bare bulb question

ok so i've done a couple vert grows so far, 600w in cool tube. i've noticed that the cool tube restricts the light alot ( esp bc the 600w hps is so short). it seems obvious that the bulb would cover a bigger arc if i got rid of the tube. the reason i havnt is that i am concerned about the possibility of fire if the bulb breaks when im not home. so here's my question- how hot does the inside of the bulb get and is the possibility of a fire realistic, or are most fires caused by ppl overloading circuits? i know the bulb can be kept reasonably cool with a floor fan. however, if the bulb fails catastrophically (for whatever reason), should i be concerned about where the pieces could land?

In 25 years, I've never had the outside of any bulb break or shatter. The bulb may fail, but it's outer casing will not break. Now, over-loading wiring and electrical circuits is a totally different story. But "pieces could land" ....no chance at all unless it falls or water is sprayed on it.

yeah its kinda what ive been thinking lately. i never put much thought into it before. thnx.

High pressure sodium lights have an inner arc tube made of ceramic alumina, which is tough and thermal resistant. The outer shell is a vacuum tube made of borosilicate glass that will only break if you drop or bang it hard. As long as you're not growing over carpet or something flammable, a bare bulb shouldn't present much of a fire risk. The floor fan will keep the glass relatively cool even if it shatters.

A couple drops of water on a hot bare bulb will get ya a show for sure..lol
About all ya needz to worrie about with BB... IMO...

There's a thread out there somewhere of a 600w digilux hps bulb failing due to spontaneous outer shell rupture while in use with the correct digilux ballast. Could it be because of the electromagnetic frequency being incredibly higher with the digital ballast? An ultra frequency shock wave ripping through the outer casing. Other than that I've not seen any reports related to grow journals that use mag-core ballasts and had that happen.

It not that common of an occurance for a lamp to explode and cause fire. Remove the lamp or bag is when spraying. Just remember to take it off. That happened to me once, and of course it was 3 weeks after it was replaced. Stoner move.
Bigger yields for sure.

contraptionated said:

There's a thread out there somewhere of a 600w digilux hps bulb failing due to spontaneous outer shell rupture while in use with the correct digilux ballast. Could it be because of the electromagnetic frequency being incredibly higher with the digital ballast? An ultra frequency shock wave ripping through the outer casing. Other than that I've not seen any reports related to grow journals that use mag-core ballasts and had that happen.

Click to expand...

I've been using digital ballasts for years - since they first came out - and I've never seen anything like that. Even on a dodgy digital ballast that had to be replaced.

I've also misted hot bulbs with water and all it did was evaporate (steam) off. You'd have to hit it with some serious water to quench it enough for the bulb to break, IMO. I've gone through dozens and dozens of HPS bulbs in my time and never broken one yet (touch wood!).

About the worst I've ever done was to plug a 400w MH into a 400w/600w switchable magnetic ballast when it was still on 600w. There was a flash and the element burnt out, but the bulb stayed intact. Upon closer inspection, the ceramic element was cracked, but the outer borosilicate glass was fine.

thanks for the help. i ended up just getting a mogul to mogul extension so i have better light coverage. ill prob switch to bare bulb at some point but i think im going to put down some concrete board first just to be safe. I have a legal grow but that wouldnt stop my hoa form causing alot of probs even if i had a minor fire lol.

I would think the fire itself would be a problem, not the HOA.