summoner12
Avid Member
To make things simple I have copied the post I made for the UV meter owners club to this thread:
Two weeks ago I purchased a pair of Zoo Med Reptisun 48" T12 10.0 UVB lamps. Using Dave Weldon's 6.2 Solarmeter, I took readings on the lamps to get an idea of what a new lamp's output would be. I installed the first lamp to test, the readings were weak. I didn't really know what I should be seeing but from hearing numbers from other people I concluded something wasn't right. I compared the readings to an old 5.0 lamp, not far off. So, I installed the second lamp I had purchased to take some readings, hoping for something better. After installing the lamp and switching on the light the lamp fizzled and went dark.
I called Zoo Med because I was concerned about the output and the one lamp crapped out. I knew I could have a bonk lamp, but also thought they might want to hear about my experience in case other people have been reporting low output lamps. Last Monday I called and spoke with someone named Ashley. She said to ship the lamps in and she would send out new lamps to me right away. When the lamps showed up I was surprised to find T8 lamps instead of what I had sent, T12 lamps. I played phone tag with Ashley for almost a week (she was off a couple of days). Today I finally spoke with her about my issue of being sent T8's instead of T12's. She told me that Zoo Med no longer makes the T12 and will only be making T8's. I was initially concerned because my fixtures are T12, all of them. She said that the T8 lamp will fit into a T12 fixture. The issue is the type of ballast the fixture is using. If your fixture is a magnetic ballast you might have issues getting the lamp to start upon installation. She instructed me to take the lamps to a fixture that has an electronic ballast and turn the lamps on and off a couple of times. After doing this the lamps should work with a magnetic ballast. This seemed strange to me. I tried the lamps out in my magnetic ballasted fixture from Lythonia, no dice. The filaments glow but the lamp does not strike.
Is the conversion to T8 old news and I am late to the party? Has anyone had this experience? I know the reason for the change over is that T12 lamps are only made for the US markets and Zoo Med doesn't feel the need to support this style anymore. The T8 is more efficient than the T12 so Zoo Med is doing us a favor. Those of you in the UK will tell me I am late to the party... lol.
To add:
The T12 lamps are no longer manufactured, so don't panic yet, they are still around. T12 lamps will be in the stores still for some time. Ashley told me that some sizes (length) have much larger stock quantities and will be around for a couple of years due to the limited use of those sizes.
To those looking to expand your current setup or to those new members. Look into buying the T8 fixtures and trying to find the T8 lamps. Can told me he has used T12 lamps in T8 fixtures. The light output isn't as great since the T8 ballast isn't meant to drive the higher power T12 lamp.
Ashley also justified the change over to how the T8 lamp is more energy efficient. Apparently California is outlawying T12 fictures in new building code. Also T8 has been in use in the UK and other places for more than 15 years (according to Ashley). The US got special treatment from Zoo Med to get the T12 lamps... now their time has come.
Please share some input if you've noticed a change at your local pet shop or if you've known about this. Share your feelings about the change over.
Two weeks ago I purchased a pair of Zoo Med Reptisun 48" T12 10.0 UVB lamps. Using Dave Weldon's 6.2 Solarmeter, I took readings on the lamps to get an idea of what a new lamp's output would be. I installed the first lamp to test, the readings were weak. I didn't really know what I should be seeing but from hearing numbers from other people I concluded something wasn't right. I compared the readings to an old 5.0 lamp, not far off. So, I installed the second lamp I had purchased to take some readings, hoping for something better. After installing the lamp and switching on the light the lamp fizzled and went dark.
I called Zoo Med because I was concerned about the output and the one lamp crapped out. I knew I could have a bonk lamp, but also thought they might want to hear about my experience in case other people have been reporting low output lamps. Last Monday I called and spoke with someone named Ashley. She said to ship the lamps in and she would send out new lamps to me right away. When the lamps showed up I was surprised to find T8 lamps instead of what I had sent, T12 lamps. I played phone tag with Ashley for almost a week (she was off a couple of days). Today I finally spoke with her about my issue of being sent T8's instead of T12's. She told me that Zoo Med no longer makes the T12 and will only be making T8's. I was initially concerned because my fixtures are T12, all of them. She said that the T8 lamp will fit into a T12 fixture. The issue is the type of ballast the fixture is using. If your fixture is a magnetic ballast you might have issues getting the lamp to start upon installation. She instructed me to take the lamps to a fixture that has an electronic ballast and turn the lamps on and off a couple of times. After doing this the lamps should work with a magnetic ballast. This seemed strange to me. I tried the lamps out in my magnetic ballasted fixture from Lythonia, no dice. The filaments glow but the lamp does not strike.
Is the conversion to T8 old news and I am late to the party? Has anyone had this experience? I know the reason for the change over is that T12 lamps are only made for the US markets and Zoo Med doesn't feel the need to support this style anymore. The T8 is more efficient than the T12 so Zoo Med is doing us a favor. Those of you in the UK will tell me I am late to the party... lol.
To add:
The T12 lamps are no longer manufactured, so don't panic yet, they are still around. T12 lamps will be in the stores still for some time. Ashley told me that some sizes (length) have much larger stock quantities and will be around for a couple of years due to the limited use of those sizes.
To those looking to expand your current setup or to those new members. Look into buying the T8 fixtures and trying to find the T8 lamps. Can told me he has used T12 lamps in T8 fixtures. The light output isn't as great since the T8 ballast isn't meant to drive the higher power T12 lamp.
Ashley also justified the change over to how the T8 lamp is more energy efficient. Apparently California is outlawying T12 fictures in new building code. Also T8 has been in use in the UK and other places for more than 15 years (according to Ashley). The US got special treatment from Zoo Med to get the T12 lamps... now their time has come.
Please share some input if you've noticed a change at your local pet shop or if you've known about this. Share your feelings about the change over.
