Lucky Herp 100w MVB

CooperDragon

BD.org Sicko
Staff member
Moderator
I picked up a Lucky Herp 100w MVB from Chewy ($45) so I could test it out. Doing an initial burn-in now.
It has a nice wide beam and the bulb is similar to the BR40 I have for plain basking. I have it in a fixture that is 16'' off the ground (where I had it for temperature with the basking bulb) and is putting out 3-6 UVI across an 18'' radius at about 12'' above the meter. This is encouraging so far. I like the beam width better than the (disappointing) PowerSun.
Temp reading right under the bulb is around 97 with 81 at the corners of the blanket. This is sitting in the open rather than in an enclosure, so temps may vary.

I'll let it burn in for a while and see what the UVB output degradation looks like. That was the main issue I had with the PowerSun - that went to sub 2 UVI after a week or so. I will post more info as I get it.

76248-2073318828.jpg
 

CooperDragon

BD.org Sicko
Staff member
Moderator
Original Poster
After burning in for a while, it did lose a bit of power. It still has a nice wide beam, and at 14.5'' up (providing around 100f) it has UVI of between 1-2 across about a 2' radius. Darwin has been testing it for me a bit and seems to like it. It's nowhere near as powerful as his Arcadia, but I'd rank this a bit better than the PowerSun after burn-in.
 

CooperDragon

BD.org Sicko
Staff member
Moderator
Original Poster
Darwin has been using the Lucky Herp as a travel light for a while now and still seems to like it a lot. I mount it about 12'' up and get 3.x UVI and it seems pretty stable over time. The temps are still staying around 100 at that range.

I picked up a couple more of these to test out. The first one is the clear model. I burned that in for about a week and it still has a really intense spike of UVB right in the center, similar to the Megaray. Even after burn in it was out around 9UVI right in the center (down from about 13) with a quick dropoff to the sides down to around 3 UVI. Temps are good, but the spike in the center makes it pretty useless. I might keep it running for a while and see if that mellows out after a long burn, but unless it evens out across the beam I can't recommend it.

I also picked up another of the "coated" model. I'm not sure what the coating is (likely neodymium) but it appears to diffuse that center spike. This is the same 100w model that I started using a year ago. At 12'' up it's still producing a nice wide beam of 3-5 UVI and 101 surface temps. Combined with the fairly good longevity of the other bulb I've been using, I'll say that this appears to be a pretty good budget model option and I still recommend it when compared to a PowerSun or similar.

I still need to pick up one of the "frosted" models and see how that goes.
 

xp29

BD.org Addict
Photo Comp Winner
Beardie name(s)
Zen , Ruby ,Snicker Doodles, Sweet Pea, Sinatra
Man that is the kind of info that got me started and has kept me coming back here. I spent a few years reading and studying befor i got my first beardie and this site was far and away the most helpful. You guys rock (y)
(y)(y)
 

Members online

Latest resources

Latest posts

Latest profile posts

I miss you so much, Amaris 💔
What is a quick way to warm up a cold beardie? His heating element went out overnight and now he's very cold.
Pearl Girl wrote on moorelori1966's profile.
i feel so sad reading your about me 😢
Clapton is acclimating okay I think. He's quick as lightning so I'm not sure how much I should bring him out of his house yet. He's not at all interested in his salad though. I wonder if I should change what I'm giving him. Least he's eating his crickets.

Things to do:
Buy calcium powder
Material to raise surface for basking spot
Scenery decals for back of tank

Forum statistics

Threads
155,898
Messages
1,255,672
Members
75,965
Latest member
williamyoung
Top Bottom