MH ballast question (oddesey)

I have a 72" Oddesey MH set up from and have been happy with for the money, but i had a ballast go out. It is under warranty so it'll be replaced for free. The question i need some answers on is this....What can i do in the future if it goes out again? What type of replacement can i get and can i get away with a ballast for Graingers or another shop til i can afford to upgrade to something like icecaps? How do i know what start up features they have or stuff like that? Thanks.

 

i can get them for about 65.00, but i took the case apart today and talk about cheap. I was hoping to a slight upgrade from the OEMs.