a good friend gave me some bulbs.. are they any good???

my buddy just came over and told me that he got some pretty expensive looking bulbs from work... the first one is this http://www.1000bulbs.com/1000-Watt-Metal-Halide-BT56/32713/ and the second one is this http://planetbulbstore.com/c250s50-alto.html

i want to know if any of these bulbs are worth anything?? are they any good to grow?? any suggestions will get +REP... i want to know from the experts if these lamps are any good!! thanks!

are the bulbs new or used? if they are new then yes they are good if you have the correct type and wattage ballast.
if they are used and you dont know how long they have been in use, then i would buy some new ones. HID light bulbs dont always just stop working, the amount of light they put out degrades over time. so its best to replace them after about 3 grows to get the highest quality light from them.

if your got a ballast already and happy with the wattage there fine. They do degrade though so its depends on usage. Even if they are on deaths door they would come in handy for emgeracy back ups provided you have ballasts to suit, lol its so easy to drop ya shade and smash ya bulb if ya dont tie it off right.

smoke and coke said:

HID light bulbs dont always just stop working, the amount of light they put out degrades over time. so its best to replace them after about 3 grows to get the highest quality light from them.

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Smoke hit it on the head, although the lights are great for growing, the light output of the bulb degrades overtime... So you might be better off just buying new ones unless they have only been used once. Ask him and take it from there.

And it is always nice to have backups on hand, i broke my old 8 CFL light fixture adjusting it....