weird noise from bulb

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FlSunFSU

Member
Setup: Baddass1000w ballast
Hortilux enhanced spectrum 1000w hps
Sunleaves hood

Had a ultra sun bulb in for about two months before it started sparking one morning inside the bulb. Thank god i unplugged the timer that night and was forced to manually plug everything in that morning, and see it. If i hadnt there probably would have been a fire

Now on to the question. Since starting there has been i buzzing sound coming from the bulb almost a hum. Its much louder than the baddass/ultrasun setup. Should i be worried?
 
*BUDS

*BUDS

Well-Known Member
At the end of life, high-pressure sodium lamps exhibit a phenomenon known as cycling, which is caused by a loss of sodium in the arc. Sodium is a highly reactive element and is easily lost by reacting with the arc tube, made of aluminum oxide. The products are sodium oxide and aluminum:
6 Na + Al[SUB]2[/SUB]O[SUB]3[/SUB] → 3 Na[SUB]2[/SUB]O + 2 AlAs a result, these lamps can be started at a relatively low voltage, but, as they heat up during operation, the internal gas pressure within the arc tube rises, and more and more voltage is required to maintain the arc discharge. As a lamp gets older, the maintaining voltage for the arc eventually rises to exceed the maximum voltage output by the electrical ballast. As the lamp heats to this point, the arc fails, and the lamp goes out. Eventually, with the arc extinguished, the lamp cools down again, the gas pressure in the arc tube is reduced, and the ballast can once again cause the arc to strike. The effect of this is that the lamp glows for a while and then goes out, typically starting at a pure or bluish white then moving to a red-orange before going out.
More sophisticated ballast designs detect cycling and give up attempting to start the lamp after a few cycles, as the repeated high-voltage ignitions needed to restart the arc reduce the lifetime of the ballast. If power is removed and reapplied, the ballast will make a new series of startup attempts.
LPS lamp failure does not result in cycling; rather, the lamp will simply not strike or will maintain its dull red glow exhibited during the start-up phase.

wikipedia.
 
*BUDS

*BUDS

Well-Known Member
Sometimes the quartz tube containing mercury can explode in a UHP lamp.[SUP][8][/SUP] When that happens, up to 30 mg of mercury vapor is released into the atmosphere. This quantity of mercury is potentially toxic, but the main hazard from broken lamps is glass cuts, and occasional exposure to broken lamps is not expected to have adverse effects. Philips recommends the use of a mercury vacuum cleaner, ventilation or respiratory protection, eye protection, and protective clothing when dealing with broken lamps. Mercury lamps also require special waste disposal, depending on location.[SUP][/SUP]
 
Figong

Figong

Well-Known Member
Random tip that may prove semi-useful at some juncture: when you put the bulb in.. tighten it normally.. then -very gently- rock the tube slightly as you give it -at most- another 1/4 turn.. if not completely seated in the socket, the bulb can become unpredictable, as in.. sometimes, based on humidity and metal expansion.. it may make enough contact to come on, otherwise.. it may try to arc in the socket (not good) or not come on at all (not good). A few setups have sockets that are a bit more finicky than others.
 
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ThirstyRoss

Well-Known Member
Sounds like a dud bulb to me, can you take it to a local shop and have them test it in one of their fixtures? Just a thought, maybe not possible..
 
Resinxtractor

Resinxtractor

Well-Known Member
I am having the same exact problem with the same exact bulb and ballasts. It just must be the combo wont work. I put my original baddass bulb back in and the noise went away.
 
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trumpy

Member
Those badass ballasts are shit. I had nothing but problems with the one I had. Guy at the growshop said they had a 90 percent return rate on them before they stopped selling them. I have 5 other digital ballasts that have given me no problems whatsoever over the course of 3 years
 
Resinxtractor

Resinxtractor

Well-Known Member
I have been running 5 baddass 1000 ballast for over a year and a half now and have no problems what so ever except when I tried to run the eye hortilux super hps bulb.
 
F

FlSunFSU

Member
Ya i haven't been seeing good reviews on it. Paid 400 for it and i didnt even get the baddass bulb that was suppose to come with it. Saw a quantum 1000 w for 170~think im going to grab it.

The bulbs working just fine its just a high hz buzzing. Sounds like interference on a am radio or when u have alternator whine from a car audio system a little.
 
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