MH to HPS Conversion bulb??

[slowmo77]

Ok so i was looking into gettin a new 400w hps but haven't decided yet. i don't wanna rebuild the old one again.. so heres my question. i've seen alot of conversion bulbs but have never used one does anyone have any experiance with them and how well do the work and how long do they last?

 

[dman1234]

if you get a digital ballast you wont need an expensive conv bulb, just a thought.

 

[slowmo77]

what the difference? i've never run a digital ballast. mine are the older magnetic ballasts. just rebuilt my MH and my HPS went bad.. makes me mad

 

[dman1234]

a digital ballast will run hps or MH bulbs no conversion bulb needed.

 

[BBFan]

Hey slowmo- I've used conversion bulbs- using a magnetic mh ballast with an hps conversion. The bulbs are certainly more expensive than a standard mh or hps, but they work well.

The only ones I've found run at about 10% less wattage (ie: a 400 watt mh ballast runs a 360 watt hps conversion bulb) so you're losing some lumens. But in the above example the hps puts out more lumens than the 400 w mh does anyway.

Bulbs last about the same as a standard imo.

 

[ozzydiodude]

I have used them with no problems. The HPS conversion bulb does seem to put off a little less heat than the reg MH too.

 

[Wetdog]

Check out my thread about the new Ceramic Metal Halide bulb (CMH), that will run on a magnetic MH ballast.

The regular CMH bulbs only run on magnetic HPS ballast.

Check em out.

Wet

 

[slowmo77]

ya wetdog i was looking at that earlier today. im not sure which way im gonna go yet just tossing around ideas right now.

ya i've noticed that the conversions are 360w 45000 lumens. which is ok with me. i've found a conversion bulb for $39 but wanna make sure thats the route i wanna take before i buy it.. thanks for all the info guys

 

[niteshft]

The biggist problem with the electronic balast is the frequency disruption with my television and it's a big problem. There are some channels I can't get while running my lights. If I had it to do over again, I would get a magnetic balast. I have noticed that at some times that I still have issues with the lights off, however limited. That shows that the lights seem to be doing some irreversable damage to the tuner of the set. I may have to bite the bullet and pick up a mag. balast, those LED tv sets aren't cheep.