Stupid MH ballst question. How to tell a probe start from a pulse start?

[Froggy]

Title says it all. I have an assembled dual 175 watt MH ballst with quick disconnect cord and on off switch. How can I tell by looking at the ballast if I have a pulse or probe start ballast? I am looking to switch MH bulbs and want to be sure my ballast will fire it properly.

[samc99us]

Give us an ANSI code. Check hellolights.com. I don't think they sell more than one version of the 175 watt ballast for aquariums anyway.

Sam

[Froggy]

Sam, That is my problem. If I had the ANSI code I would know what I have. 175 metal halide ballasts are made in pulse start ANSI M137, probe start ANSI M57, and electronic ballast. I just do not know what I have or where to find the ANSI code on it.

[theatrus]

Do you know what your old bulbs were (brand)?

[Froggy]

I have always used Hamilton bulbs so far. Started with 10 K's and have been using 14 K Hamiltons ever since. The assembled enclosed ballast I have is from Hamilton as well. I plan on switching to coralvue 10 K reeflux bulbs but I am not sure if they are compatable with my ballast.

[theatrus]

I believe both of those bulbs are probe-start, so you should be fine. Someone else with expierience in magnetic ballasts may be able to help more (I use electronic ballasts)

[electric130]

there's no way to tell without opening up the ballast. if you do and it's a dual ballast, there will be 4 "things" for probe start or 6 "things" for a pulse start. if you bought the ballast new and didn't specifically pay extra for a pulse start (they cost more), then i can almost guaranty that it's a standard probe start. there's a more in depth explaination in my MH ballast thread of the differences in ballasts.

[Froggy]

Thank you theatrus for the info. It would probably be easier if I just upgraded to an electronic ballast. Then I could run whatever bulb I wanted in that wattage instead of mix-matching different bulbs with my ballast.:) I guess if anyone knows if either of the bulbs I mentioned above have an internal igniter in the bulb then that would verify that I have a probe start ballast.

[Froggy]

Thanks electric130. The ballast was purchased new and included with the MH hood I purchased from Hamilton. No mention of an upgrade etc. so I guess I am 99 % sure I have a probe start ballast.
I just looked and coralvue bulbs do have an internal igniter and are compatable with probe start ballasts so I should be set with the bulb switch.

[electric130]

Originally posted by Froggy
Thanks electric130. The ballast was purchased new and included with the MH hood I purchased from Hamilton. No mention of an upgrade etc. so I guess I am 99 % sure I have a probe start ballast.
I just looked and coralvue bulbs do have an internal igniter and are compatable with probe start ballasts so I should be set with the bulb switch.
yeah you should be fine. you technically can run probe start bulbs on a pulse start ballast. after about 5 attempts, i finally got someone at Advance to tell me that "unofficially." the problem mainly comes when you try to run pulse start bulbs on probe start ballasts. sometimes it works and sometimes it doesn't. 175w Ushio 10k's are this way. most people are able to run them fine on probe start ballasts, but they're actually a pulse start bulb. i found that out the hard way when i first started using MH's and my Ushio's only worked for about 2 months. they'd fire up fine on an electronic ballast though.

[Emster]

I have 250watt hamilton electronic ballasts and was wondering if anybody knows who makes it for them or do they make it.I believe it says barra on it ,if that means anything.I'm trying to find out parr ratings with these ballasts.Sorry about the hijack

[electric130]

Originally posted by Emster
I have 250watt hamilton electronic ballasts and was wondering if anybody knows who makes it for them or do they make it.I believe it says barra on it ,if that means anything.I'm trying to find out parr ratings with these ballasts.Sorry about the hijack you can pretty much equivilate it to an icecap or aro ballast in JBNY's findings. the values won't vary enough to make a difference.

[Emster]

electric 130 thanks so much for the info!

[Aquaduck]

I also don't mean to hi-jack the thread, but since we're on the topic of pulse and probe start I'd thought I'd ask this.... I am in the position to buy a dual 250W ballast. I don't want or trust the electronic versions for various reasons. So I am looking at the dual 250W PFO magnetic ballast. Since you can "unoffically" run the probe start lamps on the pulse start ballast I was thinking of getting the pulse start ballast. It's only $20 more. This way I can run double ended bulbs if I wish. I read an article on the net that stated pulse start ballasts are easier on the bulbs. Something to do with the tungsten electrodes sputtering black deposits on the ends of the arc tube. This is reduced significantly on pulse start ballasts and as a result you get longer bulb life and less blackening of the arc tube ends.

[electric130]

Originally posted by Aquaduck
I also don't mean to hi-jack the thread, but since we're on the topic of pulse and probe start I'd thought I'd ask this.... I am in the position to buy a dual 250W ballast. I don't want or trust the electronic versions for various reasons. So I am looking at the dual 250W PFO magnetic ballast. Since you can "unoffically" run the probe start lamps on the pulse start ballast I was thinking of getting the pulse start ballast. It's only $20 more. This way I can run double ended bulbs if I wish. I read an article on the net that stated pulse start ballasts are easier on the bulbs. Something to do with the tungsten electrodes sputtering black deposits on the ends of the arc tube. This is reduced significantly on pulse start ballasts and as a result you get longer bulb life and less blackening of the arc tube ends. you don't want to run DE's on a standard pulse ballast. you want the M80 "HQI" ballasts. if you run DE's on a standard ballast, you'll only get as much light if not less light than an SE bulb. so it's not worth paying for DE bulbs if you're not going to get the light out of them. also, a DE bulb is only as good as the pendant it's mounted in, so don't DIY a DE reflector. spend the cash to get a good one like a reef optix 3 or pfo mini. that being said, 95% of 250w SE's are probe start anyway, so you don't need a pulse start.

[Aquaduck]

Thanks. You've made my decision very clear now. I will get the dual M58 probe start ballast.