Which VHO ballast?? Help
hey Troy, there are a few good questions there.
1, "Do any of you believe that IceCap is burning the VHO with equal output using less power because they are running them more efficiently? Is this physically possible?"
I am not going to say it isn't possable maby they have desscover a secreat no one else has but I can tell you that ANY electronic balast will extend the life of a bulb over a tar balast by a fair bit and they will also make the bulb brighter. not because of any NEW descovery but just from the virtue of the frequency the bulb is fired at.. a old tar balast fires at 60Hrz and electronic balasts operat at frequencys of 20 to 40KHrz. This in efect creats a solid light output instead of a flickering output which means the light is ON more creatingg more light output.
IceCap has capatlized on these principles by bring out aa electronic balast in a time when everone was using tar and no one has questioned them untill now. now on a old tar balast you had to change VHO tubes every 6 to 8 months I would say one a electric balast powering the bulbs fully that time would be extended to 12 to 14 months (but this is a guess as I have not tried it and I am going by the results of my NO bulbs on my fresh water tanks. I have gotten twice the life out of them and they are a lot brighter sence I have started using electronic balasts)
now as for comparing price by how long the bulb lasts I guess I just made that harder.. people have to get rid of this "6 months" unless they are running tar balasts. IceCap clames 3 years on a VHO bulb befor changes and the way they are getting this is 1, using a electronic balast and 2, underpowering the bulbs.
Ash's figures were 270 watts consumed by 4, 110 watt VHO bulbs now asuming that the icecap is 98% efficient (which is about as good as it gets with todays electronic balasts) that leaves 264.6 watts going to the bulbs so you will be powering each bulb with 66.15 watts or only 60.1% of there rated power. so just like a car, you drive it nice and it lasts longer.
with this I don't have a problem with and I am sure everyone likes having there bulbs last 3 years, but what I wonder is if the icecap or a simular balast was powwering the bulbs at there rated power ie. 100 to 110 watts ( a workhorse 7 is rated of a load of 220 watts so even if they are including the waist in this figure they will still send ~107 watts to each bulbs as the workhorse balasts are 98% effecient)
now how much of a increase in intensity would this be?
would you be able to keep sps with 4 fully powered VHO bulbs?
and if so how much did you waist on MH because you thought you needed it but you realy only needed to fully power your VHOs?
these are the questions I have and am atempting to find the answers for.
Steve
[ 04 January 2002: Message edited by: StirCrazy ]
|