Digital Lumatek lk600 ballast do i need an MH conversion bulb???

just bought a Lumatek lk600 dimmable Digital ballast it says on the paper i can operate both HPS and MH bulbs but not sure if I need a Conversion bulb or just a regular one.Also I can only find 400w regular MH bulb if i want 600w MH it seems like it needs to be a Conversion?

well first is the ballast is a hps one or is it mh if it's hps get a mh conversion bulb and vice versa

There is no such thing as a 600w MH bulb, you have to get a conversion bulb.

^^ lol you're too high. why would they make a 600 hps/mh convertible ballast if there is no 600 watt mh bulbs? if your ballast supports both systems all you need is a 600 watt hps and a 600 watt mh no conversion bulb.

purplecream said:

^^ lol you're too high. why would they make a 600 hps/mh convertible ballast if there is no 600 watt mh bulbs? if your ballast supports both systems all you need is a 600 watt hps and a 600 watt mh no conversion bulb.

Click to expand...

Link me to a place where I can buy a 600w MH bulb.

No you don't need the conversion bulb. If it is a digital ballast it will run either bulb. I've got 2 400w lumatek's.

kidz14 said:

well first is the ballast is a hps one or is it mh if it's hps get a mh conversion bulb and vice versa

Click to expand...

It's digital, it will take both. It's not like old school

SickSadLittleWorld said:

There is no such thing as a 600w MH bulb, you have to get a conversion bulb.

Click to expand...

Correct

purplecream said:

^^ lol you're too high. why would they make a 600 hps/mh convertible ballast if there is no 600 watt mh bulbs? if your ballast supports both systems all you need is a 600 watt hps and a 600 watt mh no conversion bulb.

Click to expand...

Dude , he stated there is no such thing as a MH at 600 watts. There are conversion bulbs though that will convert a 600 watt HPS to MH. The statement that the ballast will take both is a generic statement for the entire line of DIGITAL ballasts.

studs said:

No you don't need the conversion bulb. If it is a digital ballast it will run either bulb. I've got 2 400w lumatek's.

Click to expand...

400 is fine. How about 600? The OP is asking for a 600 watt MH that he can't find!! .

You need the conversion bulb because that's all they have that will give you the MH spectrum at 600 watts. There is a reason why they dont have 600w MH and I don't know why but I will find out!!

Look at the ballast requirement though , it says HPS , ?? Is it really a conversion bulb since it has a wider spectrum than a true MH?

http://www.heartlandhydrogardens.com/index.php?main_page=product_info&cPath=3_131_24_41_42&products_id=110

Sunmasters site shows the bulb as HPS.

That's a conversion bulb.

Different site, same product: http://www.horticulturesource.com/product_info.php?products_id=3078

Sunmaster 600 watt 6K Cool Deluxe Conversion Bulb. Metal Halide Bulb for use in a High Pressure Sodium Ballast. Lamp may be burned in any position.

Click to expand...

THX a million i was pretty sure that a non conversion 600w MH didnt exsist i just needed to hear it from a credible source

does any one no if a 600w MH conversion bulb will operate smoothly in my lumatek?(thought conversion bulbs were designed for mag ballasts)

Yeah, it'll work just fine. But personally, I'd save the $$ and just use the HPS bulb throughout the entire grow.

hmm i see. guess you're right.

Apparently everyone missed the one key factor here. The ballast is dimmable so no you don't need a conversion bulb. Just buy the 400w MH and run it on the 400w setting. Done.

Edit:
Only 750w lumateks are HPS only

The OP didn't state he had the latest generation ballast . Only the latest and greatest model is mult-wattage . He also stated he wanted 60o watts.

The older, more common one is the 600 watt "dimmable" and requires a 600 watt bulb to which it is dimmed to the 400 watt range. I remember seeing a caution to that effect in a brochure somewhere. It was a PDF file stating not to put 400w in a 600 watt ballast.

Maybe he does have the good one I hope. If he does have the latest generation than you are right. But we will need to hear from him if it is Mult-wattage or strictly the dimmable. How bout it Matt, what does the directions say ?

its a multiwattage lumatek with 320 400 600 and super lummens setting

I used to have a link for digital ballast light usage specs but it's long gone.

Let me try to explain how a digital ballast works. It can use both MH and HPS bulbs. See, wasn't that easy? hehe

Seriously tho, the companies that make bulbs still have not been able to make a true 600 watt Metal Halide bulb. You can use a 400 hps or mh in a digital ballast. You can use a 1000 watt hps or mh in a digital ballast. But the 600 watt is only made as an HPS bulb. They add a special part inside the 600 watt hps bulb to create the mh apsect. This is why they call the 600 watt mh a "conversion" bulb. It is actually an hps bulb converted to mh thru the ballast.

I actually like to use the 600 conversion mh bulbs instead of the regular 600 hps. I've done head to head and the 600 mh is better hands down. The downside to these bulbs is that they burn out twice as fast as 600 hps and don't give anywhere near the lumen output of the 600 hps either. But for some strange reason they are better than the 600 hps and have almost 15k to 20k more lumens than the 400 mh.

THX hotwired i wasent sure if it was worth it to get the 600w mh conversion but I will now .HPS is a more efficient light lumens wise but the spectrum it provides(even with blue spectrum added)is not as effective during VEG. Any thoughts on the brand I should use? was looking into the Sunmaster cool deluxe 600w conversion not sure though.

SunPulse makes a 600w mh
http://www.sunpulselamps.com/index.php?page=shop.product_details&flypage=flypage.tpl&product_id=1&category_id=1&option=com_virtuemart&Itemid=6