phillips 315w LEC with D-Papillon reflector

[billygoat]

Fuck yeah, look very nice...

[billygoat]

everything comes from china... televisions, phones, pc, ballast, lamps, cars, sex toys etc... As with anywhere China has good and bad factories.

Care to elaborate ? If I go to a hydro store what brand ballast should I buy to power one of these globes ?

[forgetiwashere]

simple answer is you wont find one. the only ballast available in australia to power these lamps is built into the Dpap reflector like a high bay type setup. for now you basically have to buy the Dpap or go overseas and deal with all the importing costs and power differences and everything. give them time. its still new tech. once they become popular and they will believe me people will start importing the other versions which the americans are getting. they have vertical versions in Og style hoods and some other cool looking versions which i believe will make it here sooner or later.

[ZEN2U]

Hi Guys .. great thread BTW.

 

just thought it was worth mentioning,,

 

our voltages here in Australia fluctuate a fair bit, according my brother(electricial engineer), we can get spikes up to 260V and these appliances coming from OS aint rated for our spikes , so damage is caused to the appliance over time and reduces the life of the appliance and sometimes failure .. and warranty wont cover it, 

 

and the last thing you want is a fire in your grow space..

 

Vape4life

 

Peace

If you read the litriture on the chinese ballasts, it tells you that the safe voltages are 100-250Vs. Then farther on it also gives this,"Constant output of power: Constant output of power and light when voltage varies between  -15%~15% of rating voltage".

 

That equates to it being able to handle spikes up to 287.5 volts, if you believe the litriture. You will find that most, if not all, electrical items have a saftey margin engineered into them. They all have at least CE certification as well, some of the toughest rules in the world, as well as other world certifications.

 

Like Oz said, there are good and bad manufacturers, the choices you make are the ones you have to live with. The manufacturer of the ballast listed earlier has in fact 9 ballasts that fire the 315W bulb(http://welthink.en.alibaba.com/productgrouplist-221149544/315W_CMH_ballast.html). They also turn over US 5-10 million/year in lighting equipment.

 

I'm not advocating for anyone to buy them, simply giving information and choice.

Edited May 24, 2014 by ZEN2U

[Darkblue]

As stated many times already guys, the 315w CDM ballast is available as Philips own brand by import and much money - which is no issue to some apparently - or Welthink by same import, but from China which is closer and cheaper with a MOQ of 4 at $70pc + shipping by fedex for less than $150 - to Aus. The American ballasts going for $400+ on ebay are in fact overpriced Welthink. The 315w CDM bulbs are either US or EU/Belgium sourced - AFAIK, I am reliably informed China doesn't have the technology to produce these at present - not sure why yet, but they are available from there cheaper than from anywhere else, if you can get them.

 

Welthink ballast is much cheaper and I tend to look at them as I did the Japanese when they were in the same position, emerging expertise. You take your chances and may get a gem, or a bomb, but at least they are relatively cheap, relative to the others you also take your chances with anyway. I am presently dealing with Welthink and one of its bulb making associates on matching ballasts to bulbs for full spectrum indoor growing - not the usual greenhouse supplemental lighting. Don't want to go too much into it before actualization.

[pegz]

Has anyone here ever bought a cheap Chinese ballast and had a fire? Has anyone had a ballast actually catch fire? I lined my grow rooms with 16mm FireCheck Gyprock because it was cheap....lucky there.

 

Nah I was just saying, in general not a good idea to just grab the cheapest the ballast and light you can find. But I have no idea what the quality of these Chinese CMH ballast are like, they could be very good.

[pegz]

 

Here a link to Chinese ballast.....

 

http://au.alibaba.com/product/1560674286-315W-Electronic-Ballast-for-Philips-Elite.html

 

Also got a quote from this company....

 

Works out to be:

1 ballast + shipping =USD80+USD85shipping=USD165

4 ballast + shipping=USD80*4+USD146shipping=USD466

 

 

$80 each, fucking cheap. (min order 4 units)

 

Yeah I'd be fire proofing stuff just in case.

Edited May 24, 2014 by pegz

[ZEN2U]

$80 each, fucking cheap. (min order 4 units)

 

Yeah I'd be fire proofing stuff just in case.

As Darkblue pointed out, cheap from China, not so cheap for the exact same thing with a different name on it from Ebay. Same dog, different leg action. Would you rather pay $70 or $400 for the exact same thing. I'll let you figure it out.

[pegz]

As Darkblue pointed out, cheap from China, not so cheap for the exact same thing with a different name on it from Ebay. Same dog, different leg action. Would you rather pay $70 or $400 for the exact same thing. I'll let you figure it out.

 

So because someone is selling a cheap rebadged ballast that means what exactly?

[ZEN2U]

Equating $ to quality is obtuse. An electical item at any price is capable of igniting a fire, the $ value has no direct relationship to the possibility of the fire occurring. Do you think for a second the Chinese manufacturer is in the business of selling items that cause fire, simply based on price. Not a good business model designed to succeed if they do.

Edited May 24, 2014 by ZEN2U