Is my HPS system faulty again?

[J3FF]

Just wanted to say thanks to everyone for letting me get this far on my first grow. Ok so I ordered a 250w Hps awhile back. I got it replaced last week because it didn't seem to turn on by itself. The ballast would just "click" and the bulb would not light without me fiddling with it.:confused: Sounds weird but it would only come on when I took a cloth and rubbed it across the bulb. I just recieved my replacement one on monday and so far it seems good. But this morning it was kinda acting like the one before. It turned on by itself about 5 minutes later. I know the bulb takes time to get up to full intensity, but does the ballast have a warm-up also? Would it help if I put it on a seperate circuit and timer? Right now it is on the same timer and power strip with my 2 fans. Really hope its nothing serious, Ive allready had to wait like an extra month to begin flowering. Growing 3 cali orange plants. I will put up some pics as soon as I get my cam back. Well thanks alot! I appreciate it. ;)

[BONG0]

the timer might not be able to handle the wattage of all 3 deviced conected at once, try it with just the HPS and nothing els pluged into the timer.

[mrberrys]

ello there m8.. well if you have 2 fans and your hps with a timer all in the same power lead.. then you probly need a light switch timer contactor.. coz them home timers you use are not really for use with big hps lights more like a livin room light.. that may be why its cuting out.. i have the same as you 2fans and my hps with a timer plugged in the same power extention cord .. but mines ok.. so may a timer contactor is what you need.. on www.growell.co.uk they sell them.. under grow light spares and accessories.. they are a little expensive.. but if thats what you need im sure it will be worth it.. any1 else wish to comment on weather a timer contactor is what he needs?? anyways bro hope you sort your tweaks out;)

[BONG0]

If you got a heavy duty one made to handle HIDs, it might fix the problem, or go with MrBerrys Suggestion.

[J3FF]

Its a Timex Heavy Duty. Capacity=1875 Watts/15 amps. So not too sure if it would be the timer. Don't know if it makes a difference but my living room and bedroom outlets are on the same breaker. But if that was a problem it would just throw the breaker, correct? Do your HID's turn on right away when they are powered? Could it be a ignitor problem if they dont? Im going to run it off another outlet later on a seperate timer. Hopefully it works. My buddy is growing the same but is using CFL's. Looks nice but I don't really want to go that route... Anyways thanks for the quick replys.

[faithless]

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I have a 250HPS and within a minute its at full speed. My 400HPS on the other hand takes several minutes longer.
Dunno why I posted that...

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[BONG0]

MH dont have an ignitor. only HPS do.

[Racerx]

I would definitely try a different circuit. If you plug the light directly into a new socket on a different circuit (older wiring may not trip the breaker but might not provide quite enough power to start everything correctly).

One of my flowering rooms has 2 600 watt digitals. Ive had horrible issues with the breaker tripping or one of the lights not lighting up because of old wiring in the house. I eventually had to run an extension cord from a seperate circuit (one not connected to 2 700 watt gaming computers and a bunch of fans, etc) and I installed a 20 amp breaker instead of 15 (after inspecting the wiring) and Ive been chill ever since.

Sometimes there is enough power to get the light to sort of go on, but not enough to ignite. My old 250 watt HPS took about 5 minutes to fully start up, but only a minute to ignite. If its happening twice, then you should look at your timer/electrical situation.

[J3FF]

Hey thanks Racerx, thats good to know. Ive had overload problems with the same circuit before growing. Just because the circuit runs all the living room outlets and bedroom outlets...not good. Ill give it a little more time tommorow morning see what happens. Only other circuit in bedroom is for the heater which is never really on so might be able wire that up. Also the breaker in the box is twice the size the one my light is connected to now. But for now im going to hook the light up by itself on its own timer.
First time growin... don't really have the greatest expectations, mainly just learning and getting everything in order for next time! Pretty exciting though, 4th day into flowering and im allready peepin it like 10 times a day! can't wait=).....thanks guys couldn't have come this far without reading all those posts.