New digital ballast making too much noise

Hey, I just got a 400w digital ballast, (Digital Greenhouse, from HTG supply) and it's making more noise than a normal 175w metal halide ballast I had that blew. It makes about as much noise as a desktop computer...if not more. Is this normal or should I shut it off and call HTG supply on Fri, (as I doubt they'll be open tomorrow)? It seems to be running fine and the plants are loving it, but the amount of noise, (when it claims to be "whisper quiet") is worrying me.

As far as I know, they are supposed to be really quiet. I would call.
Ive never owned a digital one tho , so im not 100% sure.. but u would think the digital one should be alot quieter.

Ya, a digital ballast makes zero noise.

Well that scares me...i planned on ordering that same ballast from htgsupply.com

let me know how this turns out please

htg products are cheap in cost and in quality

I have read this happening and they will send you a new one prob with out you having to send one back in. This is not the first time. Work it so you keep that one. gL man!

digital ballasts are silent, go with Lumatek. Very sexy ballast.

Khemi said:

digital ballasts are silent, go with Lumatek. Very sexy ballast.

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that sound like a good sound decision


long term preformance and reliablity

lumatek's ballast are def the way to go. They have a 5 year warranty on top of the quality and performance If htg lets you.... you should try and return yours for store credit and then get a nice 400w. Thats if you can. Im not sure how there return policy goes.

blacksnow said:

Well that scares me...i planned on ordering that same ballast from htgsupply.com

let me know how this turns out please

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It scares me because this is the 2nd ballast I've ordered from the 2nd company I've tried...the first was a 175w MH that blew in the first 15 minutes from some guy on ebay...I was hoping this was a step up quality-wise. I doubt I'll get ahold of them today, but as soon as I do I'll update.

Khemi said:

digital ballasts are silent, go with Lumatek. Very sexy ballast.

Click to expand...

The tragic part is that I was looking at Lumatek ballasts, but the prices threw me towards HTG. Arrghh.

So after several phone calls hitting the answering machine, I finally get a guy who says that the ballasts are supposed to make some noise. When I mention this one isn't exactly "whisper quiet", and that it actually wakes me up when it clicks on, he asks if I still have their address and tells me if I don't like the noise I can send it back for a new one...on my dime apparently...with no light on my plants in the meantime. Not too happy here. I plan on buying the Lumatek from someone else when I have the $ and then sending the HTG one back and asking for a refund/store credit. Shit.

well i would call again and say they have false avertized and if u havent posted feedback ur in good shape tell them u would like to resolve the problem without bad mouthing them on ebay and ask to talk with the manager before u even say who u are
i bought a tent from them and it was very tight fit and when i tried to put it on like the directions said it ripped called them told them and they sent me a new one just over exagerate say its really loud like u can hear it in another room they send u a new one or try for ur refund good luck

I don't have to exaggerate, I can hear it in the other room! Just ordered a Lumatek off ebay from a local, real, solid grow shop, will call HTG tomorrow and try again.

*Sigh* the light shit the bed this morning. It's the bulb this time, (I think) since the ballast still turns on and buzzes like a bitch like it always has. My plants are without light right now, I'm broke, waiting for my 3rd ballast in 2 months to arrive, and really pissed. My advice so far, it's better to save and spend more $ upfront, than go for a "too good to be true" deal and end up with broken cheapo crap, no more $, and no light on your plants. This sucks, 2+ weeks in, and NO light.

seriously mam, you are not the first guy who had this happen. If it was from htg they should send you a new one at no cahrge and let you keep to the old one to avoid shipping charge. I have read enviuosly as some customers ending up getting to keep two like a 100 times. One guy told them his did not work and they sent him a new one, the reason he found out t ddnt work was tha the did not put a bulb in! Lol, they notiruos nice in the shipping. I have used their sustomer servie before and the were fast. I cant speak on quality, i hear you on price, i cant beat their 600 watt deal.
call them again, make sure you tell them it is a lot of noise! Dont ever waiver!

your bulb should not have gone so fast either. so even if the bulb is fried it sound like you got a faulty ballast from the start.

and as stated, from everything I've read HTG does usually make good on bad hardware they send.

If they don't seem like they are wanting to help just let them know others on the forums have informed you that they, HTG, usually takes care of their customers, and everyone is waiting to see how they handle this one.

Ok, got off the phone with HTG, they offered to replace the entire system, but since I only need the ballast and bulb they said they'd refund the ballast + bulb, and I used some of the refund/credit to get a Agromax MH conversion bulb and an Agromax HPS for the new ballast. *whew*...now if only everything would hurry up and get here. I had to send the old ballast and bulb back at a cost of $12, so I'm at a net loss here.

glad you got some resolution, i got a bad ph pen, the ebay company wants me to contact hanna myself and complain. They are a wholsaler and wont do anything. Lame.

Got my Lumatek from N.E. hydro today, it came super fast, and it looks tight...just waiting on the bulbs from HTG now. Hopefully the 3rd try is the charm, and I won't have any more problems.