Is a pulse start ballast a negative? And what bulbs?

reefaholic33

reefaholic33

Member
I decided against the nova unit you guys gave me some feedback on last week, I got talked into halides and I thought I was ready to place my order, then I got to wondering if the pulse start was as good as the electronic? Then only thing I found when searching is that the pulse start uses an ignition unit to start the lights up. Does it affect anything else? This is a 400 watt retro kit.
I have heard nothing but good things about radium bulbs and also ushio, any suggestions here? What about XM?
 
stanlalee

stanlalee

Active Member
pulse start ballast has an igniter to fire german bulbs without internal ignitors. probe start ballast dont have the ignitor (the bulbs do) and may have problems firing pulse start bulbs. I dont know much about 400w bulbs but 400w radiums are designed to run on a pulse start ballast. there are no HQI 400w metal halide ballast so its either probe, pulse or electronic. nothing negative about them at all.
 
bigleman

bigleman

Member
Originally Posted by NigerBang
http:///forum/post/2950876
Tell me I read that wrong.. Are you saying there is no such thing as a 400 watt ballast... or am I reading it wrong?
no, there are 400w ballasts, i think stanlalee was saying there are no HQI DE 400w bulbs (but there are)
i think in the higher wattages, SE bulbs are more common
 
nigerbang

nigerbang

Active Member
Originally Posted by bigleman
http:///forum/post/2950949
no, there are 400w ballasts, i think stanlalee was saying there are no HQI DE 400w bulbs (but there are)
i think in the higher wattages, SE bulbs are more common
OK... I was about to say.. that 400watt reefstar must have been my imagination lol
 
bigleman

bigleman

Member
Originally Posted by NigerBang
http:///forum/post/2950983
OK... I was about to say.. that 400watt reefstar must have been my imagination lol
up until a few days ago i didnt know 400w HQIs were around either, but i never needed to look for them
 
scsinet

scsinet

Active Member
Pulse start systems are actually advantageous over traditional (probe start) magnetic ballast systems.
I assume since it's a retro we are dealing with SE lamps.
Given that, a pulse start system will be able to drive ANY 400w SE lamp you can find, as opposed to probe, which can only start probe start lamps. Pulse can do both. This is great because not all retails and manufacturers are very forthcoming about whether or not the lamps that they sell are probe or pulse, you just kind of "have to know."
 
stanlalee

stanlalee

Active Member
Originally Posted by bigleman
http:///forum/post/2950990
up until a few days ago i didnt know 400w HQIs were around either, but i never needed to look for them

those are mercury vapor ballast often used/sold as HQI ballast because they are actually 430 watt ballast. If there are "true" HQI metal halide ballast thats news to me. I know a coralvue specifically addresses using those and wont warranty bulbs driven by them.
 
mightytexn

mightytexn

Member
How can you tell if a ballast is pulse start or not? I bought 2 175 watt ballasts the other week and never thought to ask the guy what kind they were.
 
reefaholic33

reefaholic33

Member
They are SE bulbs and thanks for this information!! This has made my decision finally that was the only thing I wasn't sure of.
Now does anyone have comments on ushio? I'm leaning towards the radium cause the reviews and comments I see are flawless but also here good things about ushios.
 
scsinet

scsinet

Active Member
Originally Posted by mightytexn
http:///forum/post/2951702
How can you tell if a ballast is pulse start or not? I bought 2 175 watt ballasts the other week and never thought to ask the guy what kind they were.
A probe start metal halide ballast has two components, the iron core & coil and the capacitor.
A pulse start system has an additional component, the ignitor, which usually looks similar in size and shape to the capacitor.
Also, the labels on the ballasts will tell you. A 175w probe start ballast will have ANSI code M57 on it. Pulse is M137.
 
scsinet

scsinet

Active Member
Originally Posted by reefaholic33
http:///forum/post/2952308
They are SE bulbs and thanks for this information!! This has made my decision finally that was the only thing I wasn't sure of.
Now does anyone have comments on ushio? I'm leaning towards the radium cause the reviews and comments I see are flawless but also here good things about ushios.
Both brands of lamps are good. I use Radiums myself, but Ushio is supposed to be pretty good.
 
mightytexn

mightytexn

Member
Originally Posted by SCSInet
http:///forum/post/2952345
Also, the labels on the ballasts will tell you. A 175w probe start ballast will have ANSI code M57 on it. Pulse is M137.
My label doesn't have either one of those. It says:
MODEL: AF175WS MH S
SERIAL: 13314
175W 120V 1.8 AMPS
ENERGY SAVERS UNLIMITED, INC.
There are not other labels anywhere on either ballast and it doesn't look like there were any others stickers or anything that were removed either.
 
scsinet

scsinet

Active Member
Well that stinks... they didn't put an ANSI code on the ballast.
This is the first I've heard of a halide ballast not bearing that code.
Well, then look for the ignitor.
Oh wait wait wait... is this ballast a complete assembled unit that has a power cord and connector for the lamp or is this a bare open transformer coil ballast?
 
scsinet

scsinet

Active Member
Oh. I thought it was a bare ballast.
You'll need to either call the manufacturer or crack open the enclosure to find out.
 
mightytexn

mightytexn

Member
So if I take the case apart and find an ignitor it is a pulse start ballast? What does the ignitor look like?
Crap I just look at the case and the screws I thought held the top of the case to the bottom actually hold internal components in place and teh case is riveted together.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Top