Double Ended vs Mogul.

[RazerCorals]

Give me your thoughts on Double Ended and Mogul Metal Halide. Do you think either lights better? or has better color? or more efficent?

[phistio]

the only reason i would be more inclined to purchase a mogul is that they seem to be a bit more durable...

HQI's will pop if any water were to splash on them, whereas a mogul won't (less likely to, anyhow). moguls can be cleaned off after they've cooled down.

[Zack]

But HQI's are about double intense then their wattage!! :!: :!: :shock:

[reefrunner]

But HQI's are about double intense then their wattage!! :!: :!: :shock:

From what I understand, the reason they are so intense, is because they are overdriven. I can't remember the numbers, but the HQI bulb is not really produced for US, it goes on the European wattage scale, our ballasts don't quite match up with the bulb and they are overdriven. Because they are overdriven, there is an acceleration in spectral shift as well as a shortened bulb life.

[mikedan1]

Im an electrician and your statement isnt true about hqi. hoq are driven by a totally differernt ballast. the lamps last lonnger than mogul based m.h. they were sesignes for stage lifgting in a compact size.

[Fiji Live Rock]

With the double end bulbs...they work like a Halogen bulb...you can't touch them. If you do you need to use alcohol to remove any grease from your fingers. Also, there is no UV cover. A mogul design basicly has the "bulb" on the inside and that large glass UV shield which is the "big bulb" on the outside.

If I am correct. :?

[reefrunner]

Im an electrician and your statement isnt true about hqi.

Perhaps a better selection of words would have been..."That statement is not correct." I was relaying what I have read on forums such as this one, I have no personal experience with these bulbs, which I thought was clear from my post. Please go on and answer the questions in the original post. I am quite interested.

Give me your thoughts on Double Ended and Mogul Metal Halide. Do you think either lights better? or has better color? or more efficent?

[benelux]

Lighting is such a great subject for discussion :) From the information I have Double-ended bulbs of lesser wattage is, under no circumstance, more powerful than a mogul bulbs of a higher wattage. But there's a significant difference between them when you talk about the condition under which they are used.

It is true that DB bulbs provides more light intensity than a mogul based bulb. It's not because a DB would be overdriven but more because of the way the DB bulb is operated. It all have to do with proper ballast utilization and the Reflector design and position.

DB bulbs are smaller than Mogul and their light output is more predictable which make the design of a reflector easier and more efficient than a mogul based bulb. Once you know the geometry of the output you can design a reflector that will direct the light in a more precise way and away from the light source itself which make more usable light available. Moreover, the size of the DB make it more likely to be inserted very close to the reflector. As the light need to travel and bounce less in the surounding space, the result makes it appear as it's more powerful than a mogul base bulb of higher wattage. The negative side of that is that the light will be more powerful but over a smaller area.

As for efficiency, DB from europe prove themself to be reliable and stable both in spectrum and intensity as long as the proper ballast is used. On advantage european system have over those in north america is the fact that all of them are equipped with UVA UVB filtering glass protecting living organism and the DB bulbs from water splash. One of the reason why the european DB are more durable and efficient is the difference in the DB bulb itself. US DB have internal starter and UE DB have external starter. Using the proper ballast and ignitor is then critical for efficiency. Check that link i got from another forum it's very instructive.

http://www.fortunecity.com/meltingpot/cambie/38/index.htm

What do you think? :wink:

[reefrunner]

http://websmileys.bei.t-online.de/schild43.gif Very helpful!! Thankyou!