HPS keeps blowing

[KeiserSozeh]

So, I'm using 500 watt HPS shop light for my veg setup. The problem is the light bulb keeps blowing. This is the third time during the last 2 weeks or so, and the second time in 2 days. I was wondering if anyone has experience with using these lights and if they have run into the same problem. I almost feel like I've got some kind of faulty housing that is somehow causing the bulbs to burn out. The grow I did before this I used the same type of light, and I don't recall ever having to replace the bulb... and that grow ran a very long time. (I kept the plant in veg state for a very long time to let it get huge)

I would think it's somehow related to overheating, I know these lights can get mega hot. And in fact, it looks to me that some of the glass/ceramic connector parts seem to be melting. The strange thing is that the lights blow in the morning (the last 2 days) when the lights are first coming on. I would think if it was heat related, the bulb would blow towards the end of the day when they've been running for 18 hours. Of course on that same note, maybe the bulb is degrading during the long day and when turned on the next morning, the stress on the bulb becomes fatal.

Any thoughts or ideas? I just got a bad ballast/housing unit? Or maybe I need to put a fan on the light itself to help cool things down?

297562

Pic related: almost the exact model I'm using. Pic found on this board (although old) under indoor lighting.

[tlranger]

I just got a bad ballast/housing unit? Or maybe I need to put a fan on the light

Mega hot!! Betting on both - ballast can be bitches

[Dutch Pimp]

Those shop lights use Halogen bulbs, not high pressure sodium bulbs.

[KeiserSozeh]

You're right, thanks for the correction.

[Skihigh]

There ain't gonna be a ballast in that light fixture....It's a halogen shop light .....Maybe not the best light to use mainly because of the color rendering.....Halogens put out around 10,000 kelvin....Too much or to little usable color for growing....(You need around 2,600 to 6,500 kelvin) And they are way too hot to use very close to the plants.
If you touch the glass halogen bulbs with your hands,the oils from your skin can rub off and cause hot spots on the bulb possibly causing premature burn out.Hope this helps some...........J

[Skihigh]

There ain't gonna be a ballast in that light fixture....It's a halogen shop light .....Maybe not the best light to use mainly because of the color rendering.....Halogens put out around 10,000 kelvin....Too much or to little usable color for growing....(You need around 2,600 to 6,500 kelvin) And they are way too hot to use very close to the plants.
If you touch the glass halogen bulbs with your hands,the oils from your skin can rub off and cause hot spots on the bulb possibly causing premature burn out.Hope this helps some...........J

[tlranger]

Gotcha, good call

[Shovelhandle]

I was hoping that Keiser was showing a similar fixture and that he does in fact have a ballast-igniter-capacitor starter.
I certainly know about the halogen shop light they and the mercury do not use ballasts. Keiser said he's been replacing lamps so I figured that he would know if he has a unit with a ballast or not??? He mentioned the ballast.

[Skihigh]

I use these kind of lamps in my work and have repaired MANY of them..Tried them to grow with....Not much help unless you're trying to keep things warm......J