Do not forget to change out your light bulbs

[gladysvjubb]

New year new light bulb. I was wondering why my 400 hps seemed dimmer. I had not changed it out in 3 years. All taken care of.

 

[Lost in a SOG]

Another reason im glad i went LED. buying new bulbs was a pain..

 

[Switcher56]

... also a good time to change your filters

 

[CannaRed]

And check smoke detectors and pressure of fire extinguishers.
Clean hoods and glass too.

 

[Fred Sanford]

Ironic you posted this. I just let my veg 1000mh go 14 months and had noticed that all the plants were stretching a lot no matter how close I kept them.
Now it will be changed every 10 months.

 

[Mrkline006]

How long do MH\HPS bulbs normally last?

 

[Switcher56]

1 yr. They'll last longer... but, the cost of growing this shit ain't cheap, sooooooooooo, don't waste time and energy. Replace once a year and be effective Your plants will love you for it.

 

[Ibechillin]

Veg light running 16hrs a day 365 days a year = 5840hr veg per year.

Flower light running 12hrs a day 365 days a year = 4380hr flower per year.

MH and HPS typical manufacturer suggested replacement after 1 year of 12/12 or 4380hrs of use.

Ceramic arc tubes (CMH) are advertised to resist thermal breakdown better and last longer than MH and HPS.

As MH/HPS/CMH bulbs degrade the spectrum shifts and becomes less optimal.

Quality Led grow lighting manufacturers typically rate them to last 50,000+ hours with less than 10% drop in output and often continue to operate way beyond their rating with little or no shift in spectrum.

 

[frankelopez]

Anyone able to share some tips on cleaning hoods and glass?

 

[MJPassion]

Anyone able to share some tips on cleaning hoods and glass?

Wash with soap and water then rinse off and dry immediately so you don't have light dispersing hard water spots.

 

[Iamnumber]

related question..


WHEN the bulb is past its prime and gives out only 85% of light (and the spectrum has sifted - How, which way?) ,, WHAT happens to ELECTRIC CONSUMPTION?


Dose the light consume the same it did while brand new? dose it consume 85% of what it did ? something in between (what?) ?

 

[CannaRed]

related question..


WHEN the bulb is past its prime and gives out only 85% of light (and the spectrum has sifted - How, which way?) ,, WHAT happens to ELECTRIC CONSUMPTION?


Dose the light consume the same it did while brand new? dose it consume 85% of what it did ? something in between (what?) ?

Good question! I am not sure but have heard that it loses efficiency. My guess is still pulling same watts but not putting out same photons.
I did see a paper somewhere about how the spectrum changes with age. Can't find it tho.

 

[f-e]

I havn't measured it, but believe consumption goes up, along with the light level dropping.

I use Green power lamps. One type has a couple of letters after it. A CG I think. Compared to a standard son, it starts off maybe 5% under, but holds about 92% for life. So while the standard son could last many years before total failure, the CG gives you two good years. Then fails.

You would need to check the exact figures. I don't quite remember them properly. You can run them a long time though. Changing them makes no yield difference, but you can tell they run cooler when new. I think they take more and more power as they age, to maintain lumens. Until one day they just fail. I'm only guessing though.

 

[growshopfrank]

HPS lamps have very good lumen maintenance ,another way of saying that HPS bulbs maintain their output well till they die.
MH lamps on the other hand diminish their output significantly before the fail/die

Old school folks running cap/core ballasts would do well by replacing the capacitor every second or third time that they relamp FWIW

 

[big315smooth]

Bout year ago my father ruined run to old bulbs. I remember he was bout month in flower buds looked about a week in. Run finished but it was garbage

 

[Mrkline006]

If I’m only running 2 grows per year. Each 7 week veg am I good to switch MH every 3-4 grows? It comes out to about 800 hours per grow for mh.... also, are the hortilux bulbs really worth the money for HPS??? I’m running cheap vivosun bulbs and I wanted to upgrade but 80$ for a bulb seems huge too me but if it’s worth it then that’s another story

 

[xxPeacePipexx]

Regardless of whether they lasted beyond a couple harvests, my old Lumateks always let me know when my bulbs weren't so good. The Ballast would strike and fire these older bulbs for about five minutes before shutting down. It didn't matter if these were actually Lumatek bulbs or any other high end, nor did it make any difference using the cheapest of bulbs. And no it wasn't a bad ballast either, I actually had nine Lumatek Ballasts and every one of them would not run for more than five minutes with the stressed older bulbs. Funny thing is these same bulbs would burn just fine when given to others using magnetic ballasts.

 

[root121]

Bout year ago my father ruined run to old bulbs. I remember he was bout month in flower buds looked about a week in. Run finished but it was garbage

My answer:

It is a common practice to change a bulb without turning off the light, especially if there is no way to tell whether the power to the bulb is on or off, such as in a three way switch arrangement.

There are hazards in turning a lightbulb in a live socket. First, the glass might separate from the metal shell, and then the wires inside the base short out and there is a big spatter of molten metal and a bang. The person is startled and might fall from the ladder or stool or get a speck of molten copper in the eye. Next, a lamp or socket might be wired or plugged in backwards so the shell rather than the tip of the socket is hot, meaning that you might touch the shell of the bulb while you are standing on a wet concrete floor barefoot and get a shock. The socket on a lamp might turn with the bulb and cause the supply wires to short out. Bang! On three way lamp circuits wired in an obsolete way, the shell of the socket is hot sometimes, and can short to the outer brass shell if the insulating paper has deteriorated, resulting in a bang and drops of molten metal. Again, that is not fun if you are perched on a ladder.

 

[maryjanesdad]

I immediately thought of towely.