Help! Lumatek 250 won't start!

[petemoss]

For the last three days my 250 watt Lumatek won't fire my Hortilux eye HPS.
I fiddled around with the wires and after plugging it in and out for a few minutes, the bulb finally lighted. The Lumatek was bought about seven months ago and has a five year waranty. I haven' been able to get through to tech support at Lumatek and the store I bought it from is closed until Tuesday. Anyone have similar problems? How did Lumatek handle it? Will Maryland Hydro (I bought it on-line) help with a replacement?

 

[Hydro-Soil]

Hate to say it but I'd say wait until you can contact Lumatek.

Throw a bunch of CFLs over top of anything you have going so you don't get too much of a stretch. Keep the temps down.

Doublecheck the lamp connections in the cooltube maybe? (if you're still running it like that.. wicked box btw)

Luck!

 

[petemoss]

Thanks, Hydro-Soil! I went over all the connections and plugged the ballast into a different outlet. We'll see tomorrow if the light goes on. It's working now, but maybe when the bulb and ballast have cooled down, the same problem may recur. I was able to speak to both Lumatek tech support and Maryland hydro. Both were helpful and suggested I change the bulb to eliminated the possibility of a premature bulb failure. Both parties assured me that I'm covered by Lumatek's 5 year exchange policy should the ballast malfunction. That's very reassuring and I'm glad I went with a name brand. Keeping my fingers crossed...

 

[Sundance]

Try this

Remove and separate each and every plug ... those with prongs ... pinch them in - they may not be making electrical contact

This is a very common problem with Lumatek's

Also, if you took the fuse out ... make sure you push it securely back into place. Use a screwdriver to push it back into place if you have to .. these minor things can cause failure

Try it .. Test fire ... and reply

Sundance

 

[HeadyPete]

Heard that Eye bulbs have problems firing with digi ballasts...try a different brand bulb if those other suggestions don't help.

I use an Osram Plantastar hps/Galaxy 600 digiballast with no trouble at all.

Good idea to keep a cheap generic hps bulb on hand in case your main bulb ever blows, or for testing and troubleshooting. I picked one up for about $18.

 

[spacecadet]

my 2 mount old galaxy is doing the same thing i can unplug it an plug it and it trys to fire the bulb and some times it fire up on its own and run for a wile and shut down just started doing it today and i am about a wk and a half from harvest all i can say is one more reason to stay with mag ballast didi ballast are f-ing crap i hope the place i got it fro will let me swap it out for a mag ballast

 

[petemoss]

It was the bulb. I took out the Hortilux Eye and put in a MH bulb and it works!
So it looks like the HPS bulb crapped out after only two months. I hear Lumatek is recommending a German bulb (Ushio) for their ballasts. I'll try to get one but first I'll see if MD Hydro will give me a good price on a generic HPS. No more Hortilux bulbs for me!

 

[petemoss]

I forgot to thank all who answered my call for help. Appreciate the good advice given!
I still think Lumatek is a good choice, but they should let people know beforehand the bulbs that are proven to work.

 

[FarmerTed]

petemoss, i had the same problem with my hortilux blue mh. Sometimes it would fire, sometimes not & sometimes it would just go out. Lumatek was no help at all. Finally figured out the 3 prong plug wasnt making good contact. Spread them out so i had a tight connection and have'nt had a problem since.

 

[petemoss]

petemoss, i had the same problem with my hortilux blue mh. Sometimes it would fire, sometimes not & sometimes it would just go out. Lumatek was no help at all. Finally figured out the 3 prong plug wasnt making good contact. Spread them out so i had a tight connection and have'nt had a problem since.

I guess you can't blame that one on Hortilux! In my case, I'm 99% positive it's the damn Hort bulb. I forgot how much I paid for the bulb, but it was expensive!
I just googled "ushio hps" and found the bulb Lumatek likes. Pleasantly surprised
that it was only $13!!! plus $8 for shipping from Oregon.

 

[FarmerTed]

Eye hortilux bulbs are $$ and i just found out they went up $$$ when looking to get a new one. Can you tell me is that ushio an enhanced hps or standard and whats the name of the seller? That sounds like a great deal & i'd like to check them out. Thanks

 

[petemoss]

FarmerTed,
I found it here http://bulbster.com/lightbulbs/e39-mogul-screw-base-c-608_657.html
The first 250 on the list. Looks like a standard HPS. I saw from my search that Ushio now makes a line of HPS for plants but only 400 watts and up.

 

[FarmerTed]

thanks for the link petemoss