RoyalMedicine
New Member
Does this 1000w HPS Light seem way to dim? I do not have the tester or money for one to determine if I need a new bulb.
1000w HPS Light
- Thread starter RoyalMedicine
- Start date
Edwardo Ruffian
Well-Known Member
That is an extremely hard question to answer with the information given. How long has the lamp been used? How old is the equipment? Is the light new or used? If you have an android phone there are apps available that can give a rough lux number.
70's natureboy
Well-Known Member
Yeah, looks dim in the pics, hard to say though.
Beachwalker
Well-Known Member
Kinda sorta ? All the questions above might help and maybe try another picture?
RoyalMedicine
New Member
It is an old magnetic ballast and a 8" magnum xxxl air cooled hood, and the bulb has probably been ran about 8-10 harvest's. I do not have money so everything I got I worked for off an older gentlemen. What kind of app could I use to get an estimate of the lux?
TacoMac
Well-Known Member
So you bought it used and he said it had 8 or 10 grows on it?
If so, it's gone. It's probably got triple that at least.
RoyalMedicine
New Member
Okay, I thought it was and we are very limited on cash so was trying to spend it wisely. So is a new bulb a crucial aspect?
NGA
Well-Known Member
I would use it if I had no money it works right ,when I first started growing some old guy gave me some bulbs &stuff there was this clear bulb there I figured I would try it had 5 bulbs running in one room so I exchanged 1for the clear 1 ,the top around the clear bulb where crazy big used that bulb for years same results then it got broke ,maybe someone with a metre can test some new against some old and post results
TacoMac
Well-Known Member
It is and it isn't.
If you're only growing one plant, which is what it appears, then the 1000 watt HPS still puts out enough light to do a decent job even if the bulb is on its way out.
But man, for 20 bucks you can put a new one in it that will knock it out of the park. I find it hard to believe you can't come up with 20 bucks.
growingforfun
Well-Known Member
Even 8-10 seems nuts to me. I feel like i run my bulbs into the ground after lets say.. 6 so so. Ive got one thats been going a year and i REALLY wanted to replace it before the last run started but ill prolly use it one or 2 more times just because its coming into summer and i dont really do anything in the summer. Sept veg. (I veg with hps, just like the way it grows em)
TacoMac
Well-Known Member
Nothing wrong with 8 to 10 grows on it. I'm betting it's got double that at least if it's used.
The typical HPS bulb has a life expectancy of about 25,000 hours and puts out 140,000 lumens.
Now, some people bought in to the douchebaggery notion that a bulb is only good for 10% of it's lifetime rating. That's complete bullshit.
During flower, you only run the bulb 12 hours per day. The typical plant flowers in 12 weeks, give or take. Let's call it 14 weeks just for the sake of argument.
12 hours per day x 7 days per week = 84 hours x 14 weeks = 1,176 hours for one grow.
So 10 grows is 11,176 hours, or not even half the bulbs life expectancy.
Generally speaking, you can use a bulb for 50% of it's life rating and still get roughly the same performance from it with very little drop off. Between 60 and 70% of life is when the performance starts to fall off a cliff.
So if you replaced the bulb every 10 grows, you'd be MORE than safe. You could push up to 12 to 13 and still be OK. But I'm willing to bet that bulb has a hell of a lot more life on it than the OP was told to make it seem worth more. (i.e. it was only used by a little old lady that only drove it to church on Sundays.)
The typical HPS bulb has a life expectancy of about 25,000 hours and puts out 140,000 lumens.
Now, some people bought in to the douchebaggery notion that a bulb is only good for 10% of it's lifetime rating. That's complete bullshit.
During flower, you only run the bulb 12 hours per day. The typical plant flowers in 12 weeks, give or take. Let's call it 14 weeks just for the sake of argument.
12 hours per day x 7 days per week = 84 hours x 14 weeks = 1,176 hours for one grow.
So 10 grows is 11,176 hours, or not even half the bulbs life expectancy.
Generally speaking, you can use a bulb for 50% of it's life rating and still get roughly the same performance from it with very little drop off. Between 60 and 70% of life is when the performance starts to fall off a cliff.
So if you replaced the bulb every 10 grows, you'd be MORE than safe. You could push up to 12 to 13 and still be OK. But I'm willing to bet that bulb has a hell of a lot more life on it than the OP was told to make it seem worth more. (i.e. it was only used by a little old lady that only drove it to church on Sundays.)
Kushash
Well-Known Member
If money is tight and you ran it 10 times and did not notice any decline in yield use it again. When you see it is no longer getting the job done replace it.
Edwardo Ruffian
Well-Known Member
I use an app called "Galaxy sensors" works for my phone to use the auto dimming light sensor to give a reading, my phone maxes out at 30,000 lux. With that limitation it's of limited use, but you can get the manufacturer's specifications, they usually give readings for a bunch of distances, pick a distance on the chart that your phone can read and measure your light. Hope that made sense.
RoyalMedicine
New Member
We only have my girlfriends disability and I am trying to get my disability and our truck is shot so money is tight. I did go ahead and order a new bulb which was $58 but I veg with the lights as well. When I ordered my bulb it informed me I last bought a bulb on May 13th of 2015 so it has been a while. I was getting 24 ounces off one plant then went down to 16 ounces and the last one was only 10.5 ounces so I think I need a new one. Also the potency is dramatically lower. I appreciate all the advice and all the help.
Kushash
Well-Known Member
Good move getting the new bulb, should pay for itself with increased yield.
Happy Growing!
