1000 Watt High Pressure Sodium [HPS] lamps and 1000 Watt Metal Halide [MH] lamps (shown in picture packaged and unpackaged) are available with interchangable fittings. These lamps are only for use with approved reflectors and ballasts. Reflectors must be safety rated to match or exceed the rating of the bulb. Ballasts must be of the same rating as the bulb - and must be designed to be compatible with the characteristics of the bulb. All ballasts sold by Esoteric Hydroponics are compatible with both High Pressure Sodium [HPS] lamps and Metal Halide [MH] lamps, although ballasts from other suppliers may only be designed to work with one type of lamp. The most useful type and general purpose lamp is the High Pressure Sodium [HPS], so other ballasts will most likely work with this type of lamp, although this is not guaranteed.

Please note that lamps are to be considered as consumables and are exempt from the usual Esoteric Hydroponics extended guarantee. Also note that the brightness of lamps decreases over time. The exact decrease varies with each lamp and type of lamp, but in general, expect a 30% decrease per year. This means that continued use of the same lamps in a hydroponic system will lead to decreased energy transfer to plants.

Potential Causes Of Lamp Failure

Lamps may fail due to incorrect operation, faulty ballasts or poor power supply. Obviously, Esoteric Hydroponics will replace lamps with manufacturing defects, or lamps damaged by one of the multitude of imbeciles typically found at courier companies. To minimise damage by other means, please heed the advice given here.

High power, High Pressure Sodium [HPS] and Metal Halide [MH] lighting runs hot during normal operation. This means that the lamps are subject to thermal expansion. Under normal conditions, lamps are able to cope with this constraint, although re-igniting a lamp before it has returned to its cool state may cause failure. Failue of the lamp can be quite dramatic, including but not limited to melting of the filament and casing, or total explosion of the lamp. For hydroponic lighting, the latter is quite undesirable because it may expose your plants to toxic vapours. Therefore, do not re-ignite a lamp until it cooled, which typically takes 10 to 15 minutes.

Further causes of failure may be due to electrical and electronic problems. For example, ballasts contain high power transformers. High power circuitry is subject to failure from many causes. This can be exacerbated by attempts to operate the equipment outside of specification and may lead to undesirable results which may or may not be recoverable. For example, merely having too much cable between the ballast and the reflector is enough to cause intermittent operation. Some ballast failures are preceeded by audible humming from the ballast. A humming noise during the starting of lamp is quite normal, as is a slight noise from the lamp. A faint sound from the ballast during operation is also normal, but continued, loud humming is quite abnormal and use of the ballast must be discontinued immediately. Please contact Esoteric Hydroponics if you doubt the safe operation of your ballast. (We do know of people who have suffered extensive damage to their accomodation due to electrical fires started by faulty equipment. Admittedly, such equipment was not constructed to the minimum safety standard required of electrical equipment, but the case remains that the failure of high powered lighting may cost you dearly.)

Irregular power conditions are largely transferred through the ballast unhindered and therefore poor power supply may also be the cause of lamp and ballast failure. Lamps are susceptible to power fluctuations, surges and power spikes. This affects the ionised gas within the lamp and may cause forces which lead to the physical failure of the lamp. Such problems are intermittent and so power supply problems are usually only detected through repeated failure. Gadgets are available to monitor power supply quality. They are used at critical computer or telecom installations, typically in combination with generators and redundant power supplies, and are fairly expensive items given the limited function they perform.

If you have more than two lamp failures during one year, please consider obtaining mains power supply filtering equipment. The best place to obtain such equipment would be from a supplier of power tools. Should you not be able to obtain such items, please contact Esoteric Hydroponics and we will be able to advise or source such equipment for you.

Disclaimer

If in doubt, please contact a qualified electrician. Additionally, all electrical equipment and electrical installations should undergo a periodic safety inspection by qualified personnel. Finally, products sold may vary, but will always match or exceed the quality of products shown.