Ok, just to clear some things up, there is no such thing as a 400 watt HQI it is actually over driven which is why the lower life expectancy. a 250 watt on a proper M80 ballast is not overdriven, but rather "properly driven which means you get more light out put and actually longer life out of your bulbs.
the reason for this is that the bulbs are based off of German specs and there power is different than ours, the M80 takes out power and replicates the out put you would get from a German reactor type ballast.
a few simple searches will take you back in time to a point where I had more money than brains and to much time on my hands and I did research and tests on all different types of lighting. you can take the same bulb type one in SE and one in DE, and on the same HQI ballast the SE will put out a substantial more amount of light. it just take up more room. it will also give you a better coverage.
when using a pulse type ballast with an American type bulb (actually a German style bulb with a starter added) you actually increase the bulb length as the pulse start is a lot easier on the bulb then the type of starter that is in the bulbs.
this was actually documented by several different people besides my self (and some a lot more reputable like sanjay) about 3 or 4 years ago. it is amazing how the old false rumors get circulated years after the fact. I changed my bulbs every 12 to 18 months and never noticed a difference.
Steve
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Last edited by StirCrazy; 07-09-2007 at 09:49 PM.
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