MH 400 Options???

[Peace River]

Does the box have a ANSI code on it anywhere? because if it is a standard magnetic 400w M59 ballast, it may fire or may not fire the 400wDE bulbs you have but it wont run them to their best ability.

Is this what you are asking for...

 

[jda]

Those are not HQI. You do not have to worry about bulb types... select what you like.

All that I know is that the new Radiums will blow up or burn out on Son Agro type PFO 400w HQI stuff.

 

[Peace River]

Those are not HQI. You do not have to worry about bulb types... select what you like.

All that I know is that the new Radiums will blow up or burn out on Son Agro type PFO 400w HQI stuff.

Thank you for the feedback and clarification.

 

[C. Eymann]

OP you are planning on using DE 400w fixtures with that ballast, correct?
Because if it's not a magnetic HQI it might be an m59 ballast which like I mentioned may not fire DE bulbs, and if they do they wont run them near their potential,


SanJay did a big test on ballast and bulb combinations and the results were substantially different, here is the list they compiled of the best combos.

However, unfortunately with bulb options becoming more and more slim these days you use what you can take.

http://www.reefkeeping.com/issues/2007-03/sj/index.php

 

[PaulErik]

That PFO ballast pictured is a standard ANSI M59 ballast. It’s designed to operate 400 watt single ended probe start metal halide lamps only.

Not sure why that ballast was given with double ended metal halide pendants. That ballast will unreliably start pulse start, HQI, double ended metal halides overtime. Double ended / HQI metal halide needs a pulse start ANSI M135/M155 ballast or an electronic ballast. These ballasts have an lamp igniter to fire/start lamps. The standard ANSI M59 ballast does not have a lamp igniter and is designed for lamps with a starting probe inside.

 

[Peace River]

Thank you for the feedback. Do you have a recommendation for bulbs and sockets to convert the pendants to the appropriate SE setup?

 

[C. Eymann]

Thank you for the feedback. Do you have a recommendation for bulbs and sockets to convert the pendants to the appropriate SE setup?

I think it will open up your bulb options significantly if you did, and like PaulErik mentioned I doubt those ballasts will even fire a DE bulb

 

[Peace River]

I think it will open up your bulb options significantly if you did, and like PaulErik mentioned I doubt those ballasts will even fire a DE bulb

It does fire the bulb, but I appreciate your input that it may be less than optimal. It appears that I can get mogul bases and the 400w SE bulbs from Hamilton's website. Is there a better option?

 

[PaulErik]

It may fire them but overtime the lamp starting voltage requirement increases as the lamp ages. At some point they will fall to light at all.

I’m not sure which fixtures/pendants you have. Changing them to single ended may not be so easy. The bulbs are a different size in diameter and length. The arc tube of the bulb also needs to be properly positioned so the optics/reflector works correctly. If not you could get funky light patterns or even reflect too much energy back at the bulb causing problems.

 

[A. grandis]

The ballast is not compatible with those fixtures. To try to use the DE fixtures, removing the pins to install a socket is in most cases not worthy because of the design, compromising the proper reflection/distribution of light. The design of MH fixtures is one of the most important aspects of MH lighting! You need to choose to either use one or the other. I always prefer to use single ended bulbs and I would keep the ballast in that case, if I had to keep one of the options. If you choose to use the fixtures you'll simply need another ballast to run the DE bulbs. Your decision will depend on the condition of the fixtures, the type of bulbs you prefer to use, and how much that PFO ballast was already used. Keep in mind those are old ballasts!
Do you really need 400W to run your system???? Maybe you could get an electronic ballast on HQI setting and run less wattage using those DE fixtures. What would be more important for you to keep? The fixtures or the ballast?
Good luck!

 

[Peace River]

It may fire them but overtime the lamp starting voltage requirement increases as the lamp ages. At some point they will fall to light at all.

I’m not sure which fixtures/pendants you have. Changing them to single ended may not be so easy. The bulbs are a different size in diameter and length. The arc tube of the bulb also needs to be properly positioned so the optics/reflector works correctly. If not you could get funky light patterns or even reflect too much energy back at the bulb causing problems.

Good points! I will need to dig into the pendants a little more to understand more about them. Thanks.

 

[Peace River]

The ballast is not compatible with those fixtures. To try to use the DE fixtures, removing the pins to install a socket is in most cases not worthy because of the design, compromising the proper reflection/distribution of light. The design of MH fixtures is one of the most important aspects of MH lighting! You need to choose to either use one or the other. I always prefer to use single ended bulbs and I would keep the ballast in that case, if I had to keep one of the options. If you choose to use the fixtures you'll simply need another ballast to run the DE bulbs. Your decision will depend on the condition of the fixtures, the type of bulbs you prefer to use, and how much that PFO ballast was already used. Keep in mind those are old ballasts!
Do you really need 400W to run your system???? Maybe you could get an electronic ballast on HQI setting and run less wattage using those DE fixtures. What would be more important for you to keep? The fixtures or the ballast?
Good luck!

My two main purposes of this initial effort was to find out what I have and to learn more about MHs. Y'all have been great to assist on both of those accounts. As for the next steps, I will work to sort that out. Thank you again for the insights!