changing bulbs,dont forget!

[Chronito]

Awesome thread with a timely reminder to all indoor growers to replace their bulbs regularly..

I wish there was somewhere i could donate my bulbs but not an option where i am unfortunately


take it easy guys keep up the good work

chronito

 

[3rdEye]

944s2

I know I error on the side of caution but I run Cycle A, change bulbs and run Cycle B. The bulb from Cycle A is there in case of emergency.

On Cycle C the bulb is switched out again. The bulb from Cycle A is donated to a clinic that help MMJ growers with limited funds and the bulb from Cycle B is now the emergency bulb.

And so on and so on. I probably switch the bulbs out way too much but I have very little money spent on commercial potting soils, 'nutes' and other fixes offered at garden stores so it's not a big deal. I figure it costs me about $.80 per day to run new(er) bulbs.

YMMV

CC

What kind of bulbs do you use CC and how much do you pay for them? How long is an average cycle?

Need to get a photometer someday. One with PAR ratings.

 

[StealthDragon]

I like to replace mine every 3 cycles. I also take a sharpie and write the date on the base or hood when I fire it up.

 

[Holdin']

I plugged in a new 1k a few weeks ago, was astonished on how much the other 1k had degraded. Luckily I'm about to switch to flower so I'll be pulling out the HPS bulbs... But that does remind me get a couple of more backups.

Anyone ever notice MH bulbs appearing more "blue" as they degrade? IMO when you install a new MH bulb, it always seems like much more "white" than "blue." Never noticed anything with HPS bulbs besides not as penetrating.

 

[DiscoBiscuit]

IMO, new hps appears whiter. Old hps appears yellower.

 

[Space Ghost]

3 runs or 90 days, whichever comes first.

I'd like to see your 30 day strain plz!

 

[mad librettist]

heya space ghost, i'm running some blue sat 2.2 as well. just looking for keeper atm.

 

[Canniwhatsis]

I'd like to see your 30 day strain plz!

No shit!

I realized this weekend that I had been burning a 400w bulb in my 600w fixture for the last 4 months!

Now my slightly reduced yields make sense. :

 

[DiscoBiscuit]

I'd like to see your 30 day strain plz!

I guess it wasn't that funny

 

[señorsloth]

don't they light up when you put old bulbs in the microwave? when i change out mine this time around i'm going to give that a try before i do anything lol...

on another note, how much better are fresh "lumitek" bulbs compared to say a generic one of the same wattage and all? i have a case of generic ones that i found at work, amongst about 2 dozen old 400 watt hps lights that used to light our warehouse, we have different lights now and i was able to bring the new box of bulbs home with me but if i can get significantly better performance from a special grow bulb it would be worth it to just toss those and use the best, if the difference between a 50 dollar bulb and a 80 dollar bulb is an ounce or two of bud, well i would be a fool not to, since i only have the one light, but you would almost think if there was a big difference in one bulb over the rest everybody would have the same bulb right?

 

[habeeb]

I noticed on my last grow a severe drop off in bud density and size, then it hit me like a lighting bolt it was time for a new bulb.

I have a lumatek with super lumens and I think it really beats the shit out of the bulbs. From now on I wont run a bulb any longer than 3-4 months, I might even go every grow if I can get a case cheap enough. I buy the cheapest bulbs so I dont care about throwing them out after 1 use, the bud quality is worth the 50 bucks.

hope your not throwing them out, literally, as they need to be recycled