I need help with my lights

flower

flower

Well-Known Member

New ballast and bulb just arrived...I will test it later tonight or in the morning.... I hope it stays cool and not overheat like the first one.
 
flower

flower

Well-Known Member

Thenew Ballast is cool and working great! I will be watching it troughout the day. I believe they checked this one before sending it out.
 
posiden

posiden

Active Member
So, I read the whole thread at one time. I might be a little lost but.....I "think" I read that Coral life told you the bulbs HAVE ignitors in them. Do the bulbs you replaced the 10K with, have ignitors in them? Perhaps you have the wrong bulbs.
 
flower

flower

Well-Known Member
Quote:
Originally Posted by Posiden http:///forum/thread/380961/i-need-help-with-my-lights/60#post_3317823
So, I read the whole thread at one time. I might be a little lost but.....I "think" I read that Coral life told you the bulbs HAVE ignitors in them. Do the bulbs you replaced the 10K with, have ignitors in them? Perhaps you have the wrong bulbs.

To be honest I have no idea what a self igniting bulb is. They look the same. It's a 175w mogul based MH lamp. I was told all mogul based bulbs were the same in any brand as long as you match the watts. I have the same Phoenox brand and 14K on the other side and have no issues.
 
flower

flower

Well-Known Member

Alright I swapped the MH lamps, I am now running 10K Coralife bulbs off of both Ballasts. The new Ballast did heat up pretty hot by the days end but not as hot as the original replacment. I don't remember how many hours a new bulb has to burn before breaking in. I didn't toss out the old 14K because they still have some life in them...I marked the box with the original date when they were new, and the date that I stored them away so I know thier use and age. I will keep them in the event of an emergency. Both new bulbs fired right up from a cold Ballast so that's a good sign. Boy are they yellow compared to the 14K.
When I replace these lamps I will go with a 12K or 14K..another year from now..
 
posiden

posiden

Active Member
I'm trying to find you some info to help you out but, from what I see right away you need probe start bulbs for your ballasts. That's the bulbs with an igniter in them. The pic you show of the Phoenix bulb does not have an igniter. You might be able to see the difference if you look at the two brands of bulbs side by side. What will be missing is an electrode on the Phoenix bulb in the center.
 
flower

flower

Well-Known Member
Quote:
Originally Posted by Posiden http:///forum/thread/380961/i-need-help-with-my-lights/60#post_3317920
I'm trying to find you some info to help you out but, from what I see right away you need probe start bulbs for your ballasts. That's the bulbs with an igniter in them. The pic you show of the Phoenix bulb does not have an igniter. You might be able to see the difference if you look at the two brands of bulbs side by side. What will be missing is an electrode on the Phoenix bulb in the center.
Well the two bulbs are different, The Coralife is smaller and the stuff inside are different. Here is a picture of the actual bulbs so tell me what you see.
 
posiden

posiden

Active Member
Yea, the coralife has an igniter.
Maybe this will help a little.


Edit;
Ahhh, Hold on I will try and re-size them
 
posiden

posiden

Active Member
I was un able to do so.
Here is your pic again.If I'm wrong on any of this....please someone jump in here and stop me. I'm by far not a lighting expert.
 
monsinour

monsinour

Active Member
Thats a good pic to not have blown up. Where praytell did you find it Posiden? I have photoshop so I think I can work some magic with it.
 
posiden

posiden

Active Member
Quote:
Originally Posted by Monsinour http:///forum/thread/380961/i-need-help-with-my-lights/60#post_3317939
Thats a good pic to not have blown up. Where praytell did you find it Posiden? I have photoshop so I think I can work some magic with it.
Maybe I can send it to you. You can copy the link from my post as well.
They came from BeanAnimals site. It has some good info. You can see the pic full size there if you click on it.
http://www.beananimal.com/articles/hid-lighting-explained.aspx
 
flower

flower

Well-Known Member

Monsinour, I hope you can..all my art programs do when I make it larger is become fuzzy..Oh and my dog was not wearing an anti bark collar.
Posiden,
What happens when I use a bulb that does not have an igniter? Does this mean I can only use Coralife bulbs and not any other brand? I replaced my light with only the Coralife bulbs and everything is running the same, I can't tell a difference...will the other brands hurt my light?
 
posiden

posiden

Active Member
Flower,
I'm interested to know if the new ballasts are more heavy then the old ones? Since the company has changed hands they could have switched to a Magnetic ballast which would run more hot to the touch.
 
posiden

posiden

Active Member
Quote:
Originally Posted by Flower http:///forum/thread/380961/i-need-help-with-my-lights/60#post_3317945

Monsinour, I hope you can..all my art programs do when I make it larger is become fuzzy..Oh and my dog was not wearing an anti bark collar.
Posiden,
What happens when I use a bulb that does not have an igniter? Does this mean I can only use Coralife bulbs and not any other brand? I replaced my light with only the Coralife bulbs and everything is running the same, I can't tell a difference...will the other brands hurt my light?
You can run other bulb brands. I'm running the ReefLux bulb. I'm also running the 175 watt mogul base bulb. My igniter is in the top portion of the bulb in this pic. Its hard to see, sorry.
 
posiden

posiden

Active Member
Quote:
Originally Posted by Flower http:///forum/thread/380961/i-need-help-with-my-lights/60#post_3317945

I replaced my light with only the Coralife bulbs and everything is running the same, I can't tell a difference...will the other brands hurt my light?
I thought they came right on? The new bulbs are doing the same thing now?
Edit;
The Probe start ballast will sometimes run the pulse start bulbs. But it is not guaranteed to light them. I think the Phoenix bulb is a pulse start bulb, which is why it wouldn't start right.
 
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