Brand New M80 Ballasts?

ECreefer

ECreefer

New member
Getting into halides and I am looking to run a 250w Radium. Obviously everyone says to run them off an M80 but I can't seem to find any of them around still. Are there any companies that still make them?
 
Great thanks for the speedy reply! I saw them but wasn't sure if they were old and didn't update their site or what.
 
Thanks for the input everyone, I was checking out the site again last night and it says they're in stock. I was curious, can you just buy the unassembled ballasts as well? Are they the m80 just without a case? Anyone know
 
I would imagine that they are just a standard m80 packed into a nice case. I made my own with ballasts purchased at a electric supply house and used a small metal tool box to house them.
 
topjimmy said:
I would imagine that they are just a standard m80 packed into a nice case. I made my own with ballasts purchased at a electric supply house and used a small metal tool box to house them.
Click to expand...


Topjimmy, did you use m80 ballasts? If so where did you get the parts for these and do you have any model numbers?

I don't mind building my own if I know everything that is needed with numbers.
 
I got them from a local business that supplies electrical contractors. Your town probably has a similar place. I think grainger has them but they are usually pretty pricey. I don't remember the manufacturer of the ballast. They come with the ballast and the starter, pretty easy to wire up. I used 12g three wire cord for the wall plug, and for quick connect to the bulb socket.
 
Save yourself some money and Google S51 ballast. It is a mercury vapor ballast that will run Radiums to spec. I've been using them with no issue at all. The startup voltage on the s51 is lower than an m80, but as long as your cord isn't ridiculously long, you won't notice a difference.
 
I heard the s51 can "damage" your bulb? As in you don't get as long a life out of the bulbs, but they probably still work just as fine. How often do you change bulbs? What type of tank are you running (sps or mixed). Does the tank look more blue or white?
 
My information came from PaulErik, who is the god of metal halide ballasts. He was one of the first to import Radium bulbs to the US. According to him, the only significant difference is that the S51 uses a lower starting voltage. This doesn't necessarily damage the bulb, but it COULD cause the bulb to have trouble firing up when it gets older. The way to remedy this is have the cord from the ballast to the bulb as short as feasible. I've only been running them on s51 for about 3 months, no problems at all. I fully expect to get 12-18 months out of these bulbs. I've noticed no color difference from an M80 (white with a blue hue). It will drive 250w DE bulbs like Phoenix to spec as well. I bought them new for $35 each.
 
stancfii said:
My information came from PaulErik, who is the god of metal halide ballasts. He was one of the first to import Radium bulbs to the US. According to him, the only significant difference is that the S51 uses a lower starting voltage. This doesn't necessarily damage the bulb, but it COULD cause the bulb to have trouble firing up when it gets older. The way to remedy this is have the cord from the ballast to the bulb as short as feasible. I've only been running them on s51 for about 3 months, no problems at all. I fully expect to get 12-18 months out of these bulbs. I've noticed no color difference from an M80 (white with a blue hue). It will drive 250w DE bulbs like Phoenix to spec as well. I bought them new for $35 each.
Click to expand...


Thank you for the very informative info. Would you happen to know of a minimum length for the distance of the cord? I could probably get as close as 3 feet if needed.
 
S51 ballasts are 400 watts, why would you run 250 watt bulbs on them? I would just stick to the m80 ballast imo
 
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