A 400W electronic ballast on sale

18 years ago

I know some people have been looking for ballasts recently, specifically electronic ones that I recommend wherever possible. The LL/Vue 400W is on offer at the moment at $125 which seems like a good deal to me. That's just for the ballast, you could use it to retro-fit an existing light, or add a socket and reflector yourself.

This is an electronic ballast which will operate probe start metal halide (boo hiss!), pulse start metal halide, or HPS lamps. It should run ceramic metal halides too but I don't know anyone doing it, so you might want to ask them first. It will run the "retro HPS" ceramics, obviously.

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Comments (9)

object16
18 years ago
That is a very good deal, finally something good is starting to trickle down to us little people. It's really handy to have a ballast that will run both pulse start MH and HPS.
Yippee!!! Paul Mozarowski.
rokal
18 years ago
Thanks shrubs.

I contacted Lumen Labs several days ago asking if this ballast would properly power pulse start MH lamps but I haven't heard back from them.

Do you know anyone successfully running pulse start MH lamps on these ballasts? If so, I think I'll order one.

Thanks for the info.

Rokal
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object16
18 years ago
The LL site shows the ballast works with the LL65K T15 lamp, which from the picture looks just like a pulse start lamp. I emailed them the question, just to be sure.
Paul Mozarowski.
shrubs_n_bulbs
Original Author
18 years ago
The question isn't so much whether it will operate pulse start metal halides, because it certainly does operate some of them. The question is whether it operates them within spec, or whether it is potentially damaging them or running them below optimal performance. The same can be said of many dual-operation electronic ballasts. They may also generate abnormal RFI interference or acoustic resonance (buzzing) if the ballast has not been designed with the appropriate filters. Nobody has reported these problems but you should be aware of them if the manufacturer tells you the ballast isn't designed for pulse start lamps.

I don't think the LL65K T15 bulb is a pulse start bulb. Probe start.
rfraser529
18 years ago
Shrubs n bulbs, I appreciate the link for this ballast very much. They also have a great price on 120VAC-12VDC wall wart power supplies for running 120mm fans. I have mounted 2 of these on each of my grow shelves using old power supplies from my own surplus. I purchase new Antec 120mm ball bearing fans for 14.00 thinking it was the best price for a ball bearing fan, and your link has them for 10.00. Triple thanks!
Since I will likely purchase one of these ballasts to retro fit to a mogul base reflector/enclosure I have "hanging around". I was also wondering if you might be inclined to offer a recommendation for a bulb to hook up to this ballast & be willing to specify? My intended use for this set up would be for my Orchids, mainly the higher light varieties that are too leggy to fit under my T-8 light racks.
Richard
rokal
18 years ago
Apparently, Coralvue is coming out with a new model for 2008 which will be "UL Listed".

Check out the listing for the new model on Reef Exotics (scroll halfway down the page).

One other thing that is unclear is the length of the power cord and lamp cord. A short lamp cord may not be an issue for reefers or DIY projector enthusiasts but may present issues for growers with high ceilings.

Regards,

Rokal
rokal
18 years ago
Good news! According to the manufacturer, this ballast will properly power pulse start MH and ceramic MH lamps.

Message sent to Coralvue support:

From: Ron xxxxxxx [mailto:xxx.xxxxxxx@gmail.com]
Sent: Wednesday, December 19, 2007 10:08 PM
To: support@coralvue.com
Subject: Question Regarding your 400 Watt Electronic Ballast #CV-400B

Hello,

I was wondering if your 400 watt eballast item #CV-400B will properly power Pulse Start MH lamps and/or Ceramic MH lamps? If so, are there any lamps it can't properly power?

Thanks,

Ron

Response Received:

Vue Technology Fri, Dec 21, 2007 at 12:28 PM
To: Ron xxxxxxx
Hello Ron,

You can run any type of lamp with our electronic metal halide ballast.

David

Additionally, the power cord is 6 ft. long and the lamp cord is 8 ft. long.

Regards,

Rokal
object16
18 years ago
I asked LumenLab if this ballast would ignite a pulse start halide lamp, and they said YES.
In that case, I'm going to order 4 for myself. A pulse start lamp can be run continuously, with excellent maintanence of lumens, and if run continuous, will last for 30,000 hours.
One year of continuous use = almost 9,000 hours. You can use the lamp continuously for 3 years before it needs replacement.
Paul Mozarowski.
ntl_quiroz
11 years ago
Hello! I came across this forum and figure I'd let you know I have a large quantity of 1000W digital electronic ballasts. The brand is Ipower and they retail for $278.95. I buy wholesale/auctions and these ballasts were part of the lot. I'm selling them pretty cheap! Let me know if you're interested. Thanks!

Here is a link that might be useful: Ipower digital electronic ballast