Is it possible to use a 250w MH/HPS conversion bulb on my regular 250w HPS setup??

I was wondering the same thing a while back. My research led me to believe that it was only possible with digital ballasts, but I'm not 100% sure...just my 0.02

thanks...i also thought you needed a digital ballast, but hey some 1 out there knows for sure 100%

With a 250w HPS ballast, any kind, you can use:

a 250w HPS lamp, or
a 250w MH Conversion lamp.

Using the conversion lamp will cost you some lumens.

HTH

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my 250watt hps will burn both no problem.

yes they do werk i am using a 250w hps ballast i my mh bulb in for veg and switched to my hps dur flower no prob but you cant do the other way around mh o hps i think

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I wonder why they say it won't work? I am burning MH bulbs with my HPS ballast, with no apparent problems. In fact, when I got my lights (Salvaged commercial high bay lights) I got some MH ballasts, but the ones that were clearly marked as HPS had MH bulbs in them, so the factory was obviously burning MH bulbs in an HPS fixture/ballast.
In every myth/urban legend, there is a grain of truth, a causative reason for the belief. How and why did this one get spread around?
Any electricians/electrical engineers out there? Will doing so shorten the ballast life? Or shorten bulb life? Will it create a "worm hole" that will suck my grow room into another dimension? (I can't have THAT!!)

Just something to chew on.

TLP

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i know the hps balast will burn a mh but will a mh balast burn a hps i have heard the it had something to do with ignition of the bulb to get it started is the key well apparently they sell conversion bulbs for both
Buy Eye Ultra Ace 400 Watt HPS Conversion Bulbs Here! i though that they only made the one but i am still pretty sure that if its not a conversion bulb only a mh in a hps balast will wrk

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ChknHwk, I don't know about that. After I harvest this one in a week or two, I'll try it. I do know that HPS will burn MH bulbs with no apparent probs. I tried one of those conversion bulbs. I ordered either a Phillips (I forget what they call thiers), Or a GE Chroma-fit. Those are not supposed to have light loss. What I ended up with was an Ushio version. It worked OK, but had about 15,000 fewer lumens than a straight up HPS or MH. Thats alot of light to sacrifice for a little convenience.
I have some MH fixtures, but only 2 HPS bulbs. I aint gonna run right out and get another bulb to test it in a MH fixture, but I am gearing up for another grow. I'll be getting new lamps/bulbs for this grow, and I'll try a used one in a MH fixture.
I just wonder when, why and how this came about that it couldn't be done? I have called both GE and Hubbell lighting technicians about it and get the same pat answer. No they are not interchangable.

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don't know man that is a good question keep me posted on what you find out or if anyone else out there wants to give it a try and lest us know so pirate as i said i have the conversion bulb are you saying if icant afford to have both balasts would it just be better just to run my hps for the whole life cycle then to switch them up cause i don't know if it was the switching to 12/12 or putting the hps back in after i used my mh for a month or so but my plants shot straight up

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