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Failing HPS Bulb and Radiation question.

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Failing HPS Bulb and Radiation question.

JuniorDavis 10 Replies 5,449 Views
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JuniorDavis

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#1
I have a question. I have a 600w Digital Greenhouse Ballast from HTGsupply. It's about a year old and still using the same bulb (I know I know!)

However, Whenever I turn this thing on. I get this weird smell (could just be me) and I get light headed, Nausea, real dizzy.

I contacted Tony (Owner of HTG) and said I think it's leaking gas or something.
He said "I don't understand, Everything in there is Electronic like a PC. So it shouldn't be leaking gas"
Which makes sense since it's an electronic ballast.

However I still was feeling like crap.
So could it be radiation that is getting me sick? I most certainly have the symptoms of it.
I took the Ballast and Mogul unit apart and everything looks good. So I feel it's coming from the Bulb. But I do get the smell from the ballast.

Could the Ballast/Bulb leak a lot of radiation? Could this get onto my meds if I grew with the bulb? Would it harm me smoking it?

The unit has MH/HPS conversion. I checked my MH bulb out earlier and the glass filament tube at the bottom of the bulb near where you screw it in at (That's what she said) is broken. I actually got a piece of glass out of it.

How it still works is beyond me.

I need my set up for my Meds right now. So I don't know if I would need to just replace the bulb or the whole unit.

I also didn't have a cool tube or anything going when I used the bulb. It was just under an open hood.

Thanks. I really appreciate any info.

Junior
 
#3
Hmmm I'm not sure. I was told that there's no gases coming from the ballast. However it says there is a gas in the arc tube of the bulb.

"Does my HPS or MH lamp need time to "warm-up"?
MH and HPS lamps are also know as High Intensity Discharge (HID) lamps. All HID lamps will require some amount of time for the gas in the arc tube to "warm up" and become fully bright. An MH lamp usually requires 5-10 minutes for full brightness, while an HPS lamp may require less than 5 minutes. Additionally, in most MH or HPS systems, if the light is turned off, even momentarily, the lamp will "extinguish" and then need to fully "cool-down" before the arc will "re-strike" and light up again. This process may take up to 25 minutes."

So could the gases from there leak?

All I know is I feel like crap and smell a weird smell from the set up. And I'm not sure what could be the culprit.
 
#4
the ballast does not have a gas in it. it is creating a high voltage, and a strong electromagnetic field. dust can get inside; the voltage can create ozone(smells sweet to my nose, lung irritant. after lightning kinda smell) the insulator in the transformer can leak a bit(burning electric sweet). a leaky bulb will not last long and turn itself off. the extinguish restrike. sea plenty of rf pollution!
 
#5
So I am pretty sure the smell I am smelling is ozone. But when I went to HTG today they took my faulty MH bulb and my ballast and hooked it up. But we weren't getting the smell?

Why is it I get the smell from an HPS light? You say the light couldn't cause that smell but I'm positive that's the smell I'm getting.

So would it be ballast, Bulb or Mogul MH/HPS Conversion fixture the bulb goes into?

Thanks!

Edit they didn't use my Mogul connection for the set up. could it be arcing in from there creating ozone?
 
#6
Where and what is it mounted to, maybe it's heating something up underneath it that's letting off a gas.
I heard of some grow tents that when heated up from the lights let off toxic gases.
 
#7
Rushed said:
Where and what is it mounted to, maybe it's heating something up underneath it that's letting off a gas.
I heard of some grow tents that when heated up from the lights let off toxic gases.
Click to expand...


I have it mounted to a Maxwing hood. It's not vented. The ballast is always, always outside of the tent due to heat.

When I last smelled the ozone smell it was in my room when I turned it on. I didn't even have it in the tent.

Do you know what part of the set up would leak ozone? HPS with a MH conversion mogul. But used on HPS.
 
#8
it is not "leaking" ozone per se. the high voltage is creating the ozone from the o2 in the room. i don't know the wiring for a switching ballast. there are a few ways to do it.(internal). you should check it with a new hps. change out one variable at a time. the ozone should only be "around" at the firing of the bulb. during arc start phase.
 
#9
WOW. this literally just happened to me.. just got done putting together a new tent. Fired my fairly new hps bulb on a old htg supply digital green house ballast I bought used... fan came on hps light started..

3 things were strange

1. the light color was blue at first. then went orange and then went blueish orange.
2. a slight high pitched hissing sound was coming from the bulb.
3 strange smell.. almost like a burning smell. but not quite.. followed by serious light headed ness thats lasted about 30 minutes...

I can say for sure the smell was coming from the bulb.. or some where not near the ballast and within the tent. I got so dizzy though that I couldnt sniff around anymore.. shut it off and hopped on google.

wtf.

to the op . what bulb were you using? is it only the hps bulb? have you tried other bulbs?

I have 3 more hps bulbs and a mh bulb that i am going to try..

what kind of ballast is it? is it all silver.. and a sticker that says hps and mh conversion bulb only... (which is odd because it runs mh fine ive been told) ???

My theory is the tent honestly.. Im seriously suseptable to fermaldahyde

im thinking the tent is off gasing. IM going to try my reg magnetic balast with the same bulb first...

im guessing i will get the same results..

i discovered that i have a serious issue with fermaldahyde.. a sensitivity almost like an allergy.. I bought some chinese fiber board student desk at cvs on clerance one time.. the thing stank of cheap glue.. that whole week I had headaches.. light headedness, eye irritation.. it was a night mare.. looking up my sysmptoms i came across a reference to cheap chinese glues containing high amounts of fermaldahyde... through that thing in the dumpster.. my gf could smell the chemical smell from the desk.. but it didnt seem to effect her the way it did me.
 
#10
you know it could be the ozone theory as well.. high voltage is the precursor to ozone. we do share the same ballast.. im pretty sure when i bought the tent it said non toxic to plants.. IM pretty sure most the newer chinese tents no longer have toxic off gasing..

you say you have had the ballast for a year? how long has the smell and dizziness been happening? was it when you started using the tent? or have both been used concurrently?
 
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