i was looking on www.specialty-lights.com and saw a 430w hps bulb that will run off of a 400w ballast. link here http://www.specialty-lights.com/9960.html. obviously a 430w bulb puts out more light than a 400w'er, but if you have the 430w in a 400w ballast will it still be brighter than a standard 400w bulb? couldn't seem to find the answer anywhere. thanks.
it would prolly work but why pay 75 bux for a bulb when uc an get a regular 400 watt for 10 bux? i don't think the extra money is worth the 30 more watts? heres 400 watt hps for 9 bux http://www.plantlightinghydroponics.com/index.php?cPath=374_205_281
The extra money is absolutely worth it. The extra 30 watts is in the blue spectrum. These bulbs are made for growing, and although a regular 400 watt bulb will work, one of these will work alot better. The bulb has another part added onto the fixture which emits light in the blue spectrum, which regular HPS lacks. With this bulb you can grow the whole crop, instead of using MH for veg, then switching to HPS for flowering. The SonAgro and SonT are awesome and you can really notice the difference between these and the reg bulbs. They keep the plants from streching, so you are left with short compact plants, that yield major bud. If you can afford it, always spend the extra bucks for the bulbs with the blue spectrum added (hence they are 430 instead of 400 - the extra 30 is in the blue spectrum).
^^^hey odin^^^ i was just yesterday trying to get some info. on this subject. i have a lumatek digi 400. i have a standard 400 hps and a 430 son agro hps. every other shop i asked gave me the opposite answer. i don't want to blow my lumatek, will it work???
430W lamps definitely work on 400W ballasts, that's exactly what they are designed for, isn't it? One thing that I'm curious about, though, is this extra 30W blue element. If what we are dealing with is essentially two lights in one, how can a 30W light penetrate more than a few inches from the lamp? I'm not saying it doesn't; lots of folk swear by these "grow lamps"; but it seems strange to me. Do the blue particles piggy-back on the more vigorous red/yellow particles, or something? That's just a hunch, I haven't studied this at all. I use halides for vegging, so it's not a problem, and I haven't played with one of these dual spectrum bulbs in my flowering chamber, though they certainly aren't much more expensive than regular SON-T bulbs. I'm testing the Solarburst lamp right now. It's a regular 400W HPS lamp that puts out 55000+ lumens for a crazy cheap price (on eBay). We'll see. -mu
I use the 1000w hortilux HPS from http://www.insidesun.com/index.php/action/category/id/6/subid/17/ cheaper than specialty lights
not every 430w will work on a 400 ballast. i've only seen a couple, but havent looked that hard. the one i linked to specifically said it can be run on a 400w, but the bulb under it on the same page said 430w bulb for 430w ballast only. some do, some don't. sounds like it's worth the $ to me.
I don't know if they work on the digitals. I am still in the stone age. LOL I don't see why they wouldn't, but if at the shop they say that, then I am noone to argue. I do know that they work in regular ballasts. I know that for fact. I have had my Sunlight Systems ballast running a 430 for awhile now. There is no negative effect. The 30 watt is actually the bluw part, if you compare a reg 400, and a 430 side-by-side, you can even see the extra part. I guess that the 30 watts of blue are all that are needed to offset the reds from the sodiums. Regardless I can say that my 430 and 600 Son T Plus, are the best bulbs I have tried. I have tried Osram, GE, Son Agro, etc. I like the Philips the best, and always try to get that one now.
just my opinion , I'd say how much more can this bulb help? I get great yields off the 250 hps I use from start to finish. why not buy the 9 dollar bulbs and get some quality genetics with the extra 70 bux. then you will make out great. just saying that I don't see how this bulb can make 70 dollars worth of a difference?
SonT's rock. That's all there is to it. I saw a dramatic increase when my friend broke my 400w and replaced it with a 430w. The 30 extra watts goes to power a slightly different metal content in the filament, and plants love it. I ran mine on the 400w ballast, standard, and it worked fine. I don't remember there being a 430w ballast. Generaly, the provide a little extra power over the rating. I don't know about the digitals, though.
In a 430 watt balast it would make some diff. However, and correct me if I'm wrong, while you do get that extra blue light, a ballast that only outputs 400 watts cannot output more whether the bulb can handle it or not.
what chimera is saying makes sense, although i don't think the extra 30 watts makes the light brighter (lumens wise) but maybe just a better spectrum altogether?
the blue spectrum would help. but basically only for vegative growth not bud growth. heres pix of my plants under a 9 dollar 250 hps watt bulb. i say get some great seeds with the extra money but its all up to you. not saying the thing won't work at all just saying that for the price. i mean if it was like a 20 or 30 dollar bulb but 75 bux!!! heres my pix tho so as u can see hps start to finish yields great bud. heavy buds that fell over with weight. http://forum.grasscity.com/photopost/showphoto.php/photo/14828/cat/500/ppuser/28842 http://forum.grasscity.com/photopost/showphoto.php/photo/12041/cat/500/ppuser/28842 http://forum.grasscity.com/photopost/showphoto.php/photo/11729/cat/500/ppuser/28842 http://forum.grasscity.com/photopost/showphoto.php/photo/11727/cat/500/ppuser/28842 http://forum.grasscity.com/photopost/showphoto.php/photo/12040/cat/500/ppuser/28842
just looked on that site i sent u and i see a 430 watt son t agro for 30 some bux. don't say it works with a 400 tho? but if its the same bulb that one place is a freakin ripoff
Makes it a little brighter. As far as ballasts, I know they do not use or put out exactly what they're rated for. Like a 400w uses almost 500w, loses some in heat in the conversion, but has a little room left as far as draw. I don't know. All I know is I saw better results with the 430w than the 400w.
Most 400W traditional ballasts consume around 430-440W actual juice. The rest is wasted as heat and noise. And most electronics are designed to run at 10% above their rating, so a 430W bulb basically pushes the ballast to its limits, a bit like overclocking a PC. That's my personal take on it, anyway. As to the lamps, bghydro in the states normally sell them for around $75, which is a rip-off, but currently they have them on special for $55 (pah!). In the UK, the very same bulb usually sells for around £20-£25, but you can always find a deal somewhere, currently growell are putting them out at £16.95. -mu
not worth the $ imo uif u want blue spectrum buy a 42w 65k @2700 lumens as suplimental lighting youll get more blue spectrum and it cost 11.00 for the bulb..