rolled the dice today , mh bulb

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bryan oconner

Well-Known Member
ok so we all know if you have a bigger ballast that can dim like my veg 600 solis tek , ok if you dim a 600 watt mh bulb it changes the color temp and so on and do on . I wanted to save some electric this month . broke recovering from being pretty sick . I put the setting on 400 from 600 with a 400 watt bulb very nice color the bulb did not explode . many people said don't do it ! I said why not will see , any ways I don't suggest doing it unless your a gambler like me . thread was intended for people that always wondered if it was ok or not , I could not find an answer any where on the net .
 
ttystikk

ttystikk

Well-Known Member
bryan oconner said:
ok so we all know if you have a bigger ballast that can dim like my veg 600 solis tek , ok if you dim a 600 watt mh bulb it changes the color temp and so on and do on . I wanted to save some electric this month . broke recovering from being pretty sick . I put the setting on 400 from 600 with a 400 watt bulb very nice color the bulb did not explode . many people said don't do it ! I said why not will see , any ways I don't suggest doing it unless your a gambler like me . thread was intended for people that always wondered if it was ok or not , I could not find an answer any where on the net .
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You're just throwing away money. MH lamps do not like being under driven, it shortens lamp life and degrades spectrum. But it's your money; you can be as wasteful as you like with it.
 
orbo

orbo

Well-Known Member
Unless there was a typo it sounds to me like he corrected a potentially dangerous situation.
 
The_Herban_Legend

The_Herban_Legend

Well-Known Member
bryan oconner said:
ok so we all know if you have a bigger ballast that can dim like my veg 600 solis tek , ok if you dim a 600 watt mh bulb it changes the color temp and so on and do on . I wanted to save some electric this month . broke recovering from being pretty sick . I put the setting on 400 from 600 with a 400 watt bulb very nice color the bulb did not explode . many people said don't do it ! I said why not will see , any ways I don't suggest doing it unless your a gambler like me . thread was intended for people that always wondered if it was ok or not , I could not find an answer any where on the net .
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Enjoy the video as we cut to commercial.

 
vostok

vostok

Well-Known Member
bryan oconner said:
ok so we all know if you have a bigger ballast that can dim like my veg 600 solis tek , ok if you dim a 600 watt mh bulb it changes the color temp and so on and do on . I wanted to save some electric this month . broke recovering from being pretty sick . I put the setting on 400 from 600 with a 400 watt bulb very nice color the bulb did not explode . many people said don't do it ! I said why not will see , any ways I don't suggest doing it unless your a gambler like me . thread was intended for people that always wondered if it was ok or not , I could not find an answer any where on the net .
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We need more members cutting edge like you

tho you may not be educated you are tough and selfless

and willing to take risks.. Yeah..?

I can't teach you much but I hope I can point you in the right direction

https://craighospital.org/
 
ttystikk

ttystikk

Well-Known Member
vostok said:

We need more members cutting edge like you

tho you may not be educated you are tough and selfless

and willing to take risks.. Yeah..?

I can't teach you much but I hope I can point you in the right direction

https://craighospital.org/
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Lol, NICE!

He looked everywhere on the Internet and couldn't find anything. Did he try Philips lighting?! They have white papers about their lighting products out the kazoo, which all state that it's counterproductive to underdrive their lamps.
 
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brimck325

Well-Known Member
i've contacted different ballast manufacturers, and some say to use the same bulb (highest setting) , others say to match the bulb with setting.
 
jacksthc

jacksthc

Well-Known Member
bryan oconner said:
ok so we all know if you have a bigger ballast that can dim like my veg 600 solis tek , ok if you dim a 600 watt mh bulb it changes the color temp and so on and do on . I wanted to save some electric this month . broke recovering from being pretty sick . I put the setting on 400 from 600 with a 400 watt bulb very nice color the bulb did not explode . many people said don't do it ! I said why not will see , any ways I don't suggest doing it unless your a gambler like me . thread was intended for people that always wondered if it was ok or not , I could not find an answer any where on the net .
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lol often turned my 600 solis tek down to 400w with a 600w mh bulb in for the first 2 weeks in flower, never read anywhere it was a risk, never even crossed my mind
not sure how turning somthing down can make it explode, less heat, less presure, less risk

could give off a different light spectrum but don't really think it makes much of a diffence as it would aftect hps bulbs too
not saying it the pefect but it works and you will still pull a good crop
 
ttystikk

ttystikk

Well-Known Member
jacksthc said:
lol often turned my 600 solis tek down to 400w with a 600w mh bulb in for the first 2 weeks in flower, never read anywhere it was a risk, never even crossed my mind
not sure how turning somthing down can make it explode, less heat, less presure, less risk

could give off a different light spectrum but don't really think it makes much of a diffence as it would aftect hps bulbs too
not saying it the pefect but it works and you will still pull a good crop
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Just because it works- sorta- doesn't mean it's a wise move. It will degrade your lamp and shorten its effective lifetime.

While you're underdriving it, you're getting less than the proportional amount of irradiance and spectrum is degraded.

This isn't a topic for debate; they're the LAMP manufacturer's own recommendations. Why ask a ballast company about bulbs? Do you ask a wheat farmer about how to run a bakery?

Better to simply raise the lamp six inches and leave the power setting alone.
 
tropicalcannabispatient

tropicalcannabispatient

Well-Known Member
bryan oconner said:
ok so we all know if you have a bigger ballast that can dim like my veg 600 solis tek , ok if you dim a 600 watt mh bulb it changes the color temp and so on and do on . I wanted to save some electric this month . broke recovering from being pretty sick . I put the setting on 400 from 600 with a 400 watt bulb very nice color the bulb did not explode . many people said don't do it ! I said why not will see , any ways I don't suggest doing it unless your a gambler like me . thread was intended for people that always wondered if it was ok or not , I could not find an answer any where on the net .
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I think it wouldn't be smart to put a 400wt bulb in the 600wt setting., so yeah u did the right thing by lowered to 400 wt setting with a 400 wt bulb. Im getting confused myself., anyway what was the rolling the dice life threatening decision u made?
 
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bryan oconner

Well-Known Member
the ballast is a 600 watt solis tek . I put in a 400 watt bulb in and on the 400 watt setting . I thought the first start up of the bulb could pop the bulb by over firing it . not the case . I do not dim bulbs it will kill them I killed a 1000 w hortilux blue 7200 k . 220 dollar bulb by dimming it to 600 with in 1 month it would no longer function . this is why I put a smaller bulb in the ballast and put that wattage setting on the proper setting . I like all the bashing keep it up . very funny indeed . liked the medical post .
 
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Connoisseurus Rex

Well-Known Member
I'd say you're good. You're running the bulb at peak. It's putting out light without exploding. Props.

PS... I wouldn't make that a long term thing though. While it may/does work, if it somehow surges, the fuse in you're ballast won't pop. Then you could have bad shit. Just my thoughts.
 
SPLFreak808

SPLFreak808

Well-Known Member
bryan oconner said:
the ballast is a 600 watt solis tek . I put in a 400 watt bulb in and on the 400 watt setting . I thought the first start up of the bulb could pop the bulb by over firing it . not the case . I do not dim bulbs it will kill them I killed a 1000 w hortilux blue 7200 k . 220 dollar bulb by dimming it to 600 with in 1 month it would no longer function . this is why I put a smaller bulb in the ballast and put that wattage setting on the proper setting . I like all the bashing keep it up . very funny indeed . liked the medical post .
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But don't forget the bulb quality and durability degrades over time, especially when driven 30% harder then it was intended for. One day it "could" pop and the chances get higher by the day. Unless your solistek can detect smaller bulbs it still won't prevent fires ect from improper use(over-driving a 400w bulb at 600watts). I hope your home when that fucker is on lol. Do it the right way and put the 600w bulb with a 600w ballast.
 
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bryan oconner

Well-Known Member
yes I must be stupid as hell . I can only see the color difference in the bulbs and I killed a 220 dollar bulb dimming it . and this video .
 
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