# Bulb Failure



## Hackerman (Mar 1, 2015)

I have had bulbs fail before but never so violently that it cracked the glass.

This one is only 8 months old so I presume I get a free replacement? I'll check at the store Monday.

I visited with my plants this morning and when I got back from digging up a septic tank in -5F snowy weather, I went to visit my plants and noticed the light was off.

Fortunately, I always have spares so I popped in a new bulb and everything is going OK, so far. I'm hoping I don't have a problem in my electrical supply. Nothing else in the room was affected and everything else was still running.

Still, pretty weird. Do all 1000w bulbs fail like this? 

View attachment bulbfailure-1.jpg


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## Dr. Green Fang (Mar 1, 2015)

WOW ****! 

Never seen one like that.. but I've been only doing this for 2 years. My bulbs always dimmed massively before I replaced them. One time, I noticed one didn't fire up. Beyond that, only time I've ever hear about "explosions" with HPS bulbs, is OIL from our skin!! I use a towel to screw mine in or out of the fixture, and wipe them dramatically anytime I interact with them. But you say this has been in and running for 8 months? Damn! Also, I think the oil / glass bit is about the outside glass bursting from the oil heating up.. not that inside cylinder thing. 

Very interesting and I wish I could help further. Sure is a bit freaky to see you having the most expensive bulb on the market nearly EXPLODE!!


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## The Hemp Goddess (Mar 1, 2015)

I do not believe that I have ever had a bulb burn out, so I would say that, no it is not common.  I do try to change out my bulbs about every 6 months or so though.

DGF is correct about not touching high wattage bulbs with bare fingers (this goes for all high wattage bulbs, not just HPS and MH).  I learned this when I used 500W halogen bulbs for work.  I have never seen one explode, but the oils left by our hands can cause a hot spot on the bulb and cause it to burn out prematurely.


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## Dman1234 (Mar 1, 2015)

I had the exact same thing a few years ago, looked exactly the same but was a 600.


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## WeedHopper (Mar 1, 2015)

Wow. Good thing it didnt cause a fire.


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## Dr. Green Fang (Mar 1, 2015)

Everyone changes their bulbs after 6 - 12 months... here I am with some of the same bulbs I bought 2 years ago. According to the density of the bulbs, I don't seem to be losing lumens? I'm a bit "super lit" for my space anyways I believe. I've been thinking of buying new Horty bulbs, but read loads of great reviews then come across people saying "I've seen no difference" lol


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## umbra (Mar 1, 2015)

different growers, different grow methods. Every commercial grower I have met replaces their bulbs ever 2 months (1 crop) because they can seen the difference in weight. If you were to measure the lumen output of a 1k watt HPS, within the first month you would see a 20% to 30% drop, by 2 months you would be at 60% of the stated output from the bulb, and that would be a good bulb. HPS are more likely to explode than a MH because of the pressure in the bulb.


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## Dr. Green Fang (Mar 1, 2015)

Thanks Umbra. 

I think I could do replacements once a year, but would probably go nuts doing it every grow! Cheers to each and every grower than can and does do that! :aok: 

Also, Hortilux... worth it, or just buy two Ultra Sun bulbs for the same price? I have 4 hoods to do so, very expensive to consider.


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## Rosebud (Mar 1, 2015)

Holy crap Hackerman, that would have scared me to death.  I have never had that happen. I used to replace my bulbs once a year when i was using hps and mh... 

Thanks Umbra, good to know, i didn' t know. Wonder what led's do?


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## zem (Mar 1, 2015)

jeez i think i must have grown for much more than one year on a bulb once, still never seen a bulb stop working before i had it changed.


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## Dr. Green Fang (Mar 1, 2015)

LED's will just "die out" / dim / be dead. LED's won't explode.... 

This is my 99% thought, as I'm no pro  on LED's... so can't wait to see what the 100% answer is on that.


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## Kraven (Mar 1, 2015)

Dr. Green Fang said:


> Thanks Umbra.
> 
> I think I could do replacements once a year, but would probably go nuts doing it every grow! Cheers to each and every grower than can and does do that! :aok:
> 
> Also, Hortilux... worth it, or just buy two Ultra Sun bulbs for the same price? I have 4 hoods to do so, very expensive to consider.



I quit using Hortilux a few years back @ $100 a pop they were getting expensive (started replacing them after 6 months when I had a HPS explode and burned my last tent), I have a Flame Defender so it just smoldered a bit before it activated and put the fire out. Needless to say was not able to reap much of the harvest, and I was two weeks out from chop. With that being said, fire safety is a must, if you don't have an automatic fire system and your using H.I.D. lighting your asking for trouble. That's the only incident I have ever had growing under lights, but it got my attention. Now I use cheap bulbs, I use a fresh one to veg and flower then buy two fresh ones and use the used ones as a back up if I have a bulb failure, never will I ever again treat H.I.D. lighting as just screwing in a light bulb, and I always handle them with fresh latex gloves and the fire hazard they are.

PS - I cant tell any difference between flowering under a $100 bulb or a $40 bulb

http://www.marijuanapassion.com//www.pinterest.com/pin/create/extension/


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## Dr. Green Fang (Mar 1, 2015)

Nifty, thanks Kravenhead. I think I may invest in some of these! :aok:


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## Kraven (Mar 1, 2015)

Dr. Green Fang said:


> Nifty, thanks Kravenhead. I think I may invest in some of these! :aok:



39.99 for mine, best money I ever spent.....could have lost the house 

http://www.marijuanapassion.com//www.pinterest.com/pin/create/extension/


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## zem (Mar 1, 2015)

so if the bulb explodes inside the fixture, how can it spread fire across the glass and body? is it an explosion that can shatter the tempered glass cover??!!


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## Kraven (Mar 1, 2015)

Yea my bulb was in three pieces and the hot plasma that dripped out/ spewed started the fire as best as I could tell; it made me more aware of high pressure sodium bulbs and the fire hazard they present. To be honest it sorta scared me a bit. I had purchased the flame defender several months before as a fellow grower told me a story about his shed burning down years ago, so I figure what the heck, it wont hurt and it really is a wise thing to do.....I'm thankful and swear by them now.


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## Dr. Green Fang (Mar 1, 2015)

Now I'm all nervous and stuff! First time in a long while that I've had any types of nerves out of this.


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## zem (Mar 1, 2015)

so if someone has his head near the light, it might explode in his face and destroy the tempered glass and cause severe injury. that's crazy. can you show me the flame defender that you bought? adding it sounds like a good thing to do


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## Dr. Green Fang (Mar 1, 2015)

I found this Zem: 

[ame]http://www.amazon.com/Sun-Systems-Flame-Defender-2kg/dp/B0030KM0V4/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1425235054&sr=8-1&keywords=flame+defender[/ame]


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## Kraven (Mar 1, 2015)

Yup i use the 2kg one.


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## Hackerman (Mar 1, 2015)

Even if that bulb exploded, I doubt it would break the tempered hood glass in my air cooled hood.


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## Kraven (Mar 1, 2015)

Ahh never considered that, I just run a reflector hood (not air cooled) so there is just a naked bulb....maybe time to think about an air cooled hood? Might be safer?


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## zem (Mar 1, 2015)

It's cool that you cleared that out Hackerman. Kravenhead got me thinking that i had a time bomb inside my closed hood lol mine has no air cooling but is in closed fixture with tempered glass cover.


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## Dr. Green Fang (Mar 1, 2015)

Phew! Thanks Hackerman! I was thinking about that too!!! hahaha 

I have very good air cooled hoods, and last I knew they were supposed to be rather "resistant" to fire.


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## NorCalHal (Mar 3, 2015)

I have had a few bulbs explode in my time, mostly MH, a couple of HPS.
The problem I saw with the bulbs exploding in a sealed air cooled hood was the hot glass was blown into the ductwork and melted thru, hitting the Grow table and scorching it a bit. It defiantly won't bust the tempered glass, but it can still burn thru the ducting.
Just an additional watchout.


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## Dr. Green Fang (Mar 3, 2015)

Ahhhh!!! Back to scared!


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## zem (Mar 4, 2015)

Dr. Green Fang said:


> Ahhhh!!! Back to scared!



 gladly i have no aircooled hood so theres no ducting and its fully enclosed. if i was to add air cooled duct i would definitely make the attachment with the bulb solid in a way to prevent any penetrating hot glass.


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## Kraven (Mar 4, 2015)

NorCalHal said:


> I have had a few bulbs explode in my time, mostly MH, a couple of HPS.
> The problem I saw with the bulbs exploding in a sealed air cooled hood was the hot glass was blown into the ductwork and melted thru, hitting the Grow table and scorching it a bit. It defiantly won't bust the tempered glass, but it can still burn thru the ducting.
> Just an additional watchout.



Thanks NorCal....just thought I was one of the few that has had that problem in the past. It was enough for me to invest in fire protection, and now I have zero worries.


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