my lumatek ballasts have the adjustment on it. i'm not sure what wattage they actually are, but i think it's a good idea. as the plants get larger, you can adjust up instead of running a 1000 watts 3 feet above your plants so you don't burn them, and wasting electricity.
My bad. Heres the question. With dimmable ballasts you have to change the bulb right? And use the corresponding wattage's? Ex it doesnt actually "dim" the bulb?
no, ballasts are single wattage, but they've found a way to adjust them. you can use different wattage bulbs in your hood, but not with your ballasts.
If the bulb is higher rated wattage u shoulndt have a problem...I had a bulb that was a 600watt and wouldnt work on a 1000watt ballast even when dimmed down to 600 watts, but a 1000 watt bulb worked and was be able to dim down to even 400 watts so rest assured just get the rated bulb for the ballast and you should be gravy.
Quick question If one had a 600w light and wanted to upgrade to 1000w bulb and new 1000 ballast Dig/Ajust would the 1000w bulb screw into the 600w lamp base (socket) Or would I also need new oneof those too
[quote name='"growerBabe"']Quick question If one had a 600w light and wanted to upgrade to 1000w bulb and new 1000 ballast Dig/Ajust would the 1000w bulb screw into the 600w lamp base (socket) Or would I also need new oneof those too[/quote] The hid mogul sockets are all uniform. So yes ur new bulb will fit in the 600w socket. Just make sure it uses the same ballast plug.
They have Dimmable and multi watt ballasts. The dimmable literally just dims the lamp. So if you had a 600w ballast and 600w lamp it would dim it to whatever output you set it at (320w, 50%, whatever) and use that much power instead of the full 600w. The multi watt ballasts mean you can use a smaller wattage lamp in the ballast when set properly. So you could have a 1000w ballasts with a 750w lamp or 600w lamp in it as long as the settings match. And you can also have both at the same time and do all of the above with one ballast.
Nort really any negative effects just trade offs. Half power means half lumen output. But the bulb runs cooler. I do not believe they have any effect on life span
i bought a grow system of amazon. 400w dimmable ballast with reflector and one HPS light and one MH light. will i be able to use both lights with this system???
Like dimmers in most houses, i am pretty sure the ballast uses full power even when dimmed. But maybe they have addressed that issue.