Metal Halide ballast info

[Willow]

that sir is most certainly a hamilton hood. xm, hamilton, iwaskai and venture bulbs will all fire in that hood, ushio's will not. your best bang is going to be with the xm's, very bright and pretty cheap, also j&l has bulbs on sale this month, i just got some 15k xm's for 62 bucks each. you will have to retro in a better reflector, i have to same issue and need to make something as well.

[Invigor]

you'll need the best reflector you can get for the xm15k

[Bartman]

Originally Posted by Invigor

you'll need the best reflector you can get for the xm15k

I'm also looking at XM bulbs. Why do you say that?

[Invigor]

xm10k
ballast used: M58
input watts: 315
input volts: 123.5
input amps: 2.8
ppfd(or par): 137
cct(color temp): 12083

xm15k
ballast:M58
input watts:295
input volts: 122.8
input amps:2.82
ppfd: 55.7
cct: n/a

sources:
http://www.advancedaquarist.com/2005.../document_view
http://advancedaquarist.com/issues/aug2004/review.htm

need I say more.

[Delphinus]

Odds are it's a probe start ballast for the MH. Without an ANSI # the easiest way to tell is count the # of parts. A probe start ballast is transformer and capacitor ("cap-n-coil"), a pulse start ballast is transformer, capacitor and ignitor (looks a little like a capacitor, but likely smaller and slightly different).

[Willow]

you need a decent reflector in there because the par on the 15k bulbs is so low you need ever bit of light you can get into the tank.

[Maverick]

Originally Posted by Willow

you need a decent reflector in there because the par on the 15k bulbs is so low you need ever bit of light you can get into the tank.

Can a person buy a retrofit reflector for this unit , or do they have to make one ?

Brent

[Delphinus]

Originally Posted by Willow

xm, hamilton, iwaskai and venture bulbs will all fire in that hood, ushio's will not.

Ushios are supposed to have a pulse start ballast (except for the 250's) but FWIW they will still fire on probe starts. I bought my ballasts several eons ago (175's) well before anyone knew the difference between probe & pulse starts and I've been using Ushios for years. They do have a little trouble firing at first but after a little while (a week or so) they seem to start fine anyhow. The only thing is it sounds like a Harley getting started. A pulse start is a much nicer start for sure, and I'm sure, much better for the lamp overall, of course.

[Willow]

Originally Posted by Delphinus

Ushios are supposed to have a pulse start ballast (except for the 250's) but FWIW they will still fire on probe starts. I bought my ballasts several eons ago (175's) well before anyone knew the difference between probe & pulse starts and I've been using Ushios for years. They do have a little trouble firing but after a little while they seem to start anyhow. The only thing is it sounds like a Harley getting started. A pulse start is a much nicer start for sure, and I'm sure, much better for the lamp overall, of course.

ushio has changed the specs on the bulbs a year or so ago and will no longer support probe style ballasts. they will infact fire sometimes but the colour can be quite yellow.

[Delphinus]

They never supported them except for the 250's. And the warning about yellow has been around for years but honestly I've never had a problem.

I'm not saying run out and use Ushio's on probe starts, but just recounting my experiences with them. Theory is one thing but seeing is another.