Beware that when you buy a lumatek ballast, it comes with NO warranty....i know they market a full 3 yr plus 2 yr prorated, but they do not honor it....i have a lk-1000 that only worked for a few months....the hydro store says its my problem (no surprise there), but i was surprised that Lumatek won't even respond to my inquiries...do yourself a favor and buy from a company that honors their warranty...i shoulda got a cheapie, that way i'd be out a lot less money....hell i coulda bought 2 cheapies for less than i paid for the supposedly better Lumatek and had a backup and saved my girls...but alas, the girls foundered without enough light halfway through flowering...Lumatek has cost me alot more than the 400 i paid for their piece of crap ballast...the Lumatek's are not worth the premium prices they charge for an inferior product...happy growing
Yeah they're way overpriced and not very good. I like quantum ballasts. Digital, dimmable, 5 year warranty, made in usa.
The hydro store should have replaced it for you. Where did you buy it? My boy blew out his Lumatek by running it without a lamp (his own dumbass fault) and he got it replaced for free so I would say don't shop at that place but Lumatek honors their policies for sure and they are only a bit more than magnetic if you shop around.
yea man the fault is not with lumatek, the store you bought it from is supposed to replace it and file the claim for the broken one with lumatek. You need to educate your store how the warranty works. Lumatek will compensate them no question. anyway thats how its supposed to work.
I've heard this about Lumatek. I bought a Galaxy digital because it's made by the same people who make my reflector. I figured I'd stick in the family.
My friend had the same problem with his 1000watt dimmable. Burned out after 3 months. The store took it back i think. ...and stuff...
I would go with either Quantum or Apollo. Apollo only because it has a 3 year, no hassle warranty through the people that sell it on Amazon. I had a ballast 1.5Years and it just died recently. Emailed them and they're replacing it free of charge. The seller online is Low Baller just for reference. In the meantime I was forced to buy another 1000W ballast while I waited on that. I went with the Quantum as well. Most don't have 5 year warranties though. Most Quantums are 3 years. They have the same deal though. 3 years through the people on Amazon. works out great. I'm actually really glad I went with both Apollo and Quantum. If I wasn't crunched for time though I would have just bought another Apollo since they handled the return so well. Gotta love companies that say 3 years, NO HASSLE warranty and all you have to do is email them and say it died and they send out another one. Far too many companies would screw people over.
Huh? Quantums aren't made in the USA are they?! Looks like they're the same as the Apollo and all the other clones with the same case and different color anodizing that you can buy on allibabba or whatever. I have a purple 600w one bought in a brown box from a local hydro store as "their brand" yeah right. It was sitting right next to the quantums in their fancy packaging, but cheaper, took them out and compared them and the only difference is the color. I have to say that the fans in them suck balls, and not even that well. I haven't taken them apart, but I bet they're made in the same factory over in Shenzhen. That begin said, it's worked just fine for two grows, but I don't trust it without extra fans pointed right at it, and one of those expensive German bulbs died really early and a cheap bulb has been chugging along fine. Weird. And a 3 year warranty on a $150 item is because they paid like $30-40 a unit by the shipping container full, and it's really more profitable to take it back no questions asked because then people come talk about it on the forums about how amazing they are. It only lasted 1.5 years? That's not long at all, what if your tv or microwave only lasted 1.5 years? I'm just waiting for mine to die. Had it a year, but only two grows, so wanna take bets on when it dies?
Yeah again compared to which? U say 3 year warranty isn't good what are the better ballasts then if u know so much? Not a single word of wisdom other than bashing customer service when done right. Frankly there's too many companies that don't live up to their promises. Is it the same as all the others? probably so, what's better in your infinite wisdom? Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-I337 using Grasscity Forum mobile app
A 3 year warranty is great, but it was designed for the most profit for the company. I support that, and I think it's great that they sell a cheap product with questionable reliability but they warranty it really well. That doesn't make it a good ballast, just that it's good customer support. Lets say that 10% of them fail in 1.5 years, but 40% fail in 3.5 years, it's better for the company to give a 3 year warranty because it attracts business and stays within profit margins. They bought them off a truck in china and sold them at quadruple markup, so they designed their return policy to fit the business model and price. Lets face it, in 3.5 years no one is going to complain that their ballast burned out. They'd say "oh it was only $150, I didn't expect it to last that long, I'll just buy another one." Everything is disposable now adays, this ballast included, and it's not made in america. That's what I don't agree with. Wanna know what's better? Made in America with a lifetime warranty, a good end of life recycling plan, costing 50 cents a watt. I would buy that if I wasn't a broke dick.
You should really re-read. I never said they were made in USA. That was someone else. Plus if you actually look they're all made in China. Hate to break it to you, but nothing is made in the USA anymore. Every brand I've ever seen has been made in China. I think you'll be hard pressed to find anything different. Saying you want to buy better is fine and dandy, and I agree, but there isn't that much better out there. They all seem to be very similar. My guess is there's probably only a couple factories that do it. Apollo, Quantum, and at least 1 or 2 others look almost exactly the same except color mostly. They're probably all made at the same place with different exteriors put on. Again, find some that are made in America. Nothing is made in our country anymore. Again though, as my last post said, unless you can come up with a brand that's not "cheap" and is better than the one's with the longest warranty, feel free. The point is, if they're all about the same, I'd rather have the one with the longest warranty, unless another brand is shown to be superior. I'll take a brand that dies every 2 years, but I have a 3 year warranty anyday. lol. All that means is I never have to pay for another one.
Looks like his quote didn't get included in my first response. I was doing it on mobile, so I guess things get messed up. I'll stick with the rest of what I said too, since this isn't an argument, and since you agree with me.