Blue-est halide bulbs?

[DarG]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=15440579#post15440579 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by Lo0seR
Are Helios and EVC the same bulb? Cannot find the Helios 400 SE 20k anywhere, been almost a year.

250 watt versions are pretty much "known" to be the same.
400 watt I believe they are as well. Sanjay has tested both lamps in 400 watt and the spectral plots are a bit different on some ballasts and near identical on others. But the plots actually almost perfectly overlap, it is only the height of one or two of the peaks that differ. I think the bulbs are the same, and the differences are only due to manufacturing tolerances between the two bulb samples tested. The consistency between lamps of the same brand/color/wattage is obviously better for some manufacturers than others jiust as is the case with many other products.
Sanjay didnt have access to multiple lamps of each brand and type to do an average par and spectral plot ... atleast not in most cases from what I understand.

But that's just my opinion.

 

[DarG]

Commodity axis has the Helios 20K 400 watt moguls but 100 bucks each ... http://commodityaxis.com/ProductData.aspx?id=57

 

[smariner]

Yes, the helios and EVC lamp use the same inner element and are identical in their spectrum plots.

Hope this helps,
Chad D. Bryant

 

[Lo0seR]

Great to know....Very good bulb for the M59 ballast, if not the best.

 

[amore169]

I got the Aqualine 250 DE 20000K and they are a nice blue tryied getting the Helios but nobody had them, I will have to look into the EVC bulbs.

 

[smariner]

Okay, let me know if you have any questions about the EVC metal halide lamps We have been using them quite some time now with very good results.

Hope this helps,
Chad D. Bryant

 

[DarG]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=15445900#post15445900 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by amore169
I got the Aqualine 250 DE 20000K and they are a nice blue tryied getting the Helios but nobody had them, I will have to look into the EVC bulbs.

The Helios/EVC are much bluer than the Aqualine 20K. Just a heads up if you like the amount of blue tint from the Aqualine lamps.
I like 20K's like the Aqualines and Ushios myself. Among my favoite lamps. Crisp, cool white lamps with just the right amount of blue for a very nice look but not so much blue that colors are signifigantly shifted or washed out. The Helios is a pretty color blue, not so monotone like some of the bluer lamps. But relatively speaking, they are very blue.

 

[Canarygirl]

looking for a blue bulb myself (400 watt mogul, 20K). I liked the Radium a lot but the recommended life span at 6 months is not long enough for the price, so still looking... Also like the Helios but people have such a high failure rate with those on the electronic ballast--I'm reading it needs pulse start ballast now (?). I'm not crazy about the new Reeflux 20K...not blue enough for me I guess. I have the new Galaxy electronic ballast, by the way.

 

[DarG]

The 400 watt Radium is an energy saving lamp, actually a 360 watt lamp. It is overdriven by both 400 watt "HQI" ballast (430 watt HPS ballast) and the 400 watt electronic ballasts. The Radium is driven to spec by the standard 400 watt pulse start ballast and will have a longer life that the 6 months than is typically reported on the HQI and electronic ballasts.

 

[smariner]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=15449354#post15449354 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by DarG
The Helios/EVC are much bluer than the Aqualine 20K. The Helios is a pretty color blue, not so monotone like some of the bluer lamps. But relatively speaking, they are very blue.

I would have to agree, the EVC lamps are very blue...

Hope this helps,
Chad D. Bryant

 

[Canarygirl]

The 400 watt Radium is an energy saving lamp, actually a 360 watt lamp. It is overdriven by both 400 watt "HQI" ballast (430 watt HPS ballast) and the 400 watt electronic ballasts. The Radium is driven to spec by the standard 400 watt pulse start ballast and will have a longer life that the 6 months than is typically reported on the HQI and electronic ballasts.

The Galaxy electronic ballast (the one I have) is actually designed to run the Radiums to spec--from what I've read. That's why I bought it. But my understanding is that you're still supposed to swap them out at 6 months.

I would have to agree, the EVC lamps are very blue...

Chad, is this the bulb you are running now? Where do you purchase these bulbs, and are they listed as Helios or as EVC?

 

[DarG]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=15603045#post15603045 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by Canarygirl
The Galaxy electronic ballast (the one I have) is actually designed to run the Radiums to spec--from what I've read. That's why I bought it. But my understanding is that you're still supposed to swap them out at 6 months.





Chad, is this the bulb you are running now? Where do you purchase these bulbs, and are they listed as Helios or as EVC?

The Galaxy ballast is overdriving the Radiums. It is a 400 watt ballast and being electronic, it is pretty tightly regulated to drive the lamps right around 400 watts. Talk to PaulErik regarding any technical information you may need related to ballasts and lamps including the Radium lamps specifically. I have had a very recent conversation with him myself specifically regarding ballasts for the 400 watt Radium lamps.

 

[Canarygirl]

Huh, okay...my tank has 1 250-watt HQI ballast and I will keep running Radium on that ballast. But I have made a decision to try out the EVC bulb on my 400 watt ballast. If it looks like the Helios and runs well on my Galaxy ballast, I'll be a happy camper!

In case anyone is cringing inside about my mixing ballasts and bulbs on the same tank, my eyes aren't accute enough to perceive slight variations in color--