Electronic vs Magnetic Ballasts

[mutley29]

Anyone know how much more efficient elctronic ballasts are compared to magnetic,
i was looking into upgrading my 400w magnetic ballasts to electronic and was just wondering on what the differences would be, cost to run wise if i have them on for 10hours a day?

And are there any places with deals on them at the moment, the cheapest i've found so far is http://www.reeffanatic.com/cgi-bin/mas/category.cgi?item=MHBL_RF400EV2


Also it's time to change my lights where is the cheapest place to get 12000 or 14000k MH's, this is where i got the ones i have from http://aquaticlight.com/bulbs.html#Pricing

Thanks in advance i hope

Anton

 

[dgasmd]

Anton:

For you to regain break even in the original price difference between the PFO HQI and the electronic 400 watt ballasts, you would have to run them for something like 7-8 years. That is just to break even. Not realisticly worth it really. their main benefit is that they run cooler. I have 4 eballasts. They ahve been running for about 14-16 months and I have already replaced 2 of them because of failure. Lots of other people I know have had the same experience. I will actually take them down and replace them for PFO HQI.

 

[hillbilly]

I have also heard from several people who have had premature electronic ballest failure. Based on the reports, I think I'll keep my old magnetic ballests for a while. Hellolights have decent prices on bulbs, and is a sponsor of Reefs.org.

 

[mutley29]

Thanks Guys

This is exactly what i was after

I'll stick to the Magnetics for a while longer

Anton

 

[ChrisRD]

Also, keep in mind that electronic MH ballasts aren't necessarily more efficient. They tend to run cooler and use less power, but they also tend to result in less output from the lamps...

 

[Anonymous]

Thanx for all the info also..i was considering going eballast for cooler running..hearing all the negative stuff has scared me straight...