the grow shop guys throw me. My buddy has a 1000 Lumatek and likes it. Not sure what bulb he uses. CN, please enlighten Neo on these "Ushio" bulbs. Your using them must mean something, as you're kind of smart.
Sorry; not the result of a very rational process. I used Hortilux way back when. Now I'm running Ushio (I was charmed by their having a 600W MH for my HPS ballast), like'm, am getting good results. I don't think I'll spend the markup any time soon to compare to Hortilux.
And buying a cheap bulb now won't teach me anything unless I buy a fresh premium bumb as a comparison. One of these days I need to get myself a light meter and stop guessing about when a bulb is done. cn
 

see4

Well-Known Member
Sorry; not the result of a very rational process. I used Hortilux way back when. Now I'm running Ushio (I was charmed by their having a 600W MH for my HPS ballast), like'm, am getting good results. I don't think I'll spend the markup any time soon to compare to Hortilux.
And buying a cheap bulb now won't teach me anything unless I buy a fresh premium bumb as a comparison. One of these days I need to get myself a light meter and stop guessing about when a bulb is done. cn
Light meters are dirt cheap. I picked mine up for under $40. Definitely worth it. Great for knowing when to swap bulbs for new ones, and great for telling which LEDs are bullshit.
 

cannabineer

Ursus marijanus
Light meters are dirt cheap. I picked mine up for under $40. Definitely worth it. Great for knowing when to swap bulbs for new ones, and great for telling which LEDs are bullshit.
Got a recommendation, esp. from Amazon? cn
 

see4

Well-Known Member
Thanks see4. Unfortunately the one item I've ever bought on Ebay resulted in a high-jack and complete drain of my checking account. It took 3 months to complete the damn investigation and refund my money. I've had a permanent stop payment on paypal for 6+ years now lol. Thanks for letting me know the dealio though.
crap neo, sorry to hear that. well i think you may have just the same luck with amazon then.

yea, ive had an ebay account for about a decade now, never had an issue. i had a money issue in paypal once... but it was taken care of in a matter of a few days.
 

dbkick

Well-Known Member
I try to figure out why everyone says lumatek when there's solistek and hydrofarm phantoms. if you'll look at the sunpulse page and take a look at the thd the lumatek put out using their lamps you'll see why they got such a horrible rating (and since they've gotten one star from sunpulse they aren't certified anymore) . also I've seen a lot of toasted ( I mean really toasted) lumateks up at the hydro store, melted to fuck would be the right description on one. solis-tek and hortilux.
 
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