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DIY 70watt or 150w MH HQI pendant


reefriot

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reefgurl...$$$$$$=150w :D

 

lets see, you are sorta' east coast...here are some Aromat dealers that I know of...

 

-Specialty Store Lighting (CT)

1-860-767-0110 (ask for Heather)

 

-Capitol Light (CT)

1-800-392-1230 (ask for Joe Oblon)

 

-Candela (PA/GA)

1-800-722-6068

 

 

BTW, AROMAT makes a new "slim" 150w eBallast that looks awesome! Good Luck!

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Hey did anyone notice the 20 and 39 watt Slimline ballasts? I am thinking that if they are building them then someone has got to be using mh's that are that small. In my thinking I am seeing my 2.5 with a 20 watt MH on it.

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Are there 20W MH's in the correct spectrum though (or colour temperature, or whatever you call it!)

 

I found that, once the ballast and pendant were purchased...the recurring cost of bulbs is higher for 70s than it is for 250, 400W bulbs!

 

Plus, the available bulbs are limited to Ushio10K and AB10K(actually 13K ??)

 

 

V

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I've read this thread 3 times now I believe. I feel overloaded, but non the less this will be the path I travel. I was just wondering how that catalina bulb was holding up for Wardo.

One other thing, the fixture should be how high off the water? I think someone asked this but I don't believe it was ever answered. 4 - 5inches sound good?

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Vincerama

The AB is available in a 10,000K, which is yes, really around 13,000K....but they also make a 6500K, as well as a 20,000K. Now, compared to the various single ended bulbs out there, this may seem limited, but for double ended bulbs...this is the norm. Try to find other 150 or 250DE bulbs out there besides 6500, 10000, 13000, and 20000K....you wont. So it really isnt that limited.

 

Now, as far a price goes, I agree, it can be hard to find a good price, but try to find a 150 or 250wattDE bulb for the $55 AbsoluTc is selling at...or jorgeinmiami...or....??? Double ended bulbs are just starting to really make it mainstream in the states since people are just beginning to realize the double ended bulb's superiority, esp the 70watters, so keep in mind that we should see more in the next few years...alot more, driving prices down.

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Oh yeah, from another thread...

 

http://www.specialtyoptical.com/catalog/uh...0aq_2931359.htm

 

The $52 mystery Ushio bulb, which may actually be what other call the 70W bulb! It's marked as the UHI70AQ, which is the same as my Ushio 70W bulb. I believe Ushio even mentions that the bulb is really 75W. (But it says it fires on an M85 ballast, not M98 like the "70W")

 

Anyway, the jury is still out on this bulb...if it IS the "Ushio 70W 10K bulb" then this is definitely the place to get your bulbs! (My Ushio 70W cost $70, which is average price, but nowhere near as good as $52!)

 

V

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Reefer_Buddha

a quick question for the electric gurus. Im doin the same diy but on a worklight that has an on/off button. If im wiring the connects to the terminals in the housing that wont make a difference because there's a switch between the light and the power is there??

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Reefer_Buddha

well the ballast is wired before the power switch now. Just for reference i found out the hard way that these worklights im using need heavy modification. The bulb wont fit in the endcaps. SO have to rip out the end caps from the qf300 fixture

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On mine the screw is touching almost as much as it was in the first place just a little less. The tab is just not touching on the bottom where i removed the material.

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for the wireing on my ballast, couldn't i just use an extension corde, and if so, the green wire goes to the bottom one, grounded, and the other two go on the other two.. does it matter wich way it is sired i mean with the wite adn black wires, do they HAVE to be powerd in a certain way... also does it matter wich side the red wires attach to the light i mean the red with the yellow can go on one siad ena d the just plain red on the other and it doesnt matter if i get em switched around???????????|

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Reefer_Buddha

um...ya it will matter if you switch them around.

 

Get a ground 16 guage outdoor extension cord. Cut the plug-in end off but leave the pronged end attached. Depending on the ballast, youll wana connect white to white and black to black, green to green. Some ballasts like aromat require you ground the actual ballast, then you just ground the green wire to the housing. The other 2 are for the connections to the bulb socket. I use the quick connects instead of the twist crap.

 

Just put the 2 (from cord and ballast) together and crimp, then snap it over and youre done. The wires to the bulb socket dont matter. But the power wiring matters.

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okay, that is what i thought. so what your saying is when i take apart the extension cord (like one of those thick yellow outdoor ones) the wires inside will be labled with color too? and i have a wpi ballast. ( i wish i had gotten an aromat)(sigh...) so i just connect the green black and white wires to their matching colors on the extension cord. then for the light it doesn't matter wich end the red wires go to. (i can attach them to either the black or white wires coming out of the regent fixture). so if i have that wrong tell me...i am defenitely NOT an electrician so i am sorta afraid. where can i get those quick connects and what do they look like?

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Reefer_Buddha

actually the wpi has good and bad, ive used both. Wpi has an actual grounded cord where as the aromat you have to ground the ballast. The downside is you have to mount the wpi within 2 feet of the bulb.

 

Yes when you cut open the cord youll see green, black and white. Simple. Dont worry about it, i was kinda nervous plugging wires in and etc but its stupidly simple. Just hook up the wires that match and you dont even need to worry about the 2 for the bulb they can go either way.

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Do you mean...will a 175 or 250W bulb fit in one of those pendants?

 

I guess if you got one large enough and used different bulb holders, you can basically put any bulb them. I mean, it's just a housing right?

 

V

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