Scared of XM

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=6677653#post6677653 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by jasonfrey
Hi Everyone,

I just wanted to clear up the burn-in issue on this thread. Some people were thinking XM was pre-burning there lamps before shipping. This is a direct quote I got from XM this weekend.

"You are correct this is mis-information.
XM are not running100 hours before shipping. Actually, I don't belive
any metal halide is manufacutured this way.

100 hours of operation is a good reference point to measure lamp
electrical and photometric characterics."

Basically it would be almost impossible for a company to burn a halide bulb 100 hours and then ship out, would be too much resource and it could effect the bulbs performance depending on what type of ballast they use to burn in.

The 100 hour rule is industry standard though, this is not a slam against XM. Any halide lamp you buy will not give you accurate color until around 100 hours. That doesn't mean it will be a drastic change, but you normally can't depend on the results of that lamp until after 100 hours.

Hope this helps clear the burn-in issue up.

Could you please comment on any color shift issues, or bulbs burning very yellow rather than white, xm is having?

Marcus
 
Hi Marcus,

I'm not sure why they would have those type of problems. It could be a quality control issue and also a combination of ballasts, where if the ballast is not tuned for the bulb, or the bulb is not industry standard, you might get different results.

That's just an opinion, it does seem that the higher quality lamps like German made ushios etc do not have as many color shift problems and this might go back to the quality control standard, where every bulb is made to exact specifications.
 
Jason, If I wanted to try xm10k's and received a bulb that was obviously yellow, what is PA's policy on returns or exchanges?
 
Hi,

We have a 30 day policy, so if you feel it's too yellow we'll take it back for exchange on another brand.

Keep in mind that 10K usually is normally a yellow to white color. Even Ushio is on the yellow side. Most 10K's are a little under actual 10K rating. So depends on what your prefer, personal taste etc.

If you want warm color and use actinics, 10K ushio, xm etc is a nice choice. If you want super clean crisp white, look at 10K ReefLux and if you want something with a blue tint, i would get up into the 14K or higher bulbs.
 
Jason, the 400w xm 10k bulb tested by someone here on RC shows a correlated color temperature of 11-13k depending on ballast. The issue raised on this thread is represented well in the pictures shown in the following thread.

http://reefcentral.com/forums/showthread.php?s=&threadid=759350

Good to hear you have a 30 day policy. I assume that it applies if I get one of these color shifted xm bulbs. I love the color and par from the good xm10k's. Just nervous about getting a color shifted one.
 
Have you made a decision on what bulb you are getting yet? What ballasts are you using?

I am sure that I will be going with the XM10K's... because I do want the color and growth.

And will be running them on probably a Blueline Eballast....

250w's...


Here is a Quote of a Quote taken from that Thread just posted...

After several e-mails back and forth, XM said the following
"The lamp should not be "yellow" there is no burn-in period for this.The spectrum graph is on our website.
Every lamp is tested to perform as desinged out of the box unless it is damaged during transit.
Ballast is very important factor in color - Correct ANSI ballast is a must for proper operation and color"


Now, if XM said that... yeah, YA DERN SKIPPY Im sending the bulb back for a new one! haha
 
its all in the eye of the beholder. i have phoenix 14K's and they are blue, but i wouldnt call them superblue. in fact, depending how you look at it, it can seem white, blue, or very blue. if i have algae on the glass, it will look kinda yellow, but if the glass is clean, it looks pretty nice. i also have XM10k's (SE) sometimes they look white, sometimes kinda yellow. if i squint hard, they'll get a hint of blue :D

like i said, its all in the eye of the beholder :D
 
Shawn,

If that statement was put out by XM them they are contradicting themselves.

I can personally see new growth attributed to the introduction of the XM's on my sps, especially on my digitatas. I changed to the XM's about two weeks ago.

Premium Aquatics are replacing my yellow bulb. It's been over 100 hours and the bulb is still very yellow, the other three are fine.

Cheers,
John
 
Hi Shawn,

I have tried several bulbs and there are many good ones out there.
But I just find XM to be the best for me I tried there 15k and 20k,but swapped back in my 10Ks right away they just rock!And you will be happy with them.

Here is a pic of 3 months growth one taken at the 21st of Ocober 2005 and the other taken the 5th of February 2006 I am using 2 48"VHO actinics.

February 2006

reef050206.jpg



October 2005

october21th2005.jpg
 
My 175 watt XM 10K is a very nice crisp white with a hint of blue. Color shift will happen with a magnetic ballast thats why I run E-ballast's. Give them the full 100 hours and I'm sure the color will be satisfactory to your liking.



Edit- Nice growth Reefsalt! :D
 
That is nice, very !

I think that these bulbs are my best bet, dispite the occational bad bulb, the quality of the good ones seems great!
 
Thanks Guys,

I just wanted to show that XM`s are a freak of a 10k bulb,and produces excellent colors.
 
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