HPS bulb maintnance

Hello guys and girls. Currently at my 3rd crop and im just wondering how often you guys change out m your hps bulbs. As mentioned , this will be my third crop with this bulb

Its a gavita enhanced 600w

Running through a lucius maximus digi ballast

Things super farking bright , but iv been wondering when i need to change ? , admittedly i play with the dial during the day , im in veg atm and my lights come on at 1am , leave them at 60% during the later hours of the day to simulate the days end , when i get up i pop it up to 80% at around 5- 6 am , when i get home from work at around 10 am i let em have it at super lumens ! , and dial it back from super to 100% -----80% ------60% right around 5.30 - 6.00 pm , as i said im trying to replicate the temps and lumens of outside ?

Dont know weather im being a holistic idiot or whatever , but im wondering if changing the wattage of the ballast a few times in every 24 hour period will deminish the life of the bulb + also the question i asked first , how often do we change our globes ?

Peace , kannah

Thanks for like @Gregor Eisenhorn

Do you have any information that i may find helpfull ?

It will decrease the life of your bulb. But, if you can afford replacing bulbs much faster, sounds like it could be worth a try.

Unfortunately no, I was just investing in your comment because I too am wondering how often HPS bulbs should be swapped.

All I can add is that you should clean the bulb from any dust/particles as that decreases the efficiency and can damage (?) your bulb. Rubbing alcohol seems to do the trick.

Annually imo

A yearly replacement seems to be the rule to go by.

Thanks for the replies fellas , much appreciated , ill probably veg with this one and pick up a new one for flower.

And where do we dispose of used bulbs when were done with them , probably wont dispose of this one because it will only be my second bulb purchase and i guess its good practice to keep a spair around