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Offlineplambe
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An hps not starting?
    #476452 - 09/13/10 09:45 AM (13 years, 6 months ago)

I just rewired my hps lamp so that my ballast is out of the grow box.

While rewiring I tried to start the lamp unsuccessfully. I thought it might be because the ballast was still very hot or something. So I waited and a while later tried again - it worked. I then unplugged the lamp and plugged it back in - it didn't start. I rewired again thinking this might help - it didn't. I left it plugged to see if it starts after some time - it started.

My question is - is it normal for the lamp to start only when the ballast and/or igniter has not been working for some time? Is it normal when the lamp was just unplugged and plugged back in to not start right away but after some time?

Oh and sorry if this question has been answered already.


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Offlinekickin-two-hundo
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Re: An hps not starting? [Re: plambe]
    #476457 - 09/13/10 10:15 AM (13 years, 6 months ago)

i had a very similar thing happen, i turned the bulb like right as it came on, because i was doing something with the plug, and it would never ignite again, just made a faint buzzing sound.
just sent the bulb back in and got a new one, no more problems.


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OfflineNizzyJones
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Re: An hps not starting? [Re: plambe]
    #476567 - 09/13/10 02:31 PM (13 years, 6 months ago)

It's normal for the ballast to have to cool down before re-firing, yes.

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Invisiblecoda


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Re: An hps not starting? [Re: NizzyJones]
    #476632 - 09/13/10 04:55 PM (13 years, 6 months ago)

Quote:

NizzyJones said:
It's normal for the ballast to have to cool down before re-firing, yes.





Eh, not true.  I can flick my HPS on and off and have it fire pretty much every time.  Sounds like your capacitor doesn't have a strong enough charge to ignite the bulb IMO.  Just leave it plugged in the wall for a bit and try again.  If you have a spare bulb try that too.


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OfflineHeathcliffHuxtable
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Re: An hps not starting? [Re: plambe]
    #476650 - 09/13/10 05:25 PM (13 years, 6 months ago)

I'm not sure I can answer your question but when turning off your light you should make sure that everything has cooled down before turning it on again. Just as when you turn it on you should let it heat up before turning it off. Flicking your light on and off can easily cause damage to your bulb and stuff. I know someone who broke a bulb (before even using it) just by turning the lamp on and off a couple times to see if it worked.


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InvisibleInverted
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Re: An hps not starting? [Re: HeathcliffHuxtable]
    #476825 - 09/13/10 11:13 PM (13 years, 6 months ago)

That is true also...

I can hear my bulb make a tink tink sound like the exhaust of a car cooling down.  Tis not good for the structure of the glass to heat and cool rapidly...


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Invisiblecoda


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Re: An hps not starting? [Re: Inverted]
    #477074 - 09/14/10 04:55 PM (13 years, 6 months ago)

Quote:

I'm not sure I can answer your question but when turning off your light you should make sure that everything has cooled down before turning it on again. Just as when you turn it on you should let it heat up before turning it off. Flicking your light on and off can easily cause damage to your bulb and stuff. I know someone who broke a bulb (before even using it) just by turning the lamp on and off a couple times to see if it worked.




Oh, lol, I'm not saying this is something that I practice, just that I've never had to "cool down" my ballast before it would fire again.  It's one of those "oh it's possible, but don't fucking do it" situations :wink:

When diagnosing ballast problems there's three main problem areas: Bad Bulb, Bad Cap, Bad Ignitor.  Those are the most common problems I can think of.  Now, seeing as he wired his ballast himself there's also the possibility of a connection issue (IE one of the splices you have is loose or something).  I guess capacitor because getting some light but not a full fire is usually indicative of too small a charge for the ignitor.  Seeing as it works when he lets it sit plugged in, but doesn't after he fires it once or twice leads me to believe he's leaking juice a lot quicker then he should be.


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MFDoom666: sobriety kills my buzz every time.

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Offlineplambe
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Re: An hps not starting? [Re: NizzyJones]
    #477561 - 09/15/10 02:13 PM (13 years, 6 months ago)

When I plug the lamp it either lights right away (probably when it has had time to cool down), or doesn't output any light for some time (always when it's hot). If it doesn't give any light when plugged, after 5-15 minutes it starts.

I don't have a spare anything (bulb, igniter, ballast).

As for the connections being loose - that's the first thing I thought of. Thus I checked them a few times and even bought something that I don't know how to translate in English that is used to make good connections:


I haven't wired any capacitors, assuming there is one inside the ballast. Please tell me if I'm wrong!

My igniter is for a 400W HID lamp and I'm using a 250W bulb and ballast (I haven't bought this stuff, afoaf gave it to me for free because he isn't going to use it anymore, otherwise I would have used the right kind of igniter).

And now - what do you mean by
Quote:

he's leaking juice a lot quicker then he should be.


?


Quote:

NizzyJones said:
It's normal for the ballast to have to cool down before re-firing, yes.



I hope not letting the ballast (and igniter and etc) cool down is the reason I had this problem.

I still don't know if this problem appears when the ballast, igniter, bulb and etc are cold, as they start too early in the morning. I was rewiring my lamp while the ballast was quite hot and when I tested it it wouldn't fire. Then I got worried and posted here.

Now I'm too stoned to write anymore...

Thanks for the information :smile:


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Invisiblecoda


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Re: An hps not starting? [Re: plambe]
    #477640 - 09/15/10 04:59 PM (13 years, 6 months ago)

Quote:

Do I need a capacitor with my High Pressure Sodium Ballast?
Yes and NO- All higher wattages come standard with a capacitor (200W and Above) and a capacitor is not standard with ballast that are 150W and below. The amps of a lower wattage ballast do not usually warrant one. Please check with an electrician to see if the amperage draw is too high.




What's the wattage of your HPS lamp?  Should have asked that first.  If it's low enough then you won't need the capacitor.


Quote:

And now - what do you mean by

    Quote:
    he's leaking juice a lot quicker then he should be.




Capacitors "store" power (ultra simplified explanation here :wink:), when the guts of the cap start to go bad they start holding their charge for shorter periods of time. I'm guessing from your setup though that you run a low power HPS lamp and don't need the cap so all of this is moot :wink:


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MFDoom666: sobriety kills my buzz every time.

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Offlineplambe
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Re: An hps not starting? [Re: coda]
    #478664 - 09/17/10 04:24 PM (13 years, 6 months ago)

My bulb is a 250W hps. My ballast is also 250W for hps lamps. The igniter is for a 400W hps lamp but I got those three items together and assumed that the igniter has to be for an equal to or higher powered lamp then the one actually in use to be able to ignite it.

I got up early yesterday to see if the lamp starts right away when everything has cooled down for 6 hours. It did not start for a few minutes, I got asleep again, was awakened again around 10 minutes after the lamp should have started and it was already on and fully lid.



Looking at this picture it seems the capacitor is connected between the long and short sides of the ballast. On my ballast I can't even see a short and a long side. It's all covered with metal and paint.


There is a diagram on the ignitor about how to wire things and I followed it.


That's how I wired:


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Offlineplambe
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Re: An hps not starting? [Re: plambe]
    #478892 - 09/18/10 12:50 AM (13 years, 6 months ago)

I just woke up and my light is still not on. It should have started 2 hours ago...


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Offlineplambe
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Re: An hps not starting? [Re: plambe]
    #478904 - 09/18/10 02:30 AM (13 years, 6 months ago)

I've got a new ignitor. Now the light is always starting the exact instant it should :smile:


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Offlineplambe
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Re: An hps not starting? [Re: plambe]
    #478905 - 09/18/10 02:36 AM (13 years, 6 months ago)

One more thing - with the old ignitor the lamp was blinking almost insensibly. I thought that's normal, because I've seen other hps lamps do the same.

Now I know better - with the new ignitor I can't sense any blinking at all.


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