Who has the Lumenarc Reflectors?

[azfishgal]

I'm talking about the Retro kit, NOT the pendant. I just got mine the other day with 250W bulbs and Icecap ballast. BUT, I have no idea how I'm supposed to mount these, they came with no instructions and the reflector only has one little hole in the top and a few small screws. I don't see how that is going to hold the reflector, socket (it's pretty heavy) and the bulb. This is what it looks like:
(Sorry for the sign in the background. It's the garage and it's my husbands.

)

(Yellow Film is still on the reflector.)

I'm now thinking I should have gone with the spider reflectors.

 

[reefforbrains]

This isnt going to be much help but Spiders are a distant rank in the peckign order of reflectors.
Your Lumenarc might take being creative for mounting but they are vastly superior reflectors and well worth the extra effort IMO

 

[katz]

I would drill the hole so that you could fit a bolt through it and attach it to the canapy that way.

 

[azfishgal]

Originally Posted by ReefForBrains
This isnt going to be much help but Spiders are a distant rank in the peckign order of reflectors.
Your Lumenarc might take being creative for mounting but they are vastly superior reflectors and well worth the extra effort IMO
I think you are right. I'm going to keep these reflectors and make them work, because they do seem like they will do a better job compared to the others. At least I hope my extra $80 per reflector pays off.

Someone on another forum showed me what he did. He hung them with chains, one being in the middle of the reflector and the other being attached to the actual socket, so it doesn't weight down the one side of the reflector.

I told him I would have to bolt it to the top of my canopy (actually just a 2x4 becasue the top will be open) and then attach the socket with a chain to the 2x4. He suggested NOT to bolt the reflector directly to the wood as it will get to hot, but that maybe I can use several nuts to have a space between the reflector and the wood.

 

[reefforbrains]

Originally Posted by azfishgal
He suggested NOT to bolt the reflector directly to the wood as it will get to hot, but that maybe I can use several nuts to have a space between the reflector and the wood.
Wise advice. They will be hot but I dont know if hot enough to really cause a problem.
When mounting any reflactor it is a good practice to include an air gap from the back. Ceramic plugs or Phenolic spacers work perfect for this.
Just better safe than sorry.
Glad you kept the reflectors. Great reviews. So many times the manufacturers exaggerate thier claims to the benifits the particular reflector gives to the bulbs output.
They use smoke and mirrors in terminology, and try to trick you into thinking they have found the ONLY true way to make a reflector. That being said Lumenarc has a track record among hobbiests that can testify about the increased output of same bulbs compared to typical cheapo spiders.
Not a 375% increase or anything rediculous like some of the quoted propaganda but I would honestly think your getting up to 10-15% more from a Lumenarc over a spider if properly installed.

 

[azfishgal]

Here are some better pictures of what I have. I've been told that these might not be "THE" Lumenarc Reflectors from PGS, but knock offs. I didn't get them from PGS, but then again didn't know they were "supposed" to be from them to be "real" Lumenarcs. I was just ordering from a website and was going to get the spider reflectors and saw that these were availabe, the "L3 Mini Luminarc". Asked around about them and everyone seemed to give great reviews, so I bought them, not knowing there was an "original" and "knock offs." I'm calling PGS tomorrow and asking them about it. It really makes no difference to me, so long as they work and I didn't get ripped off.

 

[azfishgal]

OK, just got off the phone with Lumenarc Lighting and this is the scoop. They contracted CoralVue to make the reflectors for them, well in short Coral Vue basically took the design and started selling them behind Lumenar's back. Legal action has been taken. Now he did ask me what film cover I have on my reflectors and I said yellow. He told me what I have is a "good" knock off, but he said if I had a pink film it was junk. He said he'd like to say they are worth nothing and to send them back, but he said there is one company already being a @#^*! and he wasn't going to play the game. He asked me what price I paid and after I told him said I didn't get ripped off, I would be ok with what I have and suffer no ill effects. He's fine if Coral Vue wants to sell there own reflectors he's just a little upset they are using the Lumenarc name. Lumenarc Lighting of course has more options when buying the reflectors directly from them like the A/C kit.
Now I have to decide if I'm going to keep what I have or not. I bought them from Aquacave and the person at Lumenarc said it's really to bad for the retailers because they are caught in the middle of this whole thing. Again, I explained to him exactly what I had and he said I would be happy with the results.
(I am just sharing what I was told on the phone by Lumenarc Lighting. Take this info and use it as you see fit. Hope I didn't break the rules, just trying to inform others that might not know.)