best 400w hps ballasts

I have almost completely decided to invest in a 400w hps ballast, an interchangable hps/mh would be nice as I might get a second one when/if uncle sam comes thru for tax returns. 400w seems be the best fit for the area I have. What are the best brands for the money. I like the 400w digital ballast they have at htg supply. Will be using this ballast almost comstantly and quality and performance are important. A model that runs cooler would be ideal. Thanks

digital will run cooler, magnetic ballasts are like hondas u can run the piss out of them
and the only time i have seen an only MH or only HPS is old ones so u will probably find you a switchable 400w for around 100 to 120 digital or magnetic digis might be a little more

Nice thanks, I feel like a 16 year old walking into a new car dealerships, everythings the best! And I would be happy with a cfl, lol. Looking to make a good investment, not afraid to spend the extra dough.

then stay away from the cfl and when u go big the 400 will go into ur veg room

Let me edit that post, I won't be happy with a cfl. I will be happy with with dense buds for flowering this go round, and moving that 400 to veg and flower, but any digital is the way to go or is there a top notch brand when it comes to hid lighting?

not really there are some that will run your bulbs on super or make them dimable but both of these are hard on the bulbs
i actually stay away from the big names just cuz they cost twice as much and i have not found a real reason for it yet, i have generic magnetic 1000 watts hps ballasts 100bucks cant beat that

1000w is too much for me to vent right now and way too big for my space I have set up currently. The more I read up on ballast, the more I'm thinking of spending less on ballast and more on bulb and ventilation. Apparently these digital ballast cause interference with cable and sat tv, don't want to raise any suspicions. Air cooled bettet than standard?

Banana444 said:

Apparently these digital ballast cause interference with cable and sat tv, don't want to raise any suspicions. Air cooled bettet than standard?

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And that right there is reason enough to go with a reputable brand. Not to mention that you don't want some poorly designed chinese junk burning your house down. I avoid anything with a fan as the fan will fail before the ballast and a ballast dependent on a fan will not last long without the fan running. The fans are usually proprietary and thereby it can be difficult to find a replacement a couple years down the line.

I'd stick with the ballasts from either Hydrofarm or Sunlight Supply (distributors). Have had great results with Hydrofarm Phantom and Lumatek.

Thanks I will be reading up on those brands, I got about a week to make a decision.