GE 90w Halogen PAR38

CooperDragon

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Amazon messed up with my last order of lighting that came in today and sent 80w 1600 lumen bulbs rather than the 90w 1790 lumen ones I usually order. I looked more closely on the box and it appears that the 90w version (and 120w) may have been discontinued. I thought it has been a bit harder to find them over the past year or so. I will have to do some testing and find some suitable replacements. I don't see the brightrite halogens on the MegaRay site anymore either. Maybe there have been some advancements in metal halide that I should check out too. Does anyone have any bulb brands/wattages they prefer? With the changeover to LED lighting, it may start to get tougher to find lighting that produces heat the way we need it to.
 

Claudiusx

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How does the 80w compare for you temperature wise? Does the 10w make a big difference?

I know you like pretty intense bulbs so you can have large basking areas, but do you have any intrest in other types of bulbs? Youd probably have to up your wattage to get the same effect as the par38s but I'm sure it can be done.

-Brandon
 

CooperDragon

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I've had to lower the bulb a bit in the main tank with the 80s. I can do some more serious testing using my portable to measure differences. I've tested a few other types of bulbs in the past but haven't been as happy with them for one reason or another. Not a huge deal for now regarding my setup, but I want to keep ahead and have a known entity that I can recommend to others that is relatively easy to get around the country and will work in most setups.
 

Claudiusx

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In the past, I had always been kind of anti- reptile basking bulb. Just because it seemed to be a scam, regular household bulbs were so much cheaper and can provide the temps we need. But, I gotta admit i've used a couple this year, and they are kind of growing on me. I'm using one in Tombos tank right now and it puts off some great heat for just being a little 50w.

Whole point being, is if these inefficient bulbs we've been using are going to get harder and harder to come by, maybe it's not worth the hassle to go searching. Maybe reptile basking bulbs are the solution.

In California at least, there has been a big push for energy efficiency. And bulbs producing heat are not efficient in most cases. So in stores they are getting less and less. There used to be whole aisles at home depot of suitable bulbs for our dragons. Now there is maybe a shelf in that whole aisle. Everything else is CFLs and LEDs.

I'll use my household bulbs until I'm out of them (as for my actual fixtures in my house, we have moved mainly to LED's) and after that, I am most likely going to just be buying the reptile brand ones. That way I don't have to worry anymore about what wattage works, what type of bulb, etc.

-Brandon
 

CooperDragon

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I used the ZooMed Repti Basking Spot for years. It put out enough heat but it made a buzzing sound when dimmed at all and they tended to burn out fairly quickly. I'd love to get my hands on some of the komodo brand stuff available in the UK. Swell Reptiles is like a candy store full of goodies I can't get my hands on =). I may wind up grabbing a bunch of bulbs off the aisle at the pet store just to see what's available now and which ones do what. I still avoid the neodymium coated bulbs though. I mostly just want to come up with another gold standard or two that can be recommended broadly and with confidence.
 

Claudiusx

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CooperDragon":xh7s1u2z said:
I used the ZooMed Repti Basking Spot for years. It put out enough heat but it made a buzzing sound when dimmed at all and they tended to burn out fairly quickly. I'd love to get my hands on some of the komodo brand stuff available in the UK. Swell Reptiles is like a candy store full of goodies I can't get my hands on =). I may wind up grabbing a bunch of bulbs off the aisle at the pet store just to see what's available now and which ones do what. I still avoid the neodymium coated bulbs though. I mostly just want to come up with another gold standard or two that can be recommended broadly and with confidence.
Well I'm definitely interested in your testing and what you find out.
I didn't know that about the dimming, i've never used a dimmer with my dragons, for the reason I mentioned earlier ( I think it was this thread at least, maybe it was rubbles thread ).

What exactly will your tests consist of if you don't mind sharing?

-Brandon
 

CooperDragon

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I have a dimming thermostat in place that's usually running the light at 100% but will cut it to prevent overheating at times and that's when the annoying hum would start.

I usually just test distance (UVI too with a UVB emitting bulb). I have a yard stick that I set up next to an adjustable stand and set up a piece of tape across the floor and mark it at intervals. Then I test the readings at different intervals (X and Y axis) and put them into a spreadsheet. That gives me a decent idea about the heat and UVB cone produced by each bulb. Nothing crazy, just a simple test to give me a general idea about each. For a plain heat bulb I'll use my cheap IR temp gun (no emissivity correction or anything like that) to get some basic readings from the bulbs after they've been running for a half hour or so. Adjust height. Repeat.
 

Hollyfm

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Hi! I realize I’m posting on an old thread but someone recommended I buy the par38 90 watt halogen bulb since I’ve had two different instances of my 150 watt zoo med bulbs burn out in a months time. I’ve had a flukers 10” done that allows for 160 watt so it should be able to handle that wattage but twice my bulbs have burned out and killed the dome as well. Would you recommend switched to this kind of bulb? Also what kind of dome should I use? I have a zenhabitats 4x2x2 enclosure. Thanks!
 

CooperDragon

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The 90w version is very tough to find recently so I've been using the 80w which works pretty well. The halogen flood bulb is a good choice worth testing, but it may not work equally in all enclosures. As far as fixtures go, it should fit in an existing fixture and is well under the rated wattage. I prefer using Brooder Lamp fixtures from my local farm store. They are well built and rated up to 300w and cost under $10.
 

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