How Do I Know If My Bulbs Are Worn Out?

i have a bunch of 400 and 1000 watt hps and metal halide bulbs and ive lost track of how much they have been used. they all work and look ok when plugged in but i know they have a life span and then lose there efficancy. i dont want to be wastfull and toss them before there done. is there a way to check how much they have left in them?

Such a good question man....I've heard people tell me the bulb usually just fails. However, I'm POSITIVE that after a couple cycles, my bulb just LOOKS less intense. I was wondering the same thing forever. I usually do about 2-3 flower cycles and then replace. But I have all my old bulbs as "backup"....Like you said, I don't want to be wasteful (especially at 100 bucks a pop). Hopefully someone with a lot of knowledge can come tell us what's up!

get a light meter and check them. most hps bulbs last 22000hrs. a new one at 3 12/12 cycles is only at 1080hrs if u ran 3 months.ive been running a 250hps for 10 cycles and not loosing signifigant yield like within 10g. ive got a new one as back up but im not willing to waste money for very small loss esspecially for 1000 watters. its really up to you and how you feel. light metter would help your decision

a light meter, yes.
to avoid such mishaps in the future, perhaps a piece of masking tape marked with relevant data straight on the bulb after taking it out.
The risk is putting a bulb back in and forgetting to pull the tape...but you'll never forget again after a toasty fire erupts from your hood.

...i sure won't....yeek

shortshack13 said:

get a light meter and check them. most hps bulbs last 22000hrs. a new one at 3 12/12 cycles is only at 1080hrs if u ran 3 months.ive been running a 250hps for 10 cycles and not loosing signifigant yield like within 10g. ive got a new one as back up but im not willing to waste money for very small loss esspecially for 1000 watters. its really up to you and how you feel. light metter would help your decision

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Nice! Thank you for the info. Guess I've just been paranoid.