Question about MH bulbs firing!

MontanaRocknReefer · 05-12-2003, 11:50 AM

I got a pair of 250 10,000k MH bulbs from Hamilton and they are sending me one to replace one that never fired up and the other one fired up for a couple of days(10hr burning time) and now when I got home from work this morning I fired up the ballast and the one 250 tries to come on and then goes out.
I checked the power cords and even put it on a separate surge device and plugged it into the wall and it still does not want to fire up completely. Right it has tried to come on three times and will not stay fired. Is this notorious for these bulbs? Do they need a break-in period? Just curious about this! Johnny

Casey · 05-12-2003, 01:20 PM

Johnny you might have a bad ballast.

MontanaRocknReefer · 05-12-2003, 03:47 PM

Hey casey! I talked to Doug(AquaticCo.) and he said new MH's are notorious for starting up like that until the breakin period is over which is about 100hrs! We shall see!

Casey · 05-12-2003, 06:41 PM

Well Johnny mine dont do that guess we will just wait and see.

tdwyatt · 05-12-2003, 09:37 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by MontanaRocknReefer
I got a pair of 250 10,000k MH bulbs from Hamilton and they are sending me one to replace one that never fired up and the other one fired up for a couple of days(10hr burning time) and now when I got home from work this morning I fired up the ballast and the one 250 tries to come on and then goes out.
... Is this notorious for these bulbs? Do they need a break-in period? Just curious about this! Johnny

I no longer use Hqamilton bulbs, but it has been a while since I did. At that time, I switched to the Iwasaki bulbs with an occasional german bulb in the 10K range, and am currently running a trial of the 12k K bulbs. I can't find the log entries for this, (heck still finding stuff from the move) but I seem to remember this being a problem with the Hamilton bulbs. Which ballast and what type of ballast are you using?

Just as an aside, it seems that screwing the bulb in and out several times and checking the button tab in the bottom of the socket for good contact may be needed, it wouldn't hurt to bend the tab up a bit if yours is bendable... Check for spray on the socket if the bulbs are less than 8 inches from the surface.

Junkzoo · 05-12-2003, 09:45 PM

Ditto on what Tom said ,Johnny,,,check the socket,clean /adjust center tab if needed,,a lil bit of silicone grease on the the threaded part of the base will help too,and make it easier to remove later,,,use a towel over the bulb when you tighten it up,,it''l help protect you in case it breaks,,,,and don't forget to wipe finger prints /hand oil off the bulb b4 you fire it up,,,

AquaticCo · 05-12-2003, 10:45 PM

Just remember to unplug the sockets from the power supply first.

Casey · 05-12-2003, 11:24 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by AquaticCo
Just remember to unplug the sockets from the power supply first.

Definately Johnny dont pull on tabs without that juice being off dont want nothing to light you up buddy

Rick O · 05-13-2003, 06:26 AM

Hey Johnny. I had Hamilton bulbs over my prop tank and when they were new they did the same thing. Eventually they stayed fired up and then never failed to fire again. I hope it works for you.

MontanaRocknReefer · 05-13-2003, 07:36 PM

Update: I got a new bulb from Hamilton for the other one that did not work and it fired right up. I am getting another new bulb this Thursday from Hamilton and hopefully this will take care of the problem! Should have pics may Thursday night or Friday as son came over and helped me build a frame to hand the hood!

Casey · 05-13-2003, 08:09 PM

Question about MH bulbs firing!

Re: Question about MH bulbs firing!