Ballast Quality . ( Which Manufactures are the best ? )

[Davebones]

Have quite a few 150 watt metal halide fixtures that the ballast's are bad . The one's that in in them now are ( Sola E-MZAOOW150 ) . How do you determine what manufacture type you would use to get the longest life out of them ???

 

[JFletcher]

I've had good luck with Advance products. If the lifespan of the metal halide ballast you have in there now has been low, I would definitely not replace them with an oem ballast. I dont have too much experience with metal halide though. I have seen far far more fluorescent fixtures with poor ballast life, often shorter then the time it takes for the bulbs to be halfway worn out. I almost never put OEM ballasts back in any of those fixtures.

Eta: many times, by the time ballast needs to be replaced, the fixtures themselves really aren't too far behind... May want to do a cost-benefit of replacing the entire thing

 

[mbrooke]

Advance by far.

 

[Russs57]

I use Advance most often as well.

You could consider going with an electronic ballast. Lamps should last longer and they are more energy efficient. I have no experience with them however and we recently went the LED path.

 

[steve66]

If you don't mind having a mix of fixtures in the space (assuming its a warehouse, or factory or something similar), I would definitely look at replacing the entire fixture with LED before replacing a ballast.

The energy savings will quickly pay for the difference in cost.

 

[syhdeejey]

Agree, LED is more energy saving and environmentally friendly, reducing your electricity bills. Or you can choose bypass ballast LED light, saving the money for ballast.

 

[peter d]

An HID ballast should be destined for the scrap yard, not replacement.