Need help to determine if HPS has been used

Hi everyone.

So as the title says, I would very much appreciate if someone could give me some advice on this as I'm not experienced enough to make a qualified decision on whether it's used or not.
I am in a bit of a hurry, because the longer I wait to contact the seller the harder it will be to sort it out (if indeed it has been used).

When I search on this, what mostly comes up as a good indicator for how to see if a HPS has been used, is that it has started to blacken at its base, but no such thing can be seen.
Its very clean and looks unused, except for the black part on the one end of (I do not know the correct term for this..) ceramic stick thing inside..(image 1).

Can it look like that if new and unused, or should I do something about it?

Every advice on this is very much welcome!

Thank you


Btw, it's a Philips SON-T AGRO, if that makes any difference.

just use it, as it look rather new and should have lots of lifespan remaining

ISK said:

just use it, as it look rather new and should have lots of lifespan remaining

Click to expand...

thanks for stopping by.
Yeah, I'm debating whether to go through the hazzle of returning it, or just keep it and be happy.
It looks fine overall as you say.

But for the sake of knowing (I wont buy from the same seller again if I get used products), can that black area be present on a 100% new bulb or does it for a fact indicate that it has been used?

TorleifKalas said:

thanks for stopping by.
Yeah, I'm debating whether to go through the hazzle of returning it, or just keep it and be happy.
It looks fine overall as you say.

But for the sake of knowing (I wont buy from the same seller again if I get used products), can that black area be present on a 100% new bulb or does it for a fact indicate that it has been used?

Click to expand...

I see your concern, but just can't say for sure if this is normal or not

Looks new to me...I just put on a pair of gloves and looked at two of my new and one used HPS bulbs, the new has grey areas at each end of the bulb and the used one has much darker areas at each end of the bulbs.

it could be from the manufacturer testing it. to make sure it works. compare it to an other new one. try to find a used one to see what a used bulb looks like.

Look good dude... LET THERE BE LIGHT

Thanks everyone for having a look.
Since none of you saw any immediate cause for concern, and if no new post pop up over the weekend saying it's definitely used, I'm going to keep it.
THERE WILL BE LIGHT, by the end of next week

dewb-101 said:

it could be from the manufacturer testing it. to make sure it works. compare it to an other new one. try to find a used one to see what a used bulb looks like.

Click to expand...

I was thinking this to, and probably (hopefully) this is the reason for the blackened area.
I actually have a used one I'm going to look at tomorrow to compare some, even though the issue would be that I have no real idea of how a 100% new one should look!

Thought I would update.
I gave the lamp a test, and this is how it looked after being lit for just 15 minutes

Whatever caused the blackened area just, I don't know, melted away or vaporized.
It looks brand new now, as it should.
At 0.6 meters the light output was almost 60000 lux (it's 400w), so I assume now that the lamp is very much new.
I guess something during manufacturing can cause those smudges to be present when shipped for retail.