Help! HID light blew at test fire! :(

pikushu

pikushu

Member
First time grower here trying to set things up, so I probably can't say thank you enough in advance for any help or comments! :P

Set up: 400w Apollo MH bulb, 1000w Hydro Crunch air cooled reflector hood, 400w Apollo ballast
Electricity: old house, probably old wiring, the only thing running in the socket was the ballast with no surge protector. All brand new except I bought the ballast used. It appears to be in great condition though.

Once fired up, the light flickered and then just quit. I unplugged it, and checked the bulb to discover something sliding in the base of the bulb when I tilt it upside down that I hadn't noticed before

My problem is.. how do I figure out if it's a hood, ballast, or bulb problem? without testing out a bunch of bulbs that I don't have? I'd also like to avoid making any returns.

I'm so bummed. I was expecting a second sun, and I even cried out let there be light when I turned it on! I'm sure you can imagine the disappointment and confusion that followed. o_O
 
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mauricem00

mauricem00

Well-Known Member
pikushu said:
First time grower here trying to set things up, so I probably can't say thank you enough in advance for any help or comments! :P

Set up: 400w Apollo MH bulb, 1000w Hydro Crunch air cooled reflector hood, 400w Apollo ballast
Electricity: old house, probably old wiring, the only thing running in the socket was the ballast with no surge protector. All brand new except I bought the ballast used. It appears to be in great condition though.

Once fired up, the light flickered and then just quit. I unplugged it, and checked the bulb to discover something sliding in the base of the bulb when I tilt it upside down that I hadn't noticed before

My problem is.. how do I figure out if it's a hood, ballast, or bulb problem? without testing out a bunch of bulbs that I don't have? I'd also like to avoid making any returns.

I'm so bummed. I was expecting a second sun, and I even cried out let there be light when I turned it on! I'm sure you can imagine the disappointment and confusion that followed. o_O
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sounds like it might be the ballast.was the ballast working when you picked it up?
 
pikushu

pikushu

Member
mauricem00 said:
sounds like it might be the ballast.was the ballast working when you picked it up?
Click to expand...
It was used and the dealer listed it as still working. The ballast was a great deal of $40. I was really afraid I would regret it, but if that's the problem - a used ballast or used anything - lesson learned. :oops: but if I buy a new one and it ends up being the bulb or hood... that's almost $100 wasted!
 
mauricem00

mauricem00

Well-Known Member
pikushu said:
The ballast was a great deal. $40 used. I was really afraid I would regret it, but if that's the problem - a used ballast or used anything - lesson learned. :oops: but if I buy a new one and it ends up being the bulb or hood... that's almost $100 wasted!
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you could return the bulb as defective and get a new one but used equipment is often not a great deal. it is very unlikely that the hood would cause this kind of failure but you could have received a defective bulb and most reputable sellers will replace them if they fail on first use.it's also possible for a defective bulb to short and damage the ballast but that seems unlikely from your description of what happened
 
pikushu

pikushu

Member
mauricem00 said:
you could return the bulb as defective and get a new one but used equipment is often not a great deal. it is very unlikely that the hood would cause this kind of failure but you could have received a defective bulb and most reputable sellers will replace them if they fail on first use.it's also possible for a defective bulb to short and damage the ballast but that seems unlikely from your description of what happened
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i don't really want to talk to the vendor about my failed bulb. if it went straight to apollo (i checked and it sends to amazon lcc) i would be willing to go through the procedure. i just want to see it as a lost cause and move on. thanks for the great feedback!
 
cat of curiosity

cat of curiosity

Well-Known Member
Michael Huntherz

Michael Huntherz

Well-Known Member
cat of curiosity said:
it would fall out of the socket and break on the floor. a 100w incandescent light bulb uses an e-26 or e-27 base, the hid uses an e-39 mogul base.

so more like *POOF* *shatter*...
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Lol, that was my first thought too. Thanks for taking the time to post it, haha. And given the description of the bulb, I agree, has to be a busted filament or something with el bulbo.
 
B

bigsteve

Well-Known Member
The quickest way to blow a bulb is to keep clicking it on and off. Really common when folks are first setting up their timers. Here's an OG trick - get a small electrical device, I use a small electric drill, and use that to plug in and check for juice and timer settings. You don't want to put extra clicks on the bulb and the drill helps there.

Usually your situation comes down to the bulb as that is the most fragile part of the system. MH bulbs don't last as long as HPS bulbs and they run hotter. I now use HPS in both my veg and flowering rooms as I also run one 400W bulb and one 1000W.

Some new bulbs take a few minutes to warm up enough to light up. I've waited 15 minutes or more for a bulb to kick on. So be patient and set up your gear minus the timers first. Once the bulb lights you can put the drill online instead of the timer and set up your times that way.

Good luck, BigSteve.
 
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