e-ballast vs. magnetic

[harleyguy]

Talking MH here.

What is the difference between an e-ballast vs. a magnetic ballast? Are there advantages of one over the other?

Thanks

 

[purplegorilla]

Magnetic ballast :
1. cheaper
2. louder
3. hotter
4. inconsistence in wattages thus will shortened the lifespan of the bulbs.
5. draw more wattages
6. larger

Electronic
1. smaller
2. runs cooler (some comes with built in fan)
3. more expensive
4. more consistence in power wattage
5. draws less wattages
6. available in dual
7. quieter

I am sure there are more, but those are just what came across my mind before the caffeine kicks in.

 

[kwl1763]

Magnetic play nice with aquacontrollers and X-10 and e-ballasts don't. Other then that there is honestly not much reason to have a magnetic anymore.

The only other real advantage is they are easy to fix. I have some that are ten years old and every once in a while the starter or capacior will go out but it's literally a $10 fix with no skill required. When an e-ballast goes bad you just replace.

 

[haninja]

kwl1763;150083 wrote: Magnetic play nice with aquacontrollers and X-10 and e-ballasts don't.

Can you elaborate? will e-ballast not fire if connected to controller and/or X-10?

 

[kwl1763]

e-ballast can cause interference issues and can sometimes turn on and off randomly, etc. There are some things you can do that help but they aren't fool proof. Talk to mojo about it. He had really big issues. If you open your X-10s and disable local control that seems to fix it most of the time.

 

[roland jacques]

Don't some HQI/PFO/Magnetic ballast have better efficiency (Watts to PAR) that most E ballast?

I think some PFO magnetic ballast in combo with the right bulb Just looks better than they do on most e ballast. And they can put out more PAR

 

[purplegorilla]

I want to retract..Magnetic ballasts do come in dual..Good to know.

 

[schwaggs]

You really need to consider DE and SE ballasts separatly. DE Magnetics will overdrive the bulb resulting in significantly more PAR at the cost of more electricity consumption. A 250W DE setup driven with a magnetic ballast can produce nearly as much PAR as a 400W on an electronic ballast. Of course, the magnetic ballast will draw almost 400 watts... so you don't get something for nothing...

I don't think noise is that much of a problem for a quality, magnetic ballast today. My magnetic ballasts are absolutly silent.

It seems to me that my Icecap electronic ballasts put out as much heat as my magnetic HQI ballasts.

As a rule, electronic ballasts are more efficient than magnetic, there are exceptions as Roland pointed out.

Check out Sanjay's site and compare the same bulb with various ballasts :

 

[jaustin]

I bought some M57 Advanced ballasts and they are silent.

 

[harleyguy]

I found some Blue Wave 7 400W dual hqi ballasts on closeout (they don't make them anymore) for $219 each... I'm thinking about jumping on them... Anyone used the Blue Wave Hqi Ballasts?

 

[harleyguy]

I don't know about the whole "e-ballasts are more efficient" thing... For instance look at the IceCap E-ballasts, these things draw a ton of Amps both on start up and during operation (More amps = more watts = more $).

 

[skriz]

when looking at par per watts, the magnetic rule! The way the magnetics waste energy is that some of the power it pulls it puts out as heat. overall, it's not a big issue.

I switched from icecap to cheaper magnetics. When you're dealing with multiple mh lamps, I'll take the HUGE up front savings. I spent a total of $200 for 4 ballasts (400W), versus $800 for the icecaps.

 

[jaustin]

ebay, they were 25 each shipped

 

[harleyguy]

Skriz;150261 wrote: when looking at par per watts, the magnetic rule! The way the magnetics waste energy is that some of the power it pulls it puts out as heat. overall, it's not a big issue.

I switched from icecap to cheaper magnetics. When you're dealing with multiple mh lamps, I'll take the HUGE up front savings. I spent a total of $200 for 4 ballasts (400W), versus $800 for the icecaps.

Where did you get 400W ballasts for $50 each??? What kind are they? Are they quiet? Are they raw? Come on spill

 

[skriz]

I bought mine from James (46bfinga). They are industrial ballasts.

 

[schwaggs]

Bleedingthought;150140 wrote: What brand ballasts are you running and where did you get them?

I have the Sunlight Supply Blue Wave 3 HQI 250W ballasts. They came with my fixture that I got from Premium Aquatics.

The Blue Wave 7 is a dual version of the 3. Harley, I would jump on them at $219, they usually are around $275-300.

 

[ouling]

I own 2 M57 400W ballast and I can tell you that they're nothing near silent. You can hear a very noticable humming noise that will eventually turn into white noise.

 

[james s_]

FWIW,the M57 ballasts are 175 Watt Magnetic ballasts. The M58 are 250W and the M59 are the 400 Watt variety.