Ballast Variation

[this is me]

I'm not sure if my ballasts are old or if this is common among all ballasts.
I have a two 250DE set up and from all my years in this hobby, I've collected 7 different IceCap ballasts. Three of them are the really old one without the heatsink case so I tend to just disregard those.
I've been running into issue of color matching on two Pheonix 14K. One of the ballast is drawing 2.0Amps, the second one draws 1.6Amps, and the third one drawing 2.3 Amps. I can see pretty obvious color and brightness variation. The one drawing 2.0Amps is what I'm used to. The 1.6Amps is noticeable dimmer and the 2.3Amps makes the bulb yellow.
Does anymore have this kind of issue? Wonder if this is only on IceCap ballasts.

[Incaico]

I have used icecap before and have had bad luck. I try and stay away from them.

[alton]

I have been using Electronic ballast since 2004, they either work or don't they don't. If you have one that is drawing 1.6 amps it maybe a 175w? 175w/.9 eff = 194w/120v = 1.62 amps

[Jeremy B.]

Hey Nick, just to eliminate anything weird going on with the lamps try and move one or two to a different ballast and see if you're still getting the same results or not. My guess is that you probably won't, but it eliminates a variable. Also, do all three of your ballasts look the same, meaning are they the same generation IceCap ballast that you're using?

[this is me]

Hi Jeremy,
I can take a picture of all the ballasts I have and the current draw when I get home and do a detail analysis on this. It just that due the nature of Metal Halide, I have to wait 10-15minutes between swapping out the ballast because the bulb is too hot to fire. I always thought that these IceCap ballasts are known for their reliability and I can attest to that since one of these ballasts is my first ever since 2002.

Also, could it be the bulbs? I just got these new bulbs and I swear my old bulbs were drawing 1.9A to 2.0A. I still have those old ones in handy and will also plug them in and test.

[Jeremy B.]

It could definitely be the bulbs. That's why I would change the ones that are giving you the low and high current draw readings and see what happens. If it's not the bulbs then you know to look at the ballasts or the fixtures at that point, but it's very unlikely that it's the fixtures.

[this is me]

Hi Jeremy,
I think it's the bulb. Just put in my order from you for 2 more Phoenix to try. Will report back.

[jda]

The phoenix DE is not meant to be driven with that ballast. It will work, but the color will be all over the place. I might suggest a M80 HQI ballast if/when you replace the IceCaps.

[this is me]

Hmm...I never heard of this before. I know the Radium requires the M80 ballast to drive it correctly but the Phoenix? I've been using it and driven it with Icecap E-Ballast for years.
Can anyone else chime in?

[jedimasterben]

The 250w Phoenix 14K DE should only be run on an M80 ballast for best results.

http://www.reefkeeping.com/issues/2007-03/sj/index.php