First timer, need a lil help!

[BBgrl0887]

No he didn't mention it. I'm jst curious as to why you shldnt touch it with ur bare hands and why to wipe it down with a towel.

 

[Dr. Green Fang]

The oils from your skin can actually make the High Pressure Sodium bulb e.x.p.l.o.d.e.

Like "boosh"... and that'd be rather dangerous. :aok:

 

[Hushpuppy]

that is correct. I guess the oils from your hands are enough when they get hot to do something to the glass bulb and cause it to burst. I usually use the poly foam wrapper that the bulb is in, inside the box. I use that to hold the bulb and screw it in as it has good grip to it on the glass and that keeps me ffrom touching the glass. You can touch the base which is metal without hurting anything. What wattage did you get?

 

[Dr. Green Fang]

that is correct. I guess the oils from your hands are enough when they get hot to do something to the glass bulb and cause it to burst. I usually use the poly foam wrapper that the bulb is in, inside the box. I use that to hold the bulb and screw it in as it has good grip to it on the glass and that keeps me ffrom touching the glass. You can touch the base which is metal without hurting anything. What wattage did you get?

They had mentioned they bought the exact one you linked, so it looks like they got an iPower 600w Cool Tube.

 

[BBgrl0887]

I wish you guys wld have mentioned tht way before it even arrived lol, we were so excited tht we didn't read the directions first so of course I put the bulb in with my bare hands and now you have Christine (my gf) freaking out lol. Do you think it wld be ok if I took the bulb out with a towel wiped it down with a diff towel and then put it bck in. On the ballast, how there is diff dimming options 50% 75% 100%, which option shld we have it on? You guys have no idea how much Christine and I appreciate all your help.

 

[MR1]

Take a paper towel moisten it with alcohol and just wipe the bulb down while it is off of course. You don't have to take it out of the fixture .

 

[Kindbud]

What Mr1 said^^^ remember to wait a while to let the bulb cool off

 

[Dr. Green Fang]

Yep, rubbing alcohol on a paper towel, wipe it down good, but wait for the rest of the alcohol to evaporate before turning on. I'd say give it a good 3-5 minutes after wiping it down.

Sorry about not saying in advance. There's SO much knowledge to be had in this, that some things will slip past our minds here and there. It was one of those first things I learned about my light along the way, and I'm grateful I did!

No need for your GF to get upset, but it IS a reason to be cautious! So, we're all glad you're listening! Personally, since it looks like you got a cool tube light hood reflector, I would unscrew the bulb and make sure I wiped it down g.o.o.d.

But yes, keep that in mind for future. With HPS light bulbs you do not want to touch them. Now, if you had a T5 fixture (vegging light, no HPS) those bulbs can surely be touched. But this is not what you have, so wipe wipe wipe! hah

Good luck, and keep us posted.

 

[BBgrl0887]

MR1: I'll keep the alcohol in mind for when I have to put in the new one, right after I read the post last night when I gt hme frm wrk I shut the light off let it cool down and made sure I wiped it down super super gd, or shld I wipe it down with alcohol jst in case.
Dr Green Fang: It's ok its nt your fault, I was jst joking when I said "wish you guys wld have told me"...I should have read the directions. It's NT all your guys job to tell me every little bit of info tht comes along with all this. Christine gts freaked out by anything and everything lol thts jst how she is so her freaking out bout this isn't unusual lol...we are still reading all the time but for me its so much easier to understand when someone is explaining things to me. So again, thank you all so very much. Do does everyone grow indoors or do some of you grow outdoors? How long has everyone been growing?

 

[MR1]

You should use the alcohol, it is hard to get all the grease from your fingers off without alcohol, it tends to just smear around.

 

[Dr. Green Fang]

You should use the alcohol, it is hard to get all the grease from your fingers off without alcohol, it tends to just smear around.

^Indeed^

:aok:

 

[The Hemp Goddess]

It really is not a good idea to get oil from your hands on any type of light bulb. The oil left by your hand can heat up hotter than the surrounding glass, causing breakage and/or a shortened life. With higher wattage bulbs this is more critical than with smaller wattage bulbs, but I have gotten in the habit of slipping on a glove to handle any kind of bulb.

 

[Dr. Green Fang]

It really is not a good idea to get oil from your hands on any type of light bulb. The oil left by your hand can heat up hotter than the surrounding glass, causing breakage and/or a shortened life. With higher wattage bulbs this is more critical than with smaller wattage bulbs, but I have gotten in the habit of slipping on a glove to handle any kind of bulb.

Thanks for the words THG. Will be certain to change my ways with the T5's miss. :aok:

 

[Dr. Green Fang]

*deleted*

Double post

 

[BBgrl0887]

So I'm sure everyone's light has dimming options, mine are 50% 75% 100%, which of those shld we have it on?

 

[Hushpuppy]

If you were using it over seedlings then I would say 50% until they get going good, then bump it up to 75% for about a week when they are showing good growth, then go to full strength.

If you grow your seedlings under florescent lights until they are big enough to fflower, which is what most of us do who grow inside, then you would leave it set at 100% ffor fflowering, unless you had it in a very small space and heat was an issue.

Many grow indoors but there are many who grow outdoors as well. There are some who do both indoor and outdoor growing. I am exclusively an indoor grower and I have been growing seriously for about 5 years. THG has been growing since the stone age :hubba: Seriously though, there is a wide variety of grow experience here.

 

[BBgrl0887]

The space isn't super small, its a decent size..so since they are already grown shld I put it at 100%? I jst wna be sure cuz I dnt wna burn/hurt them in any type of way cuz I've noticed the the very tips of every leaf on the branches are turning brown but it's very lil I'm jst afraid its gna gt worse

 

[Dr. Green Fang]

Oh it will get worse. You see, the plant starts to really "utilize" itself after around week 6 or so. It will start "using up" the fan leaves and they will start turning some gnarly colors etc. At least 90% of most grows do... there's a lot of organic people that are perfectly green right till the finish, but that's no fun!! hahahah (actually that's awesome!)

Anyways, good morning and good luck :aok:

 

[BBgrl0887]

So the leaves are supposed to turn like tht, I'm NT doin anythin wrong

 

[Dr. Green Fang]

So the leaves are supposed to turn like tht, I'm NT doin anythin wrong

Oh, leaves doing things is rather subjective at first. Could be nute burn, could be cal-mag deficiency, could be a lot of things.. but what I've experience is from week 6 and one, the plant will show signs of "using up" the fan leaves (solar panels) and start to give them necrosis. Not from nute burn, not from deficiency, just the strain wanting to use the leaves up the way it is.

I'm not sure without seeing the plant what it's doing, but generally I don't worry from my leaves slowly turning, especially if it's mostly lower leaves. They will "show signs of wear" from the lower portion of the plant mostly.