abudsmoker....
you swear by lumatek?
this is a loaded question.......
let me point out my thoughts and oppions on this.
Lumatek is from the uk. they used a different voltage.
So us branded models were different.
Thefirst real E ballast that was stable were silver.
the real draw back was no reflector. and all the cordsets were intergrated.
Then late 2005 hydrofarm picked them up. they made the cordsets removable and painted the ballast blue.
(these are the absolute best IMO) these were production run till late o6, at this point they Changed the ballasts again, in and out. the First gen purple ballasts were late o6 run. the latter o7 purple models have become buggy.
they also just released a 1000 watt 120 volt model and it wont burn halide.
Some of the other issues are power up delay,
Some of the 600 models overpower bulbs causing shaking or distortion of the arch tub assembly.
my local guy sells 14-25 a month. 3 issues total over the last year. i have had 0 and i own a large Cache of these.
However i note nearly all my ballasts are blue or first gen purple, i only run 1000 watt 240 volt versions. all other models are operated @ 120.
I Swear by these or PL light systems.
the reason i like these models is they are LAB proven to drive your lights harder. in most cases 10% more. there are simply too many benifits to list.
28 ballasts 0 issues.... i would stand behind that.
For the record..... i own one HTG Ballast also