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Re: Re: Icecap Flourescent ballasts



>
>
> I have used a variety of 24" NO bulbs with an Icecap ballasts and have seen no premature failure of the bulbs.  In my experience, the ballast works fine with any NO or VHO type bulb.

> Bob

>
>
> Robert wrote:
> >I was surfing the WEB this morning and was looking thru Icecaps WEB site,
> >and came across a reprinted FAMA article that suggests NO bulbs running on
> >an Icecap ballast give off the same amount of brightness as a VHO bulb! Is
> >there any truth to this? It doesnt seem to make much sense to me, and I was
> >wondering if any of the light gurus here could pick this apart? See
> >http://www.icecapinc.com/famaarticle.htm
>      There is some truth to this.   I have been using the Icecap 660 for the
> past 1.5 years to drive 48", T12, NO lamps, and the lamps seem to take the
> abuse fairly well.  Are they as bright as a 48" VHO lamp?  No way.  But they
> are much brighter than usual.  Would be nice to have a lux meter to find out
> just how much brighter.  I have spoken with Andy Howard (president of Icecap)
> about this very claim, and was told that a 48" NO lamp is driven at ~ 80 - 90
> watts instead of the usual 40.  The lamps
> do of course run hotter than usual, which I'm sure decreases efficiency
> somewhat.  (Their claim of greater efficiency applies only when it is used
> with VHO lamps)  I do like the fact that I can also use up to four 96 watt
> PC's with my Icecap, and mix them with my favorite T12 or T8 lamps.  Icecap
> claims that their 660 ballast can be used  to drive almost any length/wattage
> of lamp, from 18" to 96".  This isn't entirely true, at least not in my
> experience.  I have used 24" and 48" lamps with my Icecap 660. The ballast
> works well with 48" lamps: NO, HO, or VHO, but not with 24" NO.
> Many of my  24", NO lamps would only last a max of 3 - 4 months, developed
> severe
> black spots near the ends of the lamp, and both filaments burn open as the
> lamp draws it's last breath.
> I have used the following 24", T12, 20w lamps with an Icecap 660:
> Durotest Vita Light, Sylvania Gro lux, Coralife Spectramax, GE C50, and
> Philips Daylight.  Interestingly, the Vita Light and the Philips lamps never
> failed, and I still use them on other tanks, but with standard ballasts.  I
> think Icecap should revise it's claims a bit, based on my experience with 24"
> NO lamps.  If you want to use 24"
> lamps with an Icecap ballast, use VHO (75 watt) instead.
>
> Andrew
>