closing sale @www.saltwaterconnection.com

[Delphinus]

Originally Posted by Delphinus

regarding running Ushio 175W/10000K on M57 ballasts

... I am on my fourth year on these ballasts and my fourth set of replacement bulbs over that time, and I have NEVER had a problem with the bulbs not firing, or not appearing painfully bright. ...

This is the sound of me eating my words: munch, munch, munch. MMMm, needs a little hot sauce.

Anyways, as if to prove a point of irony, since posting this, two out of three bulbs (over two different tanks) in this configuration, haev developed problems starting. They are not starting on their own at all and I need to cycle the power several times to the ballast, fiddle with the bulb in the socket, before the bulb starts.

Soo .... I guess I can no longer say "I've never had a problem starting pulse-start bulbs on probe-start ballasts". Proceed at your own risk, maybe you'll be fine for a while, but maybe eventually you won't be fine. Spring for the M137 pulse start ballasts (beware that you will need a long-range ignitor to use pulse-start ballasts in the typical situation we wire up our canopies over our tanks).