Magnetic v Electronic balast

[nomorenames]

I have a 250w magnetic pulse start balast from what Ive read on here I havent seen many people use them other than power consumption is there really that big of a difference?

[troylee]

Check out sanjays page....depending on the bulbs magnetic overdrive some like xm bulbs they fire better with mag. Imo. Than elec.

[nomorenames]

do you have the link?

[nomorenames]

n/m i found it

[transd]

i believe magnetic ballasts making a humming noise..... and get's hotter. My magnetic hamilton ballast did that... it was almost unbearable.. not I have E-ballast... peace at last

[sedor]

Electronic ballasts are a little more stable and react from what I have read. Overall I don't think you'd notice much of a difference besides the humm. I have a magnetic ballast that sits in a cabinet and I don't even hear the humming.

[stanlalee]

in most cases there is no performance benefit switching to electronic (quite the contrary for most bulbs going by sanjay testing). If your magnetic is not too loud or doesn't get too hot leave it. Also when a magnetic ballast breaks its an easy cheap fix, while an electronic ballast requires replacement. I had a sunlight supply blue wave pulse start and couldn't have been happier with the performance. I hated the hum though. it didnt run hot in its large louvered enclosure (dual ballast too).

kind of like fuel injection vs carburetors. yes fuel injection is way more precise, efficient and less crude however their are no shortage of 4 barrel equipped muscle cars that will still put a spankin on your new fuel injected muscle car (and I wont even get into crotch rockets).

[nomorenames]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=15563504#post15563504 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by stanlalee
in most cases there is no performance benefit switching to electronic (quite the contrary for most bulbs going by sanjay testing). If your magnetic is not too loud or doesn't get too hot leave it. Also when a magnetic ballast breaks its an easy cheap fix, while an electronic ballast requires replacement. I had a sunlight supply blue wave pulse start and couldn't have been happier with the performance. I hated the hum though. it didnt run hot in its large louvered enclosure (dual ballast too).

kind of like fuel injection vs carburetors. yes fuel injection is way more precise, efficient and less crude however their are no shortage of 4 barrel equipped muscle cars that will still put a spankin on your new fuel injected muscle car (and I wont even get into crotch rockets).

I have the same one which bulbs do you run ....I hear you on the muscle car thing in H.S I had a 1970 Nova that ran 11sec 1/4's w/the juice ugliest car on the planet but it was fun to put 10 car lenths on pretty boys new Mustang's.....(sigh) I miss that car

[RichK]

When I recently switched from 400W XM 10Ks to 400W Radiums, I was not sure what ballasts I would use. I had wired my own M59 ballasts (origiannly for Iwasaki 6400s) for the XMs, and for the last 11 years, they have not skipped a beat. So, after looking at all the electronics and HQIs available, I decided to buy DIY M135 pulse start ballasts. They were a whole 60 bux a piece and they fit nicely in the same ballast box I got for the M59s. I wired them up and the Radiums look fantastic using them. The ballasts are in a vented closet along with the chiller, so I don't hear anything. I couldn't be happier.

[Henry Bowman]

RichK, where'd ya get the ballasts ?

[RichK]

Here you go:

http://www.1000bulbs.com/400-Watt-Pulse-Start-Ballast/

Pretty easy to wire them up. All the wires are labeled and the wiring diagram is on the transformer.

[Maximus]

Rich, sorry to bump an old thread but does your ballast hum? I just got a m135 pulse ballast (Sunlight Supply Bluewave 1) and it hums. Any idea what I can do about the humming?

[grigsy]

Overall I definitely prefer Magnetic Ballasts to Electronic MH ballats. They are much more reliable versus electronic ballasts.

The subtle buzz you hear is minor. It is the transformer. Most magnetic ballasts have a transformer and a capacitor.

[Maximus]

Thanks Grigsy. That's good to know.

[RichK]

Sang, it does hum a little. However, they are mounted in a remote closet with my chiller, so I can't really hear them.

[stanlalee]

Rich, sorry to bump an old thread but does your ballast hum? I just got a m135 pulse ballast (Sunlight Supply Bluewave 1) and it hums. Any idea what I can do about the humming?

blue wave pulse start ballast (what I had) definately hum. Not much can be done (they already have rubber feet if I recall). I use stick on sound deadening matt (from car audio industry) inside the cabinet walls and doors which helps a whole lot.

[Rockpile]

Just set up a bluewave 7 dual magnetic HQI. It is silent, and does not hum. The enclosure only gets a bit warm, certainly not hot. The only downside is that it is very large and heavy.

[evsalty]

I myself choose electronic for several reasons but this one the most. Electronic can fire all bulb types while magnetic ballasts limit you to specific bulbs. The second factor for me is the size/weight. The lack of hum and heat is only an added bonus. There are a few exceptions to the firing all bulbs though. I have read that the old style IceCap ballasts are sadi not to be able to run HQI bulbs but IceCap has fixed that with their new style ballasts.

[James77]

Just set up a bluewave 7 dual magnetic HQI. It is silent, and does not hum. The enclosure only gets a bit warm, certainly not hot. The only downside is that it is very large and heavy.

I have the same ballast, and the hum it produces is the faintest of hums. Most of the humming is on start and warm up. I have very sensitive hearing, and I could easily tolerate it in my living room.

[Greysoul]

Rich, sorry to bump an old thread but does your ballast hum? I just got a m135 pulse ballast (Sunlight Supply Bluewave 1) and it hums. Any idea what I can do about the humming?

Check any/all external screws and make sure they're tight. Then set the ballast on a thick piece of carpet pad, foam rubber, Styrofoam, etc.

Generally the humming you hear is from whatever the ballast is sitting on picking up the vibration. If you decouple the source from the cabinet you get rid of most of the humming. The solid rubber feet many ballasts come with do a very poor job of preventing transfer of vibration.

If your tank is in a very silent room with abnormally low background noise and can still hear the transformer buzzing you can build an isolation box with a fan, baffles, egg crate foam, etc... but for the cost of that you might consider a solid state ballast

FWIW, I'm of the opinion that all ballasts are electronic. Magnetic refers to those that use a large voltage transformer, but still operate on electronic principles. "Digital" suggests more advanced logic/computational processes to me. Most so-called "electronic ballasts" are just simple (i.e. cheap) solid state MOSFET or IGBT devices.


-Doug

[Maximus]

Thanks guys. I'll put the ballast on some sort of carpet/foam. RichK, are you still running the Radiums?

[herozero]

i wanted to chime in because i just went thru this same silly "what type of ballast do i need" and had m80 or electronic decision making freak out. i wanted to try radium bulbs, but didn't want to commit to that bulb in case i didn't like it and have to get a new ballast everytime. so i compromised, dimmable coralvue electronic. you can overdrive the lamp if you like the color, or underdrive it for that soft blue tint. it was a nice compromise since i always like to try new bulbs. i'm sure any dimmable ballast would give you the same options (lumentek, etc.).