Radium/HQI questions

[Anonymous]

Hey everyone,

With 400 watt Radiums on HQI ballasts its suggested to change the bulbs every 6 months. Is that based on a 10 hour daily burn time? If I was only running the bulbs 5 hours a day, would I have to then switch out the bulbs ever year?

I have two bulbs, on seems to be running visibly less 'blue' than the other. They are both about a month old. Do you think the one hasn't caught up to the other yet, or do you think something else is going on?

 

[Anonymous]

Well your math seems right, if you run them half as long then they should last twice as long (without needing to be replaced) of course that neglects the fire up each day which probably screws with things a bit, how much time that takes off the bulb's spectral shift who knows though.

 

[Unarce]

I'm also doing 5 hrs per day with mine, but intend to switch them out every 6 months anyway.

It possible that one bulb is taking longer to break in. I've also heard that Radium has switched manufacturers, so you might also have both versions of the bulb.

 

[SnowManSnow]

heard a lot about these radium bulbs recently....

do you guys run the 20ks alone, without actinics I assume?

b

 

[Anonymous]

I run with actinic, but I am not sure if I will continue to do so.


Grrr about the shift. I think the less blue one is either not burned in, but it could be the more blue one. I didn't notice the difference until yesterday, so I don't think they were different. The question is how long do I wait before trying a new bulb?

 

[trido]

Have you tried orienting the bulb?
Not that I know squat.

 

[Anonymous]

Tried it, no effect. Thanks Seattle boy!
Maybe they just need a couple days to catch up.

 

[Unarce]

Right now, I'm running the Radium by itself and don't plan on adding actinics. This pic is a good representation of how the Radium/HQI ballast combo looks:

 

[Anonymous]

Ok. The less blue bulb shifted today. Now I don't seem much difference with this set up vs the 20kXM's I used to run. Maybe tomorrow night, I'll put an XM back in and look at the side by side.

 

[Anonymous]

Well, they didn't shift equally - they were still different colors. Called Marine Depot and they are refunding my money as soon as I send the bulbs back.

Already got 2 new radiums installed. They are both whiter than the bulbs I will be sending back. We'll see!