Metal halide lamp q...
 

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[Closed] Metal halide lamp question

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Clearing out my garage I came across my old two sets of Lupine Edisons that had failed. I bodged one set out of the remains but that also failed. Just before I throw them away I was trying to see if I could get anything working again.

The switch supplies voltage to the lamp ok. When I try to turn it on there is a dim flicker of light then nothing. Voltage at the lamp unit is 7.4v and t the terminals of the bulb itself.post starter it is 7.0v. When they were working they'd start with a much brighter flicker then dim before warming up for about 10s to reach full brightness.

The question is, is it possible that a component in the starter has failed, or is it more likely to be the lamp itself? Seem like the latter to me, but I'd like to know for sure. The starter is made of discrete components so could be fixable.


 
Posted : 02/01/2015 7:32 pm
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A good choice for vegetative growth, but you really want to switch to high pressure sodium during the flowering stage


 
Posted : 02/01/2015 7:43 pm
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You'll also be needing a timer of some description.


 
Posted : 02/01/2015 7:47 pm
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Metal Halide bulbs have a useable lumen output life measured in 1000's of hours - repeated start-up's/shut downs (especially if the bulb is hot) reduce the operating life due to the use of Argon/mercury/xenon gas, the gas is used to provide a medium which enables the arc between the two electrodes. Your light will have an electronic ballast which in all likely hood will function time and time again for years so i figure it's the actual bulbs that have failed - prob due to a loss of the gas as mentioned above.

I'd drop an email to Lupine as the bulbs are relatively inexpensive so it may be cost effective to get them replaced - the lupine edison was a very decent light so i'd investigate the cost of repair before disposing them


 
Posted : 02/01/2015 8:01 pm
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really? welch alleyn ( sp? ) were the only significant manufacturers of miniature hallide lamps, and i think last time i looked they were ~ 70 quid a pop?


 
Posted : 02/01/2015 8:39 pm
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Lupine used to charge £100 to replace them and I don't think they would sell the bulbs on their own. But they've washed their hands of them now (with good reason since LEDs are so much better) and I am pretty sure they don't do replacements any more.

It's not a complete loss of course - I still have several high quality batteries and a great smart charger to use with LED lamps.


 
Posted : 02/01/2015 9:36 pm
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If you still have two I could be interested in at least borrowing a charger Moly - my Edisons have sat charger-less for 3 years. They were perfect when put away, but I suspect long dead now, bit of a waste!


 
Posted : 02/01/2015 11:22 pm
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I use the charger for the new lights.

FWIW if you have the Li-Ion batteries they will not self discharge and will probably be fine. I actually have two chargers, I suspect one of them is duff but it may be fixable - I will check it out for you.

I might be interested if you were to sell the lamps cheaply though...


 
Posted : 02/01/2015 11:47 pm

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