Different brands of Metal Halide ballast

[dfimble]

I currently own 2 Blue Line 400W E-ballasts (electronic ballasts). (On my 50 gal.) I am wanting 3 ballasts for a 150 gal...
I found this 400W ballast for only 42$, much better than the 260$ I paid before.
http://www.1000bulbs.com/shopping/sh...t=Metal+Halide
The Blue Line E-Ballast claim they run much cooler than a magnetic ballast and use less amps.
Of course everyone says their ballasts are the best. Does it really matter?
Thanks
David
p.s. i really don't want to spend a lot for a product that I could get much cheaper... and 42$ is MUCH cheaper!

 

[dfimble]

(bump)
Has anyone used an expensive MH ballasts and a cheap MH ballasts and compared them?
Do they really produce less heat?
Do their lights last longer?
Do they produce less light?
etc....

 

[wamp]

I have always lived by the moto, you get what you pay for. Not saying the ones in the pic will not work but they are old school ballasts and are extremly inefficent and do get very hot. They require a huge cap as a starter and thats more maintance...
I would invest a little more money in the lighting of the tank. You don;t want it to be the weakest link in your system. But on the other hand, everyone needs a guinie pig to see if things work well and to pass their experience on to others.

 

[starfishjackedme]

That looks like an awesome deal. I would go with the tar&coil ballast. I have the Blueline E ballast and there really is no discernable difference. The E-ballast runs hot but prob not as hot as the tar&coil. The only reason I bought one was that it accepts any MH lamp. I have both types on my 400watt bulbs, but I've only had them for about 9 months. I don't think the Blueline ballast is worth the $ even if it winds up paying for itself in the long run with lower electricity useage.

 

[moga]

it says Mercury Vapor lamp only...

 

[nosmada]

you have to be careful what ballast you get. some are not made to fire the iwasaki bulbs correctly and cause them to not burn as they are supposed to. when i built my system i got the Advance ballast modle #71A5770-001D. it cost me about $55.00. it is a 250watt M58, with emphasis on the M58. these ballasts, per articles i have read, will fire the iwasakis. you can go online and get these directly from advance. http://www.advancetransformer.com/
hth,
chris

 

[starfishjackedme]

Originally posted by moga
it says Mercury Vapor lamp only...

Scroll down a bit, the 400 watt ballasts are MV and MH.

 

[dfimble]

Thanks for the opinions. After reading everything I can find and thinking over what everyone has said, I think I am going to get one...
I'll let everyone know if it looks the same as the blue-line and if it produces the same kind of heat....
Thanks again
David

 

[goalie66]

Kinda curious if you have got one of those ballasts.
I was looking at them and like the price.
Thanks!!
Tom