I have a EYE Hortilux Blue MH and Lumatek ballast, all at 250W and relatively new, and it's a coin toss whether the bulb ignites in the morning at its assigned time.
At first I suspected the new digital timer, so I switched back to the old-style mechanical timer but the problem persists. If I unplug the timer and plug it back in, the bulb ignites. Today I tried to ignite by using the timer's on/off mechanism and could not get it to ignite at all -- then unplugged/plugged in the entire timer unit and the bulb magically ignited.
The ballast and old timer worked 100% fine with the Hortilux MH for 60 days previous to the MH switching in, so this rules out general defects in those products.
It's tough to blame the timers since I tried 2 of them of different innards, but then again alot of this makes me suspect the timer. Of course, it could be a general bulb/ballast compatibility problem as well. I read all sorts of shit about how digital ballasts aren't compatible with this and that, etc. but never can I find definitive proof that these 2 popular products can't work together.
I read one post here about using contactors, and how a timer's relay cannot guarantee the necessary jolt to ignite the bulb. I don't read much anywhere else to this effect...
So far I can't find much else... anyone have any experience with this?
At first I suspected the new digital timer, so I switched back to the old-style mechanical timer but the problem persists. If I unplug the timer and plug it back in, the bulb ignites. Today I tried to ignite by using the timer's on/off mechanism and could not get it to ignite at all -- then unplugged/plugged in the entire timer unit and the bulb magically ignited.
The ballast and old timer worked 100% fine with the Hortilux MH for 60 days previous to the MH switching in, so this rules out general defects in those products.
It's tough to blame the timers since I tried 2 of them of different innards, but then again alot of this makes me suspect the timer. Of course, it could be a general bulb/ballast compatibility problem as well. I read all sorts of shit about how digital ballasts aren't compatible with this and that, etc. but never can I find definitive proof that these 2 popular products can't work together.
I read one post here about using contactors, and how a timer's relay cannot guarantee the necessary jolt to ignite the bulb. I don't read much anywhere else to this effect...
So far I can't find much else... anyone have any experience with this?