IceCap vs PFO ballast

[Jay1204]

Hi,

I'm shopping for a ballast and I noticed there is significant diffrence in price between these two. IceCap is much expensive than PFO.
My question is, what makes IceCap better? or what makes IceCap much more expensive????

[h20cooled]

I'm not sure which PFO ballast you are refering too. They have several different ones (HQI, Pulse, etc...). The Icecap ballast are newer and they are Electronic ballasts so I guess thats why they are more...

Are they better, that is really up to you and what you are looking for. I've had both the Icecap and PFO HQI ballast and I prefer the PFO because of the amount of light output I get from them and the fact that I can run any bulb with them.

Rich

[cuong]

The HQI ballast will overdrive the bulb thus making it much brighter than regular ballast but it will shorten the bulb life much faster. Electronic ballast burns bulb at constant voltage thus enhancing the bulb life and it's running cooler than HQI.

[h20cooled]

Thats not true! The HQI ballast will only overdrive a SE bulb not the DE bulb and it is not true that it will decrease the life of the bulb. Most people replace there bulbs every year no matter what ballast they run. The HQI ballast with the DE bulb will give you an increase of around 30% over the icecap and this is NOT because it is over driving the bulb it is because it is firing the bulb at the correct wattage. If you don't believe me go to http://www.reeflightinginfo.arvixe.com/ and look up the power output from the 2 ballasts and you will see that the icecap is NOT running at the same amount of power that the PFO is.

Now the electronic ballast itself will run cooler then the HQI ballast but it has NO effect on the temp that comes from the bulb itself...

Rich

[Jay1204]

Thanks for the detail info guys. It was very helpful. :)

[Croman]

If you are talking about the VHO ballasts. The PFO ballast is actually a workhorse ballast.

[Jay1204]

I meant by MH ballast. sorry I should of mention that.

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=6888189#post6888189 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by Croman
If you are talking about the VHO ballasts. The PFO ballast is actually a workhorse ballast.

[robsmith32]

um.. if you go to that link, h20cooled, the pfo hqi is putting a dramatically higher wattage out.
for instance the 250w pfo hqi is hitting over 300 watts on most bulbs and some over 370watts, i'd say that is overdriving them.
and also overdriving the electric bill. I'f i'd want a 4oo watt system, i'd purchase one that is 400watts, not 250w.
For some reason, and kind of far fetched, but i like things to be as advertised.

[Pyrrhus]

its basically the difference between a Honda and a Blown Chevy V-8

[Larry Waughon]

If you want to save some money Rod Sells a home made HQI ballast.http://www.rods-reef.com/general.php

[Jay1204]

No info available on his website. maybe he sold out...

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=6888742#post6888742 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by pioneer
If you want to save some money Rod Sells a home made HQI ballast.http://www.rods-reef.com/general.php

[orlenz]

you really owe it to yourself to look at other brands also, there are many E- ballasts available besides the icecap, If you deside to go electronic also look at the evc , it blows the icecap away.

[Jay1204]

cool, I'll look into that.


<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=6890005#post6890005 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by orlenz
you really owe it to yourself to look at other brands also, there are many E- ballasts available besides the icecap, If you deside to go electronic also look at the evc , it blows the icecap away.

[want2reef]

I second the EVC Ballast.

[Pyrrhus]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=6888648#post6888648 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by robsmith32
um.. if you go to that link, h20cooled, the pfo hqi is putting a dramatically higher wattage out.
for instance the 250w pfo hqi is hitting over 300 watts on most bulbs and some over 370watts, i'd say that is overdriving them.
and also overdriving the electric bill. I'f i'd want a 4oo watt system, i'd purchase one that is 400watts, not 250w.
For some reason, and kind of far fetched, but i like things to be as advertised.

If you look at the efficiency of the 2 ballasts driving different bulbs you will see that the PFO can put out 50% more PAR than the Icecap with more efficiency on certain bulbs and on others the Icecap beats the PFO. It really comes down to the bulbs you plan to use.

[PaulErik]

The PFO HQI ballast really only overdrives lamps that are not designed to the ANSI M80 spec. The wattage the ballast draws does not mean the lamp is being driven at that wattage.

If a 250-watt metal halide light setup draws 250-watts it will be underdriving the lamp. No ballast is 100% efficient at driving a lamp.

[hahnmeister]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=6888064#post6888064 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by h20cooled
Thats not true! The HQI ballast will only overdrive a SE bulb not the DE bulb and it is not true that it will decrease the life of the bulb. Most people replace there bulbs every year no matter what ballast they run. The HQI ballast with the DE bulb will give you an increase of around 30% over the icecap and this is NOT because it is over driving the bulb it is because it is firing the bulb at the correct wattage. If you don't believe me go to http://www.reeflightinginfo.arvixe.com/ and look up the power output from the 2 ballasts and you will see that the icecap is NOT running at the same amount of power that the PFO is.

Now the electronic ballast itself will run cooler then the HQI ballast but it has NO effect on the temp that comes from the bulb itself...

Rich

Running SE on HQI will decrease the life if the bulb isnt HQI spec. I have seen figures as high as 60% output loss after a year of running a SE bulb on HQI. It starts out bright (brighter than a DE of the same bulb), but its like running a car on nitrous...it isnt going to last long.

[McCrary]

I use IceCap ballasts for both my 250 SE halides. The ballasts work and have always been reliable. My recommendation would be to buy the IceCap ballasts.

[moonpod]

It all depends on applications.

First off, I will say this: I've use a lot of different ballasts, and frankly, to me, all the electronic MH ballasts are fairly similar functionally. The only one that stood out (for BAD REASONS) was the old Icecap 400w 110v ballast. This had to be pulled from the market b/c it sucked. Currently, I'd suspect that the Icecap 400w ballast is the same as the EVC and possibly the reeffanatic, but with different labels and cords. Electronic MH ballasts have the advantage of being able to run all comers, being smaller and lighter, and generating less heat from the ballast itself.

When you say "PFO" ballast, what are you talking about? They "package" the 3 varieties of magnetic MH ballast. Generally, on a generic basis, usually you are talking about a probe start ballast. These are made for domestic SE MH bulbs. They run them well, but will have trouble running pulse start (European and Japanese) SE MH bulbs and will not run DE MH.

The "other" popular "PFO" ballast is a the "HQI" ballast. These are really for runnning DE MH and IMO are the best answer to DE MH. Electronics really tend to not get the most out of your DE MH bulbs.

Final notes: "PFO" is a company that "packages" the ballasts. Similarly, Sunlight Supply does the same thing (but subjectively better) with their "Bluewave" line of ballasts. The "innards" are all "stock" magnatek and advanced components that make up any magnetic ballast.

[CastleRock]

IceCap ballasts warranty is second to none.
And there cheaper to run then a PFO ballast
if it goes out after warranty, they will work with you to repair or replace
Any PFO your hung out to dry and buy a new ballast :(
And there great ballasts! well worth the extra scratch in the long run

[hahnmeister]

Im used to seeing PFO HQIs costing more than Icecaps usually. $110 for a IC, $135 for a HQI (250watters). Of course, PFO also offers an icecap ballast as well...but I hardly see it.

Another suggestion I would have is to check out EVC ballasts. They are cheaper than IC, and tend to run halides at higher outputs, esp bluer bulbs. If you look at their spectral curves compared, with many bulbs, the EVC seems to actually boost the blue frequencies more than any other ballast. The EVC outperforms the IC on nearly every bulb, and even outdoes a PFO HQI on one or two. Normally, I wouldnt consider running DE bulbs on e-ballasts (running DE bulbs under spec can lead to shorter bulb life and shifting. I have noticed many of my DE bulbs shifting alot on IC ballasts after a year that I do not get when running HQI), but this one I would consider. If nothing else, its boost of most bulbs blue range is what really makes me notice...no other ballast seems to do this.

[jelwyoming]

Ocean Encounters has a EVC Retro deal right now on an EVC ballast, bulb and reflector for a price that rivals magnetics. I just bought 2 400's