I'm looking to upgrade to MH lighting and am considering the 250W e-ballasts. Which brand is better, Icecap or Blueline? Also, are the e-ballasts worth the extra cost? I am willing to pay the extra $$ if they can really run at a lower temperature and use a little less electricity. They also claim to extend the life of the bulbs as well, which would be nice. Are these claims true? Thanks!
Metal halide ballasts - Icecap vs Blueline
- Thread starter DavidY
- Start date
Check out Joe Burger's website under "250 Watt Metal Halide Testing".
http://www.cnidarianreef.com/
Joe has tested both of these ballasts with several different lamps.
The electronic ballasts will run cooler and use less electricity, but they do so at the expense of producing less light.
As to whether or not they are worth the money - I'd say that's very subjective and depends on what you're looking for in a lighting system.
I don't think there's been any actual testing/data at this point to confirm/deny the extended lamp life claims. At least not that I know of...
HTH
http://www.cnidarianreef.com/
Joe has tested both of these ballasts with several different lamps.
The electronic ballasts will run cooler and use less electricity, but they do so at the expense of producing less light.
As to whether or not they are worth the money - I'd say that's very subjective and depends on what you're looking for in a lighting system.
I don't think there's been any actual testing/data at this point to confirm/deny the extended lamp life claims. At least not that I know of...
HTH
I run a total of 6 IceCap MH ballasts on my tanks and I am very happy with them. I had one burn out on me after about 2 weeks, but they replaced it free within a few days. I am very pleased with there performance and you can pick new ones up pretty cheap on ebay. (I use 4 250W and 2 175W ballasts.)
THis is far from scientific, but more people seem to run into electrical interference problems when using X10 modules (like those used by the Aquacontroller) with the Blueline then Icecap.
No real reason not to go with an e-ballast if you know what bulb you'd like to run. A standand magnetic ballast will cover a broader range of usable bulbs, but most e-ballasts will run anything you might be thinking about using.
No real reason not to go with an e-ballast if you know what bulb you'd like to run. A standand magnetic ballast will cover a broader range of usable bulbs, but most e-ballasts will run anything you might be thinking about using.
I think most of the problems people have are with older blueline ballasts as well as not grounding the ballast when hooked up to the socket assembly. I think both are fine ballasts, the blueline uses slightly less electricity and is heavier than the icecap, don't know if that matters to you.
hmmm, it doesn't say that on the website. I know people who have the 400 watt MH icecaps though so they do exist.
Marine depot sells them too.
http://www.marinedepot.com/a_lt_mh_ic400mh_info.asp?CartId=
They are out of stock but it states 120VAC.
Maybe this is a new version of their 400 watt electronic ballast, that's why it's not in 120V yet?
Marine depot sells them too.
http://www.marinedepot.com/a_lt_mh_ic400mh_info.asp?CartId=
They are out of stock but it states 120VAC.
Maybe this is a new version of their 400 watt electronic ballast, that's why it's not in 120V yet?
I ordered a blueline ballast from championship lighting . they are out of stock and now Im leaning towards the 400watt Ice Cap. it seems the blueline balllast are made over seas. I currently have a 250 watt Ice cap. Iwaskaki bulb. Ive had this for two years with no problems. I want to try the new XM bulb. on the Ice cap I like the wiring is pretty simple.
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