I was wondering how often to change my Bulbs

[BayAreaKushking]

I Have Hortilux 1000watt blubs I was wondering when I should change them.


thanks
kush king

 

[c4NN4daze]

It's good to change bulbs once every 12-16 months.

Word,
CD

 

[mittenmedgrow]

I go every other cycle.

 

[leadsled]

I go every other cycle.

^^^ same here

 

[oglovinlife18]

i heard the bulbs peak is at 10-14 months i normally toss em right after the 14th

 

[motherlode]

every 3-6 months to keep your grow optimal

 

[waayne]

every 3-6 months to keep your grow optimal

Words of wisdom

:pimp:

 

[tomsawyer]

HID bulbs will intensify slightly after they are used a bit. Then over time they will start to fade. Small tungsten particles in the arc tube become airborne and will actually coat the inside of the arc tube blocking the light. - This from engineer of the G-Lux bulb by GGL.

 

[pokergod]

measured with a cheap light meter, hortilux bulb 6mos old vs new hortilux, the new bulb puts out 6% more lumens.

 

[kinzla34]

Changing lamps too often is a waste of money. Not changing them at the right time means yields suffer. The only way to be sure is to measure the light at the canopy.

All lamps depreciate light output from the moment they are struck on. MH is the worst. Lumen output should be converted to umoles for plant light intensity levels that fall within PAR ranges. That means if the lamp is producing less lumens or is not the right spectrum the yields drop.

There is a chart at the bottom of this link that shows lumen depreciation relative to the hours the lamp has run. Measure light output at the canopy and when it falls below 400 umoles on average over a sq meter it's time to get the lamp closer or add a lamp.

If you have a standard light meter then that would be 4000 foot candles as a rough conversion to umoles.

The chart is at the bottom of the no 3 link.

peace

 

[BayAreaKushking]

Thanks