How Long do hps Bulbs Last.

malicifice

Well-Known Member
How many cycles of 12/12 do they last and what do you think the best brand is? I heard hortilux or something like that was pretty good.
 

racerboy71

bud bootlegger
the can last for years i'd think, but they will also lose lumens pretty badly before that point, meaning that the light output they give when new vs a few years old is going to be quite different, and much lesser as they age..
there are a lot of good brands out there for bulbs... eye hortilux are nice, digilux, ushio are sometimes considered top of the line as they use them in mercedes benz cars..
 

cannabineer

Ursus marijanus



Table 1: Rated Life of HID SourcesSource/Description Rated Life (hrs) Maintenance Period (4,200 hrs/yr)
MH 100W vertical 15,000 3.6 years
100W horizontal 11,250 2.7 years
HPS 100W (any position) 24,000+ 5.7 years (or more)

cn
 

cannabineer

Ursus marijanus
For us small non-commercial growers, I'd change a MH every 2 grows and an HPS every four. If you're big or commercial, perhaps with perpetual flower areas, a different calculus might apply. Jmo.
I burn one to two thousand hours of MH just veging one grow. I will have to look hard at what bulbs i should use. Those $90-. Ushio OptiSummat 600W conversion MHs might be un-economic. cn
 

DIYer

Well-Known Member
i never knew HPS bulbs lost lumens, let alone MH,.. but if its only 20% over 6 years or so, and they cost like $12 a bulb for one of my 400 watters,.. well its not even worth worrying about imo.
 

racerboy71

bud bootlegger
For us small non-commercial growers, I'd change a MH every 2 grows and an HPS every four. If you're big or commercial, perhaps with perpetual flower areas, a different calculus might apply. Jmo.
I burn one to two thousand hours of MH just veging one grow. I will have to look hard at what bulbs i should use. Those $90-. Ushio OptiSummat 600W conversion MHs might be un-economic. cn
think they're bad cn, i just recently switched over to sunpulse mh's for the entire grow.. they come in k ratings, much the way that say cfls do, you can get them from i think 3k all the way up to 10k, the tens they recommend for use in the last two weeks of flower..
i just used the 3k's and the 6k's for my last grow from seed to harvest, and really liked the results, but at $125 or so per bulb, replacing them every two grows does get pricey right quick..
 

cannabineer

Ursus marijanus
The chart I found is generic. I might contact Ushio and get specific charts for the two bulbs I am using. MH and HPS ... one is Opti Red and the other Opti Blue ... (just went to look at the box) Opti Blue is the MH. I'm hoping the premium bulbs have a better hold on their initial luminance. I think I just gave myself more questions than answers. cn
 

racerboy71

bud bootlegger
The chart I found is generic. I might contact Ushio and get specific charts for the two bulbs I am using. MH and HPS ... one is Opti Red and the other Opti Blue ... (just went to look at the box) Opti Blue is the MH. I'm hoping the premium bulbs have a better hold on their initial luminance. I think I just gave myself more questions than answers. cn
i do know a lot of the better brand bulbs state that they have much less of a lose in lumens cn vs a cheaper brand bulb, which has always been one of their selling points, along with more light in the proper specturms i'd assume..
i'm pretty sure on the side of my digilux boxes it states something about not losing lumens quickly or something along those lines, too lazy to go up and check the box in all honesty..
 

Clonex

Well-Known Member
The chart I found is generic. I might contact Ushio and get specific charts for the two bulbs I am using. MH and HPS ... one is Opti Red and the other Opti Blue ... (just went to look at the box) Opti Blue is the MH. I'm hoping the premium bulbs have a better hold on their initial luminance. I think I just gave myself more questions than answers. cn
If you get that please post it , cheeerz Umbre...
 

Elliesdaddy

Active Member
You're HPS bulb will say on the box how much life is guaranteed mine is 24,000hours but remember it start's using more watts as normal, then drops in lumens so lumens lost while being a lot more expensive on electric so you should change you're bulb every time you have used them for about 19,000 hours to prevent this, my High Pressure Sodium is 600watts and completely worth it, i can replace my 600w bulb for no more than ten pound it's really not a big issue just make sure you get a ballast which is the same wattage as the bulb or it will be ineffective if the ballast let's out less watts than recommended for the bulb and if the ballast is 600w and the bulb is 400 250w... the bulb will blow and possibly cause a fire
 

Clonex

Well-Known Member
You're HPS bulb will say on the box how much life is guaranteed mine is 24,000hours but remember it start's using more watts as normal, then drops in lumens so lumens lost while being a lot more expensive on electric so you should change you're bulb every time you have used them for about 19,000 hours to prevent this, my High Pressure Sodium is 600watts and completely worth it, i can replace my 600w bulb for no more than ten pound it's really not a big issue just make sure you get a ballast which is the same wattage as the bulb or it will be ineffective if the ballast let's out less watts than recommended for the bulb and if the ballast is 600w and the bulb is 400 250w... the bulb will blow and possibly cause a fire
How can a ballast and bulb that are set at a certain wattage use more watts , sorry that is just stupid!
 
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