HID light bulb question

Aby55

Aby55

Well-Known Member
ok so my light is a 400 watt hps with a 400 watt mh conversion bulb.
I've used the HPS bulb for about 4 months and I've used the mh bulb for about a month.
I'm currently about a month into a grow and I'm grabbing a new hps bulb in 2 to 3 weeks.
The hps bulb is still running great but I've read that a lot of people switch in a new bulb every harvest.
so should I just use the mh bulb until I get a new hps bulb or just stick with the hps?
 
Chasenbud

Chasenbud

Member
Is the HPS your using now a decent brand? Lights do lose like 10% lumens over so many hours but I think you'll be fine. People lswitch them out every time becuase they are anal about getting the full lumens and there is always the risk of the old one to fail. I say you just keep using it until you get the new one.
 
Aby55

Aby55

Well-Known Member
  1. Its a cheap one. Im going to.get a digilux bulb next week. Ill just keep the hps in for now.From what i understand the mh conversion bulb has less lumens anyways.
 
purplehays1

purplehays1

Well-Known Member
Aby55 said:
ok so my light is a 400 watt hps with a 400 watt mh conversion bulb.
I've used the HPS bulb for about 4 months and I've used the mh bulb for about a month.
I'm currently about a month into a grow and I'm grabbing a new hps bulb in 2 to 3 weeks.
The hps bulb is still running great but I've read that a lot of people switch in a new bulb every harvest.
so should I just use the mh bulb until I get a new hps bulb or just stick with the hps?
Click to expand...
i use high quality bulbs made for my digital ballast (digilux) and i replace them every year. So thats like every 6 cycles. They do dim over time, but replacing them every 10 weeks or whatever is really really overkill imo.
 
Budgoro88

Budgoro88

Well-Known Member
I change em yearly like above no point in every cycle the light won't diminish notably for over a year once I change my old one I keep that one for spare once I reach few spares I recycle rest
 
B

bigsteve

Well-Known Member
"a lot of people switch in a new bulb every harvest."

Why? Our bulbs don't wear out. They burn out. They either are working or not. Changing bulbs that are still working is increasing the chances of blowing a bulb. Nothing wears out a bulb faster than repeated clicking on and off.

My 1000W HPS bulb has been flowering my ladies for 2 years. I'll change it when it blows.

Note - MH bulbs run hotter than HPS bulbs so if heat is a concern stay with the HPS. I've tried 400W HPS and MH bulbs in my veg room with little or no difference as far as I can see. Same thing with my 1000W bulb - the HPS flowers just as well as the MH and runs cooler to boot. Now I run HPS bulbs in both rooms. Partially because of the heat factor, and HPS bulbs also last longer.

Good luck, BigSteve.
 
Aby55

Aby55

Well-Known Member
Sweet.glad to hear all of that. I must have read it in some thread well goofgling. I gyess i was misinformed.
The heat from the mh is noticeably. Hotter. The only time i had heat issue is when i was running mh
 
rkymtnman

rkymtnman

Well-Known Member
Aby55 said:
Sweet.glad to hear all of that. I must have read it in some thread well goofgling. I gyess i was misinformed.
The heat from the mh is noticeably. Hotter. The only time i had heat issue is when i was running mh
Click to expand...
and the conversion bulbs run even hotter.
 
mo841

mo841

Well-Known Member
You should be able to easily get 6 months out the bulb, 8 months you will probably notice some slower plant growth. That's been my experience any way
 
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kiwipaulie

kiwipaulie

Well-Known Member
Aby55 said:
ok so my light is a 400 watt hps with a 400 watt mh conversion bulb.
I've used the HPS bulb for about 4 months and I've used the mh bulb for about a month.
I'm currently about a month into a grow and I'm grabbing a new hps bulb in 2 to 3 weeks.
The hps bulb is still running great but I've read that a lot of people switch in a new bulb every harvest.
so should I just use the mh bulb until I get a new hps bulb or just stick with the hps?
Click to expand...
Every harvest is a but much. I swap mine once a year, but I never buy cheap ones.
 
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