Digital Ballast Vs. Analog Ballast

[phaquetoo]

Good info thanks guys! I burnt out 2 600 watt hps in less than a yr on my digital ballast, sure glad I bought a magnetic back up ballast, now I need one for my veg room. I did my last run with t-5's took alot longer but no problems!

 

Yea on the digital ballast my bulbs turned black on the ends also, I bought a package deal, I kinda figured I got a fake/ copy bulb off of ebay, but after that one blew,  I went and bought one at a hydro store close to home same thing happened with that bulb, man I was pissed yea 2 bulbs a yr is as much as i paid for the dig ballast and bulb!

 

Peace

Jim

[+Malamute]

I think Hortilux's explanation is straight up and exactly true.

 

Bottom line,  just make sure ya get the right bulb for your ballasts.  You can almost always contact the ballast company and ask them which bulbs are preferred for your ballast type etc.

 

 That's about it.

[pergamum362]

I think Hortilux's explanation is straight up and exactly true.

 

Bottom line,  just make sure ya get the right bulb for your ballasts.  You can almost always contact the ballast company and ask them which bulbs are preferred for your ballast type etc.

 

 That's about it.

right on.

[garyfisher]

hortiluxs explanation is not straight up.  What a bunch of jokers.  I have high quality solistek ballasts and it is burning them up.  The bulbs claim to be good for digital.  I've even emailed them and asked.  So...

 

What is the best brand of bulbs for digi ballasts? Digilux?

[+Malamute]

Depends...

 

This is what Solis Tek says:

 

Don’t buy H.I.D. lamps and electronic ballasts that aren’t a matched set!

Buying mis-matched components creates hardware conflicts that cause pre-mature failures!

 

 

 I assume this means you must use Solis Tek bulbs with their ballasts.

[SFC]

I have had really good luck with my digitals matched with bulbs made for digitals.   Sure magnetics are easy to repair, but I also like the fact that the digitals are silent and run cool.

[+Malamute]

Totally.

 

They have definitely been getting better and will likely get better as they progress with electronic ballasts.

[phaquetoo]

Totally.

 

They have definitely been getting better and will likely get better as they progress with electronic ballasts.

I have a digibox dp-eb 600/400 It can use hps and mh, I liked the fact i could use 400 watt in my room in case i had a hard time keeping the heat and humidity on track!

 

It says no where on the box what bulbs match to it, they sent me plant max 600 watt both hps and mh with the ballast, ive not ran an mh bulb with it, i was thinking of puting my magnetic in the bloom and the digital in the veg next time around, I guess i should find the right mh bulb for the digital, or should i just get another ballast?

 

any suggestions, the digital is so much cooler and quieter, but what ever works best is what I need, plus I dont need no darn fires!

 

Peace

Jim

[kak1963]

not to start a argument.. but i don't see the fire thing as true...  i have been running lumatek ballast for what 8 years now .. i still have the first 400 watt silver one running.. i have never had a bulb burst yet.. they burn out some bulbs faster as they run a higher frequency .thus matching is harder like hortalux says... but i still dont see the fire hazard.. i have runn my 400 watt metal halides on 600 watts for a few months before they stopped working and then found out i forgot to dail them down to 400.. but the bulbs did not burst. the ends turned black silver and just stopped working.. them ballast  also have a safety shut off  in them.. and ya know in all my time of doing this i never seen a bulb burst so a fire could start.. with either type.. heck at the local hydro store there has never been a bulb brought back with the glass broke from the ballast..

[+Malamute]

???

 

Well I assume since you haven't died in a car accident that no one does?

 

Heh.

 

It isn't an opinion that this happens.  It also wasn't an opinion that 1000watt digitals/electronic ballasts caused such bad interference that the police may show up your house.

 

 As I have said, the digitals are getting much better.  It is a new technology that has had its flaws which are slowly being resolved.

 

 I am just saying, be wise and be safe and make sure you are using the proper bulbs.

[+Malamute]

Read Full Story:  http://www.advancedtechlighting.com/edbfp.htm

 

Electronic & Digital Ballast Fact Page.

There's allot of misinformation out there regarding Non ANSI & Non UL Electronic & Digital Ballast's
Hopefully you find this page useful.
If you have any information we miss we will gladly review it.
You can find a few ANSI AND UL Electronic & Digital Ballast's
However those are clearly Marked and Known.

We are discussing the Non ANSI and Non UL Electronic & Digital Ballast's

Below are Txt Images extracted from there respective sources Listed Directly above the image or Txt.
Also our own opinions based on fact and our experience as a Commercial Lighting Company in the R&D-Manufacture-Product Testing

The short version, If you Electronic & Digital Ballast does not have an ANSI or UL listing you ought to look for a ballast that does.
This is not due to marketing reasons rather to obtain full life from the lamp aswell as ensure all safety rules are adhered to.

If you Notice there are No Commercially Sold Electronic & Digital Ballast's that do both HPS and MH
There are several reasons for this, when it comes to Commercial Reliability and overall Costs vs Payback, etc.

Lamps and ballasts need to be matched 100% when considering non ANSI Rated Electronic & Digital Ballast Ballasts.
IE Custom Lamp/Ballast Packages or in the Horticulture Realm where these non ANSI & Non UL Listed Balalsts
 
The Simple reason is if its not ANSI rated it may not Provide the majority of lamps there full potential, or cause a fire hazard.

There are many reasons for this.

1.
We have found 99% of all Horticulture Electronic & Digital Ballast's are High Frequency 400Hz-40,000Hz
Hz is the frequency of the power, The Cycles IE Pulses
IE 60Hz (USA Power) is 60 Cycles IE Pulses Per Second.
400Hz is 400 Cycles IE Pulses Per Second
40,000Hz is 40,000 Cycles IE Pulses Per Second
while in lamens theory the higher the better as it becomes closer to Direct Current.

However the problem is 99.99999999% of all lamps are designed for 50-60Hz
*with the exception of the specific Lamps Made for Very Specific Electronic & Digital Ballast, we will cover those below.

That is one of the ANSI standards that is not met by these Horticulture Branded Electronic & Digital Ballast

To a lamp that is designed for ANSI Hz rather its getting the High Hz that can and literally rattles most lamps apart
IE the Arc tube disconnects from the Holders, thus not providing full life and can cause a rupture of the arc tube or other issues.


This Proudly Posted @ Lumatek's WebSite
http://www.lumatek.co.uk/index.php/products/general-product-information.html (at the bottom of page)
"If a unit has any leaking resin please relocate to a cooler area or place a fan near the ballasts."
If left unatennded and the resin leaks on something hotter It could caouse other issues or fires from something else overheating or igniting the resen.
That is not something you will ever hear from Philips, Advance, GE, Sylvania, Matsushita Electric Works, ETC

None of the Electronic & Digital Ballast's We have found without a ANSI and UL listing have a Lamp shut off feature.
That will stop the ballast from Hot-Restriking the lamp While Hot or at end of life.
This is not good for any lamp even Hot restrike Xenon Lamps that are made for Hot Restrike.

As far as the Electronic & Digital Ballast's Clamed  Electricity Savings.
Outright this is debunked by the Cost difference from magnetic to Electronics upfront & Cost to run for 15+ Years.
Below we list a 3rd parties Test Results to Confirm this statement.

Another Problem In the horticulture Realm  if a Electronic & Digital Ballast fails you can not service them (90%)
Unlike Magnetic Core that are typically 3 parts all available locally.
To a Plant hours is life and death, at the very least Stress that can cause Undesirable effects.

Yet another issue not all  Electronic & Digital Ballast's output there Rated Watts
(we find this to in Low quality Magnetic Ballasts)
Below we list a 3rd parties Test Results to Confirm this statement

(there will be more added soon)


Here is what GE has to say about  Electronic & Digital Ballast's

Electronic Ballasts
Electronic Ballasts use solid-state electronic components to start and operate the ballasts.
Electronic ballasts often use IC chips and feedback to implement better controls, and safety
features into ballasts. Electronic ballasts typically operate much more efficiently than similar
Electromagnetic Ballasts. A few other benefits are small size, lightweight, improved lumen maintenance, fault mode protection and better power regulation, which results in better color consistency.

Low Frequency Lamp Operation
GE analysis of internal and competitive HID lamps suggests that the most compatible driving
waveform for an electronic ballast is a Low Frequency Square Wave (L.F.S.W.) with low higher
order harmonic content. L.F.S.W. has been long established as a dependable method of ballasting low Wattage HID lamps with significant industry standards support.
Analysis of lamp data has shown that there are limited operating bands between 1 kHz to 200 kHz in which an electronic
ballast could operate a lamp wattage family without causing unacceptable arc instability due to Acoustic Resonance.
 Trend analysis of the A.R. maps show that this range extends well beyond 200 kHz. When the A.R.
structure maps are overlaid there is no consistent frequency band, which can be identified as a stable location for ballast operation.
There are large variations in the A.R. structure maps between multiple lamp vendors and from lamp type to
 lamp type or burn position. A.R. may cause visual annoyance, lamp cycling, shorten lamp life, and in extreme
cases result in arc tube rupture. Specific matched lamp – ballast high frequency systems can be stable, however they limit
the extent that the individual members can be modified for future improvements. Additionally, there
 is no data on the long-term stability of the A.R. maps due to aging of the lamp. Future re-lamping may
also create an unstable system due to changes in lamp arc tube geometry or manufacture.

Lamp performance points to be considered:
Data on Electronic ballast technology has shown that it can greatly improve the lumen maintenance of HID lamps over traditional EM reactor
or CWA ballast systems. However, no data are available to support improved lamp performance on High Frequency vs. Low Frequency Square Wave driving waveforms

Conclusions:
GE recommends operation of its high wattage CMH® and PulseArc® QMH HID lamps on electronic ballasts that use a
Low Frequency Square Wave output such as the UltraMax® HID ballast, GE-MH-250-400-MAX-208-207 or similar for optimal lamp performance.

High Frequency
GE does not make high frequency HID ballasts due to reasons described in the Low Frequency Lamp Operation section above.
However, high frequency operation is applicable for matched lamp ballast systems.
Caution must be taken when designing these systems for an application to make sure that the ballast and lamp are compatible to avoid premature lamp failure and safe operation.

 

I just thought this covers some of the basics.

[kak1963]

???

 

Well I assume since you haven't died in a car accident that no one does?

 

Heh.

 

It isn't an opinion that this happens.  It also wasn't an opinion that 1000watt digitals/electronic ballasts caused such bad interference that the police may show up your house.

 

 As I have said, the digitals are getting much better.  It is a new technology that has had its flaws which are slowly being resolved.

 

 ya dont have to get snappy lol.. i agree they have father to go but i have herd more fires from bad wiring  . i diff agree on using the right bulbs also... i just dont think the fire risk is that bad ..but at least they have a breaker .... u have gr8 info... and i agree like u said they have come a long way i run six now . and do like them more then my buzz boxes i used to run.. remember they also started many fires in the day..  but probably more from bad wiring...nice talk for sure... thanks for the info... ps i dont run 1000 watters so maybe i dont qualify in this talk... 600 here....