equipment price question

so I have been looking for different prices on 2 600w ballasts, 2 600w bulbs, and a yield master 2 reflector. I just had someone say they would do all that for 465 but the ballasts are magnetic and im sure the bulbs are just plantmaxs. Is this worth it?

I would go with digital ballasts... Lumatek or Quantum

I bought 2 Quantum dig 1000w ballasts for $225 each at my local hydro store. I say spend the extra bucks for the big guns because you can dial them down until you need the full 1000w. Bat wing reflectors are cheap and work well if you can move the heat.

Good luck!!

donutpunched said:

I would go with digital ballasts... Lumatek or Quantum

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Why lumatek or quantum,what benifits do these 2 brands offer that warrant reccomending those specific manufacturers.

Both brands are the most expensive on the market,both also have munafacturers that claim superior performance vs competitor products,while claiming superior performance the brand Lumatek has been plagued with extremely high ballast failure rates.

Why are you reccomending the most expensive manufacturers when the op is looking for a deal,especially Lumatek which is a product with a proven high total failure rate ? The internet is full of unhappy lumatek owners.

Most of the hype surrounding lumatek & quantum being superior gear is spread by unscrouplous hydro shop owners who only care about pushing the most expensive gear,& by shills who work for them & push their gear on forums.

The link above from HTG offers quality gear at affordable prices & their in house brand has a great no questions asked replacement warranty,they are the largest imdependant hydro store in the USA & have great customer service,before & after the sale.

My review & reccomendation is based on my personal use/ownership of over 20 various wattage ballasts,both magnetic & digital alike,my htg digital ballasts have functioned perfectly,some digitals as long as 6 years trouble free.

I did have one problem with htg though,i ordered 24 of their in house brand 600 watt hps bulbs,they shipped 18 hps & 6 mh conversion bulbs,i called & complained about the 6 wrong bulbs & they appologized & sent me 6 hps bulbs,they let me keep the 6 conversion bulbs for my trouble,they are a kick ass manufacturer & i stand by my review of their products.

I have a 600w galaxy hps/mh ballast and I would certainly recommend one to anyone. It is silent and trouble free. 5 year warranty. I have used it with both bulbs and it works great. I see one on Amazon right now for $139.00. Think I paid $225 for mine at a hydro shop and in my opinion it's worth every penny. BTW I can recommend the great white hood and the blazer hood. They both work real well and seal up nicely.

465 for 2 ballast, 2 bulbs, and 1 hood?
it's about right for used equip
if the bulbs are very used, they are pretty much worthless, but if the bulbs are new than thats a pretty good deal as bulbs add up.
i have bought new equipment and used, ive found there are some things that might be better buying new, ie ballast and bulbs, youll shell out more, but when stuff breaks, the store will honor the warranty.
ive had good and bad experiences with lumatek ballast (400 dimable had a ballast problem), the store did honor the warranty, im now running galaxy, and lumatek dimable and have been very happy with both, esp the galaxy (5 year warranty)

Count me as a plus one for the Galaxy ballast. I got my 600w for $115 (USD) from Greners during their Thanksgiving/Black Friday sale. It has been running like a silent little champ for about a month now. It's not dimmable, though, if that's important to you.

I also own a 400w digital ballast from HTG. It works, but it's louder than my 400w magnetic ballast. It has been running without problems for about 18 months or so. In my experience, the HTG branded products are cheaply made with low-grade components. This is, of course, just one person's opinion, and your mileage may vary.

I am currently running 14 quantums qnd 12 lumateks and have had zero problems...