This Hps bulb blows me down

So I got one of these GrowBright 600 watt HPS High Output Horticultural bulb with my 600W digital from HTG about 3 weeks ago. Turned it on this morning, all's well. Then, a couple hours later I notice my grows dark.
Upon inspection, I find the bulbs blown. There's some flaked, powdery stuff loose inside, I can see a loose filament floppin' around and the rod along the bottom of the tubes length has warped and cracked the actual glass tube enclosing the works.
Does this sound like a typical hps bulb blow, or am I looking at deeper issues?
I mean, this bulb had about 2 weeks use. Sure am glad I know fluros well. This is my virgin hps bud grow.

I am awaiting word from Tony @HTG

did you touch the bulb with your hands? the oil from your hand when heated up can cause the outer glass to crack.

Nope. I wiped it off after installing it. I mean, it was fine for two weeks and no one is in there but me.

So let me see. All serious growers use hps yet only ratman has an opinion on this? No one else has ever seen a blown hps bulb? Please help me understand what might have happened.

i've blown an HPS 400w before after about a month of use, from HGTsupply, but i had an issue with my wiring so my light was flicking off then turning back on while everything was still hot

Thanks. I think my wiring's all fine.

MrFishy said:

Thanks. I think my wiring's all fine.

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im pretty sure the problem lies with the quality of the bulb as you are not the first I have heard this from. a friend of mine who bought a 600watt light kit from them with 2 bulbs a hps and a mh conversion had one bulb "mh" not work from the get go and the hps go out within a week..but all in all htg took care of him in the end and problem solved.

You probably just had a bad bulb....Shit happens. Tony will take care of you. I always call him and have my order number handy.

No calls on Saturday. Yeah, I've heard nothing but good re:HTG but was hoping I might by-pass the defective gear like some RIU folks have? Would've been 2 weeks old today, this magic bulb.

yea sometimes that shit happens....might be kind of like a bait and switch.....they probbly dont include the best quality bulb. i dunno tho that isnt a fact either...im sure they will refund you..good luck

I had the same problem with my 400 watt bulb from htg, blew after about 3 weeks(twice) Tony replaced the bulb the first time and the whole unit the second time.

I was under the impression that this was a "better" bulb 'cuz' it claims 95,000 lumes vs the 90,000 from the norm. Unfortunately, this plant is in it's 5th week of pistils. I did not hear back from HTG today.
I'm confident that this issue will be resolved thru HTG, despite the damage done to mygrow by losing it's sun at this rather crucial stage. Does anyone NOT have some issue with HTG gear initially? The posts I can find seem to indicate this being the norm, rather than the execption.
I must've been fooling myself to have thought I would have no problems with HPS.
The 13 times it worked kinda allowed me to let my guard down.

Boneman said:

You probably just had a bad bulb....Shit happens. Tony will take care of you. I always call him and have my order number handy.

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really? sure seems like Alot of people have the same problem,with the same bulbs,from the same place! shit does happen but not in this case... bad bulbs yes,quality wise...I'm not trying to knock htg but those growbright bulbs are garbbage plain and simple!

I'm really not knocking HTG. Someone must not have had any problems?
I should've known those prices couldn't reflect top-notch gear. Just kinda thought a bulb is a bulb is a bulb. I mean, generic house bulbs don't necessarily burn out faster than Sylvania, etc.
If they are gonna sell 10,000 hr bulbs, they oughta burn for 100.

Does the description I wrote in the OP describe a normal dead hps bulbs look? This is my 1st. I can have a bulb here Tuesday, but what's the sense if the ballast caused the bulb to fry? This blows!

Keep in mind that poor bulb has bounced around 1/2 the world before getting to you. Bouncing in the truck, tossed at UPS, etc. All that jarring can weaken the spots where the guts attach.

Packaging protects the outside, but nothing you can do to help the itnernal.

Iv bought tons of cheap stuff from them for a while now and nothing has broken, people dont post when nothing goes wrong.

I knew I should've gotten the extra bulb, and would've in a few weeks. I guess I figured the original would work for a few weeks. Lesson learned. Now I'm just nervous that it'll end up being the ballast, or something worse than a bulb.
I'm a pretty laid back old guy. Stuff like this bruises my mood ring. I tend to dwell on the - . . . not a good trait, but 100% me.

Bulbs blowing, from what I remember, was kinda a common occurrence with HTG. Heard a bunch of stories, but each one ended with a free replacement.

Some ballasts drive bulbs harder than others, a little factory ocerclocking if you will, that's why you see higher lumen numbers from some of the brand name ballasts.

Anyway those ballasts can blow cheap bulbs easier. There's nothing wrong with the ballasts they're still within reasonable limits but you do get more bulb failures with them.

And yes shit does happen. You can just run to any local place and get a bulb in the meantime. Spare bulbs are a must, always. Many keep spare ballasts on hand too.