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250 watt SE MH lamps compared
For those of you who have not seen the huge lighting thread in the SPS forum. I am now posting here.
Over the last few months I have been testing various 250 watt Single Ended MH lamps. Lately I acquired some extra ballasts that I am testing as well. The first rounds of tests, posted in the SPS forum, were done over my tank, using a PAR meter to check the readings from various lamps. This time for all measurements, I built a 2'x2' box, sealed the corners, painted it flat black and mounted the lamp 5" from the top of the box. No reflector was used just the bare bulb. The quantum sensor was attached to a leveling plate, leveled and mounted in a fixed position. The sensor was placed aprox. (I forget the extract measurement, I'll check tonight) 7" from the bottom of the bulb. Line voltage was regulated from the house. Equipment used for the tests were: Apogee Instruments QMSS-ELEC Quantum meter with senor. Calibrated for electric lamps. Apogee Instruments leveling plate for the senor APC LINE-R 600, Voltage regulator/Power Conditioner. Electronic Educational Devices Watts Up?, Power Analyzer/Watt Meter. Nikon 995 digital camera used with tripod for pictures. All images were taken after the lamp had been on for at least 25 minutes. The camera's white balance was calibrating to the lamp, then colors were balanced to give, as close as I could get, the look of the lamp on the tank. All lamps were burned in for at least 120 hours before any pictures or PAR measurements were taken. Due to the amount of updates. The most current list and numbers on lamps, ballasts and pictures is on my web site. http://www.cnidarianreef.com/lamps.cfm Left is the bulb only. Right is the bulb with actinic supplementation. click on images for larger size. Iwasaki 250 watt 6500K MH. CoralVue 250 watt 10000K MH. Ushio 250 watt 10000K MH. PFO 250 watt 13000k MH.
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-Joe Last edited by JB NY; 05/14/2004 at 10:53 AM. |
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CoralVue 250 watt 15000K MH.
CoralVue 250 watt 20000K MH. Radium 250 watt MH. XM 250 watt 20000K MH.
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-Joe |
#3
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AB 250 watt 13000K MH.
XM 250 watt 10000K MH. Blueline Super White Blueline 10K Sun 10K I only have these two ballasts done right now. Over the next few days/weeks I will have data for PFO HQI, Icecap and Hellolights ARO ballasts. PAR measurements for Ballasts. WATT Shown are the watts ballast used when driving the lamp. MAXWATT The peak draw in watts used at one point. AMP The amp draw of the ballast when driving the lamp. MAXAMP The peak draw in AMP. (Normally during start up) ARO Electronic Ballast Code:
LAMP PAR WATT MaxWATT AMP MaxAMP XM10K 626 249 254 2.15 2.25 IWASAKI 605 250 253 2.11 2.19 AB10K 434 252 254 2.15 2.51 USHIO 408 251 269 2.14 2.61 CV10K 360 249 251 2.11 2.15 RADIUM 327 249 252 2.18 2.23 CV20K 286 249 265 2.16 2.55 XM20K 270 250 253 2.16 2.41 CV15K 243 250 252 2.16 2.22 PFO13K 206 251 252 2.16 2.19 Code:
LAMP PAR WATT MaxWATT AMP MaxAMP XM10K 620 252 270 2.05 2.33 IWASAKI 569 247 266 2.00 2.36 CV10K 430 262 265 2.10 2.13 AB10K 368 224 268 1.80 2.39 USHIO 363 255 265 2.08 2.38 RADIUM 337 260 269 2.13 2.89 CV20K 316 260 265 2.09 2.22 CV15K 311 260 265 2.10 2.16 XM20K 257 248 269 2.01 2.19 PFO13K 203 244 268 1.97 2.17 Code:
LAMP PAR WATT MaxWATT AMP MaxAMP IWASAKI 651 252 275 2.17 2.45 XM10K 640 252 262 2.18 2.26 AB10K 422 254 257 2.17 2.30 USHIO 414 252 258 2.19 3.41 CV10K 387 250 251 2.17 2.46 RADIUM 330 252 275 2.19 3.56 CV20K 307 251 253 2.20 2.25 XM20K 270 252 301 2.17 2.81 CV15K 242 251 252 2.20 3.85 PFO13K 227 251 268 2.18 2.86 Code:
LAMP PAR WATT MaxWATT AMP MaxAMP IWASAKI 950 355 384 3.02 4.79 XM10K 936 340 348 2.94 5.33 AB10K 659 341 349 2.96 4.55 USHIO 617 349 360 3.00 7.42 CV10K 457 333 335 2.87 3.25 RADIUM 395 311 315 2.75 3.28 CV20K 355 321 330 2.79 5.18 CV15K 336 317 322 2.76 4.55 XM20K 314 327 337 2.85 3.94 PFO13K 308 311 418 2.76 8.08 PFO Standard Ballast Code:
LAMP PAR WATT MaxWATT AMP MaxAMP XM10K 698 277 284 2,53 5.30 IWASAKI 691 286 331 2.53 6.86 AB10K 566 301 303 2.64 3.81 USHIO 485 284 285 2.53 4.57 CV10K 324 231 233 2.32 4.03 RADIUM 283 231 232 2.38 6.81 CV20K 275 226 261 2.30 7.93 PFO13K 248 257 258 2.50 6.80 XM20K 242 285 285 2.57 3.75 CV15K 242 227 239 2.35 4.14
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-Joe Last edited by Skipper; 11/19/2003 at 07:32 PM. |
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Great work, intersting to see how the coralvalue 20k looks pretty white in color.
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Thanks, Have a nice day. Julio |
#5
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Looks like the CoralVue's did better on the e-ballast. Most people state that e-ballast produce 20% less PAR than mag. ballast. Interesting.
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#6
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Nice , you realy have outdone yourself now !
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#7
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Joe, you are doing some excellent work that I am finding incredibly valuable, Thank you for that. But now I have to be ungrateful...do you think you will be able to test DE bulbs?
Regardless, I have been greatly helped by your hard work and can't wait to see how the rest of the ballast bulb combos play out. Nick
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A good friend will come and bail you out of jail...but, a true friend will be sitting next to you saying, "Damn, that was fun!" |
#8
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Awesome job
I really like the looks of the PFO 13K but the PAR sucks The CoralVue 10K looks nice too and PAR looks decent on electronic ballast ( I have Icecap electronic ballast w/AB 10k) Might get the CoralVue 10k on my next bulb change. Wonder how long they last though and who sells them? |
#9
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Thanks guys. This pretty much consumed my whole weekend and most of the week.
I really like the PFO 13K as well. It looks really nice. I was surprised by the reading too. It seems to do better on the Standard ballast than the coralvue ballast. I found the coralvue ballast ran the coralvue bulbs the best, but other bulbs ran better on some of the other electronic ballasts. I wouldn't run right out and buy anything based on these results yet. the ARO and Icecap seem to run some of the bulbs a little differently than the coralvue. So hang tight.
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-Joe Last edited by DJ88©; 11/19/2003 at 07:37 PM. |
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Thats great work JB NY. Thanks for the time spent on doing
this. It helps out all us other folks that don't have the equipment to do this ourselfs. |
#11
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Interesting. Looks like that coralvue eballast was tailored to run that 10k bulb. Be interesting to do it again w/other companies eballasts--which it sounds like you're gonna do....
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Excuses are just the nails for the house of failure. |
#12
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moonpod, It looks as if that is the case. I found it interesting that the PFO overdrives all the bulbs except the CV and the CV electronic ballast slightly overdrives only the CV and just a little on the Ushio.
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-Joe Last edited by DJ88©; 11/19/2003 at 04:46 PM. |
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Quote:
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-Joe |
#14
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Well it makes sense. I mean realistically, while an eballast CAN run all bulbs, there are gonna be ones that run better than others on that specific ballast--the ballast has to be tuned somehow right? The world awaits more of your work...independant testing is what everyone wants.
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Excuses are just the nails for the house of failure. |
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Outstanding work Joe! Now can you run each bulb with the nipple facing in the opposite direction? J/K When you are done this might be the single most comrehensive look at 250w SE bulbs that is out there (we really need to find you an AB bulb). You had better start saving for that Li-Cor meter!! Do you still plan on having the spectral analysis done on the bulbs at a later date? Would be nice to see how that varies from ballast to ballast as well. The ballast to bulb match up I am finding almost mesmerizing and can't wait to see the results for the other ballasts you have. At least now people know I was not joking or just using a marketing ploy when I put the part about running the CV bulbs on the electronic ballast in the product descriptions. Thanks again for all of your hard work!!
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Justin |
#16
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Quote:
Yeah I really need to get an AB bulb. Preferable one that is burned in. Bulbs I have that still need to be burned in before tested are XM 10K, Icecap 10K and 20K. Most bulbs already have a spec analysis. Ones that don't I might be able to get done, depends how much time I have and how many people want to see the spec.
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-Joe |
#17
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Iwasaki wins again! Thank you for doing this for all of us, I really appreciate independent testing.
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#18
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Another post of praise. Thanks so much for all the time, money, and effort you've dedicated to this.
~Fox~
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"When once you have tasted flight, you will forever walk the earth with your eyes turned skyward, for there you have been, and there you will always long to return." ~Leonardo Da Vinci |
#19
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This thread should be a "sticky". Mods. Thanks
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#20
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I am posting here from the sps page. JB your work has influenced the bulb I am buying for my new tank and probably will influence all MH bulbs and ballasts that I buy hereafter.
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i am sure this has influenced us all in choosing which bulbs are better, thanks for the great info, and we should definitely share this with everyone we can.
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Thanks, Have a nice day. Julio |
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I know it's severely a judgement call all the way but which bulb do you like the best and which one really "pops" the colors if there is a standout in the group. The photos are great but sometimes you gotta be there. Thanks, Mike. P.S. i got a 10 month old A/B D.E. 10K if you want to borrow it for testing.
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"Stop the insanity" |
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Hey JB,
You should try and have this published on a publication, just a thought.
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Thanks, Have a nice day. Julio |
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I see that the XM 20k is pretty low on PAR. I had one of these though, and it boosted coloration before I broke it.
I am getting a lot of positive info on the 400 watt version though. I hear it's whiter? I'd like to see the 400/250 watt comparisons, as the mogul bulbs are way more common out there. DE info would be cool though.
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Cbonito |
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thanks for giving us an insight into lighting differences.
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Alex "The sea is everything... An emmense reservoir of nature where i roam at will...." CAPT. NEMO |
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