Metal Halide Ballasts, which one is which? Answers here: - Page 30

baruchbl · #**726** 11/28/2004, 12:24 PM

My orginal question was: what is the best choice for 400w Iwasaki 6500k bulb?
Mercury vapor or electronic ballast?
I meant to ask in which ballst the light will be more brighter or in which ballast the bulb will live longer?
i didnt ask which ballast is cheaper or what happend if i will change the Iwassaki to another kind of bulb.

Thank you

szwab · #**727** 11/28/2004, 01:09 PM

question a bit off topic but related. One of my 400 watt halides won't fire unless I touch the bulb. It's on a non lectronic ballast and is an Ushio bulb about 4 months old. Any ideas why it does this? It's like if you take an old flourecent bulb and get it to light by grabbing the bulb.
thanks in advance

electric130 · #**728** 11/28/2004, 02:03 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by baruchbl
i didnt ask which ballast is cheaper or what happend if i will change the Iwassaki to another kind of bulb.

you ask a question and when advice is given, you get upset at what you are told?

you can take your questions elsewhere then, cause i'm done with you and your attitude here in my thread.

electric130 · #**729** 11/28/2004, 02:05 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by szwab
question a bit off topic but related. One of my 400 watt halides won't fire unless I touch the bulb. It's on a non lectronic ballast and is an Ushio bulb about 4 months old. Any ideas why it does this? It's like if you take an old flourecent bulb and get it to light by grabbing the bulb.
thanks in advance

for starters, you NEVER want to touch a MH bulb. just like with halogens, the oils from your skin can cause bulb failures. how old's the ballast? what type and brand?

Jamie11137 · #**730** 11/28/2004, 07:28 PM

Electric

I have a question sent you a PM but will ask you here
What abot a TAR ballast....for MH bulbs

electric130 · #**731** 11/28/2004, 07:35 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by Jamie11137
Electric

I have a question sent you a PM but will ask you here
What abot a TAR ballast....for MH bulbs

what about them do you want to know?

Jamie11137 · #**732** 11/28/2004, 07:47 PM

Are they any good, compared to the electronic ballast

electric130 · #**733** 11/28/2004, 07:54 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by Jamie11137
Are they any good, compared to the electronic ballast

what is typically refered to as a TAR ballast for MH's is an "F-Can" ballast. they are the core and cap in one case for some industrial/commercial applications. they have some drawbacks compared to the standard cap and coil setup in that if the cap or the transformer goes bad, you have to replace the whole thing. in a cap and coil setup, if the cap goes bad, you can replace just the cap. performance wise though, they will be the same as the standard magnetics (M57,M58,M59, etc)

Jamie11137 · #**734** 11/28/2004, 07:58 PM

Thanks, the last Question I have is the EYE ballast by PFO.
I take it that is the electronic ballast?
Thanks Again

electric130 · #**735** 11/28/2004, 08:13 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by Jamie11137
Thanks, the last Question I have is the EYE ballast by PFO.
I take it that is the electronic ballast?
Thanks Again

see the very first post in this thread for what an EYE ballast is.

Jamie11137 · #**736** 11/28/2004, 08:18 PM

U the man
Thanks

Jas0863 · #**737** 12/02/2004, 10:33 PM

I have a DIY Advance 400W M-59, Quadri-volt Core and Coil ballast(71A6071-001 type). What bulb can it be used on?

electric130 · #**738** 12/03/2004, 07:33 AM

coralvue, XM, venture, iwasaki, hamilton, and some others.

sde219 · #**739** 12/03/2004, 01:53 PM

Two questions for the lighting god - thanks for helping so many people electric

1)
I have a Universal Ballast - M250MLTAC3M. At present it is not-functioning properly. Based on the description of the problem and testing of the capacitor, it appears the capacitor is the problem. Any advice on when to find one and what I need? Reading the label of the present capacitor is like greek to me.

2)
I am about to setup a 20x20x16 tank - I would like to use a MH over it. I was intially inclined to either use this ballast or use a H37 ballast I also have. I will also be running two 96W powerquad PCs on the tank. Would the 6500 Iwasaki on the H37 be an alright choice on this tank? I know the color might be questionable but how bad is it? Would the light from the PCs potentially lessen the negative effect of the yellow?

Thanks in advance,

Steve

electric130 · #**740** 12/03/2004, 01:59 PM

0. i'm not a god, but thanks. i enjoy helping when i can

1. that ballast is an H37 or MV ballast. the only thing you can run with that is iwasaki's. any electrical supply house that carries HID ballasts should be able to get a capacitor for you. i wouldn't worry so much about what's on the capacitor, just tell them you need one for an H37 ballast.

2. i run iwasaki's on my 90. click on my website to see the color. it's not as yellow as most people think. visitors to my house always think i'm running 10k's. that lighting would be more than adequate for that tank. with 192w of actinic, the color will be very pleasing IMO, as long as you're not looking for the straight-up blue look of 20k's.

Jas0863 · #**741** 12/03/2004, 07:47 PM

For the M-59 Ballast, would Home Depot carry an enclosure for it or just build one. Inputs requesting. Thanks.

electric130 · #**742** 12/03/2004, 09:13 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by Jas0863
For the M-59 Ballast, would Home Depot carry an enclosure for it or just build one. Inputs requesting. Thanks.

yeah, HD or lowes carries metal junction boxes. take a look at the one i suggested here (he's got pics)
http://archive.reefcentral.com/forum...&pagenumber=18
if you look at the previous page, he started with plastic boxes which you DON'T want to use.

Jas0863 · #**743** 12/04/2004, 02:10 PM

Elect. 130, on the wiring for the ballast, there's 1 wire that goes from the mag. to the cap. then to the bulb, then another from the mag. to the bulb. The other two, I can't tell which is the ground and the neutral or anyone of the two can be the ground?

szwab · #**744** 12/04/2004, 03:17 PM

[QUOTE]--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Originally posted by szwab
question a bit off topic but related. One of my 400 watt halides won't fire unless I touch the bulb. It's on a non lectronic ballast and is an Ushio bulb about 4 months old. Any ideas why it does this? It's like if you take an old flourecent bulb and get it to light by grabbing the bulb.
thanks in advance
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

for starters, you NEVER want to touch a MH bulb. just like with halogens, the oils from your skin can cause bulb failures. how old's the ballast? what type and brand?

I think I answered my own question by going back and rereading the first couple of pages. the ballast is a m59 I don't know the brand it's out of another fixture. I do have 2 other 400 watt HQI ballasts. Those should be good for the ushios correct? One more question would the HQI's work with the new 400 watt de's?
Thanks for all your efforts in this thread it is really a great recource. On a side note i thought since mogul based bulbs are technically double sleeved touching the bulbs doesn't matter. I know with DE's it's a big no no.

katchupoy · #**745** 12/05/2004, 01:51 AM

Electric130, I have M-59 and I cannot fire a hamilton with it... A friend told me that he cannot either and it is a pulse type bulb...

Maybe a bad ballast?

electric130 · #**746** 12/05/2004, 10:31 AM

Quote:

Originally posted by katchupoy
Electric130, I have M-59 and I cannot fire a hamilton with it... A friend told me that he cannot either and it is a pulse type bulb...

Maybe a bad ballast?

depends what hamilton it it. hamilton distributes more than one type of bulb.

electric130 · #**747** 12/05/2004, 10:34 AM

Quote:

Originally posted by Jas0863
Elect. 130, on the wiring for the ballast, there's 1 wire that goes from the mag. to the cap. then to the bulb, then another from the mag. to the bulb. The other two, I can't tell which is the ground and the neutral or anyone of the two can be the ground?

see the pic below for wiring. you'll use the wire that says 120 for your hot power and one of the COM wires for a neutral. the other COM wire goes to the bulb. should have a wire that says LAMP that goes from the cap to the bulb. another from the transformer that says CAP that goes to the cap. that should be it.

ynot · #**748** 12/06/2004, 12:40 AM

First I would like to say that this thread is amazing...A lot of
information (maybe a little much as my brain has become overloaded)

Picked up my AGA120RR tank a couple of nights ago...

I wish to use 2 250w MH lights and 2 to 4 T5 lights for set up.
As stated I have been reading through almost the entire thread.
I had my mind made up that I would get electronic ballasts and
use 10000K DE bulbs with pendants in a custom hood. The reason
I decided on the electronic ballast was (from what I thought I
understood LOL) is this is the best ballast as far as bulbs you
can use and energy costs.

Then I read this:

Quote:

Originally posted by electric130
i'd just get M59. i run electronics now, but i'll get magnetics if one of my ballasts go bad.

Now I am lost again...LOL sorry

@ electric130 could please help me out. I am a little confused
now on what I should purchase and what I should actually use
on my tank. This may be asking to much but I have to also ask
what would suggest as far ballast and lighting? SE 10k's or
DE 10K's? I Do not mind DIY'ing so there is no problem there.

I hope this makes sense, please forgive me if I stated anything
incorrectly as I am doing my best to understand all this...

Thanks Tony

Bilb007 · #**749** 12/06/2004, 07:52 AM

[violation]

electric130 · #**750** 12/06/2004, 08:37 AM

Quote:

Originally posted by ynot
Now I am lost again...LOL sorry

@ electric130 could please help me out. I am a little confused
now on what I should purchase and what I should actually use
on my tank. This may be asking to much but I have to also ask
what would suggest as far ballast and lighting? SE 10k's or
DE 10K's? I Do not mind DIY'ing so there is no problem there.

my opinions have changed for electronics since i wrote this which was over 1.5 years ago. if you want to run DE's, i'd recommend the M80 ballast since electronics don't really run the DE's the way they were designed to be ran. electronics do use less electricity than M80's so if electricity is expensive, then the electronics may be the way to go for you. the DE's won't look as good on electronics compared to M80's ("HQI" ballast).