Digilux HPS Bulbs

[Green007]

Has anybody evere used these bulbs? I was thinking about trying one with my Nextgen Ballast. They say the bulbs are made to work with the quick start of electric ballasts and NOT to use them with magnetic ballasts. So does this mean I DO NOT need a 15min delay switch?

I was thinking about using this one CAP High Temp Shut Down w/15 min Delay

Digilux 600W Enhanced Blue Spectrum HPS Grow Bulb
[601045]
$69.90

Digilux 600W Enhanced Blue Spectrum HPS Grow Bulb

Engineered to operate on electronic digital ballasts; not recommended for use with magnetic ballasts
25% more Blue/Violet spectral energy than standard metal halide bulbs
Initial lumens: 95,000 compared to Hortilux 600W Super HPS with 88,000 lumens
Warranty: 1-year

 

[Bandit420]

As long as you evacuate the heat from the lamp you should'nt need that device. That thing is for shutting down lights if the space gets too hot and the 15 min delay is just so the ballast does'nt hot start when the space cools enough for the light to come back on.

Those devices are intended more for large commercial gardens with multiple 1K lamps.
Go with a large inline blower w/ an air cooled reflector and you'll be fine as far as heat goes. Look for something in the 450-700cfm range.

 

[Green007]

Good, I think a 6" Vortex Fan should do it with an AC Hood.

So Bandit, I know you've used a lot of different bulbs, did you ever try this one? I thought maybe it was new because I never saw it before.

If I get some positive feed back about it, I may try the 400W HPS version in place of a 400W MH for veggin'. I know, I know, but I've seen some grow journals where HPS was used the entire grow with great results. And with the Blue Enhanced Spectrum, why not try it. I sure wouldn't miss the extra heat from the MH.

 

[Bandit420]

I have no experience with that bulb or any 600 watt lamp for that matter.
Only 150s, 250s, 400s,430s, and 1000. I do like the added blue to hps that bulb offers which is one of the reasons i use the 430s. They have a 30watt halide arc inside of a 400watt hps
I prefer heavy blue for veg. I know hps works well but i just prefer the blues. Halide is good but I get the same if not better results vegging under T5s. The T5 keeps my plants very lush with vigorous growth and tight nodes. Plus a plant will explode with growth when it goes from T5 to hid or Sun

 

[Green007]

Thanks Bandit.


So, anyone ever use this bulb???
Like it, dislike it, would you purchase another one???

 

[jl3079]

i use them they r bad ass. but ........ if you are going to go with next gen i would highly recomend using the digilux bulbs. i bought mine before the bulbs were even out and when i got to the flowering stage i went through 4 400w hortilux super hps bulbs.now that i have the digilux .......welll let just say its all good

 

[Growzo]

I am using 1000w HPS Digilux bulbs in 4 reflectors with 2 NextGen and 2 Quantum ballasts. These bulbs rock! I used to use Hortilux, but they blew all the time. Tired of going back to the store returning them. I've been using them for 2 cycles now (I'll change them after 3) and I get better results than I've ever gotten with the hortilux. They are absolutely brighter than any other brands I've used. Two thumbs up!

Growzo

 

[avalanche]

Just watched a video on monster gardens.com and they had a showdown between the digilux 1000wt vs eye hortilux 1000wt bulb and digilux beat them in every situation. Check it out. They used side by side testing for lux, lumens etc.. and it was clearly a digilux day.

 

[Droopy Dog]

Those delay things are to let the bulbs cool down. We had them for all the HID lights in our shop and I would think any HID bulb would benefit from having them.

DD

 

[meenjoegreen]

Hey guys I just bought a 600w 120/240 Volt dimmable/switchable super lumens Lumatek ballast model LK600. It has a switch for 400w and it says I can use a metal halide bulb at 400w. What is the best possible 400w metal halide bulb for me? I am planning on using a Lumatek 600w HPS High Par Output bulb for flowering and I wanted to find the appropriate 400w MH Bulb for vegging. Is digilux the answer?

 

[TorturedSoul]

I don't know if it's still a concern, but at one time I read that Lumatek did not recommend using 400-watt MH bulbs in their 600-watt ballasts. Now that's been at least a couple years and I think it was when they were still having issues with certain bulbs not playing nice with their ballasts and still trying to figure out exactly which bulb brands/wattages.

So I'd think you'd be fine.

What I would do is email Lumatek directly. I do not remember their email address off the top of my head but you can use their contact form at
Lumatek Ltd
and they will respond pretty quick.

By all means, get other people's responses, they have actually tried and tested and all that. But it won't hurt to get Lumatek's official stance. You can always use a different email address if you worry about possibly screwing up warranty work in the future (but from what I could tell, they're a decent company).

Oh yeah, and please do not double-post. It's easier (for others and for you) to only have one thread or post to keep track of. No big deal, I guess, just wanted to mention it.

 

[Wacky Kush]

Liked it very much, would purchase another.

Thanks Bandit.


So, anyone ever use this bulb???
Like it, dislike it, would you purchase another one???

 

[Calyx Hunter]

I'm not sure I fully trust a manufacturers lumen output claim. All I see in this thread are people bashing the reliability of the Hortilux and comparing manufacturers claims. Lumens may be a measurement of total light output but that measurement doesn't really matter as plants are concerned as they don't use green. If a lamp has high energy in the green spectrum it will give you a higher lumen reading but more of the light is unusable. A more vaild measurement is PAR or Photosynthetically Active Radiation. This is what plants can use from the available light. Here is a link to the only valid side by side comparison I have found on the inter webs.

HID Bulb Test Comparison Review: Hortilux, Ushio, Digilux, Baddass, SolisTek, Lumatek, Maxlume, GrowLite, Ultra Sun / Growers House Hydroponics Blog

I'm curious what you all think after seeing this test.

 

[Calyx Hunter]

It's also interesting to note that GrowersHouse.com digital ballast review and comparison found that the Solis Tek Matrix 1000W had 39% better PAR than the Magnetic Ballast tested. This could have been the worst magnetic ballast ever but the science makes sense. The Solis Tek being the winner with over 4% increase in PAR over the next best ballast being the Lumatek A/C convinced me. I purchased a Solis Tek as I believe in supporting the best available technology.

1000w Digital Ballast Comparison Review & PAR Test Footprint Results - Lumatek, Solis Tek, Quantum, Phantom, Galaxy, Nano & More / Growers House Hydroponics Blog

I'm posting this in reference to my previous post as I think PAR is a better measurement for light concerning us Growers and we need more side by side product comparisons rather than conjecture. I'm not affiliated with GrowersHouse.com in any way. I respect their findings and I am a loyal customer of theirs. They have great prices, fast discreet shipping, and amazing customer service.