First MV lightLooking for recommendations/input

[wdcrawf2]

Hello,

I’m looking for some input on which MV bulb I should be looking to get. I see bioquip has both 175 and 250. Other than brightness, is there any pros or cons with one or the other?

Bill

[Deleted]

Either one will work. I use two sizes….400w and 250w units. Do, however, be sure to have the correct ballast setup whether you go 175 or 250. Using a 250 bulb w a 175 ballast is asking for trouble. I made up different ballast units w ammo cans.

[Deleted]

Also….you’ll need a special Mogul socket for your bulb. I think they’re E 39s. Listed as 62RF, mogul base LH200, starting pulse rating 5KV, 600VAC, QSSI NH. I mounted my sockets on collapsible stands.

[Deleted]

[wdcrawf2]

Thank you for your input. I’m looking at getting a bio quit set up with their ballast. I guess my question would be would the brighter light have like knockdown power that would make the insects fall before they reach a sheet? Or am I overthinking it

[Deleted]

Imho, the difference between those two (175 vs 250) is minimal..if you were to consider a 400 or 1000 watt unit to 250, then yes, the insects landing far from sheet/light would be a factor. I use my 400s for big open area attraction and the 250s for the woodsy areas. Actually, I use multiple bulbs w varying Kelvin temperature wavelengths. MV (6700k) is generally good, but I add Plantmax at 8200K and a 10,000K bulb so as to broadcast as much of the far end (towards UV) of the spectrum as possible.

Also….not to knock BIOQUIP, but making your own units is cheaper and you can control the specifics of your units more easily. Wiring the ballasts is not too bad, and since I have four ballast units (2 each of 250 and 400), I found that ordering the parts and doing myself saved both money and gave me the freedom to create exactly what I wanted.

[bandrow]

Jul 24, 2021 6:43:21 GMT -8 wdcrawf2 said:

Thank you for your input. I’m looking at getting a bio quit set up with their ballast. I guess my question would be would the brighter light have like knockdown power that would make the insects fall before they reach a sheet? Or am I overthinking it

Greetings,

As a coleopterist, I believe it will be true for any size bulb, as far as the "knockdown" effect goes. Many insects will fall short of the light - especially larger beetles. I would suspect that the larger the bulb, the greater the diameter of knockdown. As for leps, I'll leave that up to the moth guys to answer.

To counter this effect, I run a UV bulb in tandem with my MV light and "cycle" them periodically - usually 30-45 minutes of MV plus UV, and then shut the MV off and run just the UV until the newcomers stop arriving, and then back on with the MV. I learned this decades ago from some collectors in Arizona, who claimed it was a "desert technique" but upon trying it in the East, found it works everywhere.

Cheers!
Bandrow

[evra]

Personally I think 400w is the optimal size. It’s the largest size you can have while running a 1000w generator. The 1000w generators are a lot lighter, quieter, and use significantly less gas than the 2000w generators. If you have a 2000w generator already, then go with a 1000w rig. But if you are starting from scratch, 2 400w lights and a 1000w generator with a couple 15w UV tubes is pretty ideal. And yes, they will land a long ways from the sheet, but that’s why having the UV lights and doing the cycling technique that Bandrow describes is critical. After about 15 minutes of running the UVs only, you’ll have at least twice as many insects on your sheet as when you were running the MVs.

The one big downside of 175 or 250s that I’ve seen is that some of the crepuscular moth species don’t seem to come to them very much. For example I’ve been in spots collecting with 5-6 other collectors and every rig with 400 or 1000w setups got Dolbogene hartwegii but not a single 175 or 250w did.

[wdcrawf2]

Jul 24, 2021 7:21:04 GMT -8 billgarthe said:

Imho, the difference between those two (175 vs 250) is minimal..if you were to consider a 400 or 1000 watt unit to 250, then yes, the insects landing far from sheet/light would be a factor. I use my 400s for big open area attraction and the 250s for the woodsy areas. Actually, I use multiple bulbs w varying Kelvin temperature wavelengths. MV (6700k) is generally good, but I add Plantmax at 8200K and a 10,000K bulb so as to broadcast as much of the far end (towards UV) of the spectrum as possible.

Also….not to knock BIOQUIP, but making your own units is cheaper and you can control the specifics of your units more easily. Wiring the ballasts is not too bad, and since I have four ballast units (2 each of 250 and 400), I found that ordering the parts and doing myself saved both money and gave me the freedom to create exactly what I wanted.

Pardon me for my ignorance. Where would one find a wiring diagram and components list to make such ballasts? Also bulbs of that serious wattage?

Bill

[evra]

He’s referring to something like this:

www.1000bulbs.com/product/89416/PLUSRITE-7230.html?gclid=EAIaIQobChMIip-Qjdj88QIVCB-tBh20nw0aEAQYASABEgJyAPD_BwE

Just to be clear, I’m not recommending that exact one. I don’t have any experience with Plusrite brand products. Lots of vendors make ballast kits like that though. Metal halide ballasts can run metal halide or mercury vapor bulbs. Basically you take a normal outdoor extension cord, cut it in two, and splice the ballast in the middle. The wiring diagram for it comes on the ballast itself. It only involves connecting 4 wires plus a ground with wire nuts. The other 2 things that are more specialized are a mogul base socket and then the actual metal halide or mercury vapor lamp (bulb).

[wdcrawf2]

Would anyone be able to shed some light on where I can get MV bulbs right now? Seems both bioquip and leptraps are in short supply?

Would a bulb like this work?

www.1000bulbs.com/product/6505/MV0400-69449.html

[wdcrawf2]

Or something like this?

www.jedlights.com/MV1000-1000W-Mercury-Vapor-Bulb-BT56-MOGUL-Base-CLEAR-P487994.aspx

[evra]

Yeah both of those work as bulbs. You have to match the power requirements. So the 400w bulb needs a 400w ballast. The 1000w needs a 1000w ballast. Both require a mogul socket, which is not the common lightbulb standard you are probably used to. Something like this:

www.1000bulbs.com/product/171742/CL-10008.html

Pretty much all MV bulbs bigger than 175w require this kind of socket, although there are a few rare exceptions.

[LEPMAN]

Jul 30, 2021 3:13:04 GMT -8 wdcrawf2 said:

Would anyone be able to shed some light on where I can get MV bulbs right now? Seems both bioquip and leptraps are in short supply?

Would a bulb like this work?

www.1000bulbs.com/product/6505/MV0400-69449.html

I would recommend extreme caution in buying anything from lep traps. See other threads...

[rayrard]

I have two 250's but no ballast and Bioquip charges 350 plus shipping (ripoff). Is there anywhere to get a ballast made up and I can find an enclosure on my own (even a paint can) for cheaper. I am not electrically inclined to feel safe making my own and potentially shocking myself or ruining my lights!