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Hello farmers, I have this weird problem since recently. I hope someone here can help me out.
The ballast is ETI 250W electromagnetic, nothing too fancy but it did the job throughout the past 4 years. Few months ago I was vegging with PowerPlant MH SuperVeg 250W bulb for about 30 days. It worked ok for the veg period and then I replaced it with HPS to finish the crop.
Just recently I started another crop with the old MH lamp from the previous grow. To my surprise the MH lamp was not starting up. My ballast was making a buzzing sound. I went to the local reseller and the guys there tested it. Once it started and the next time it didn't. They replaced the MH bulb and I saw how the replacement was starting up at the shop with no problems whatsoever.
When I got back home to test it, it was the same buzzing sound coming out of the ballast and no light. If I replace the MH bulb with HPS one, it starts right up. I have 3 spare HPS lamps that I have no problems with, but the MH can't start, even though it was brand new.
Any idea what could be causing this? Nothing in my grow room has changed since the time when the MH was working fine. The power cord is less than 2 meters, so cabling shouldn't be the cause.
Could my ballast be faulty? But then again, how come it powers fine HPS bulbs and MH not? I red through some posts and I find out that this could be caused by a faulty capacitor in the ballast. One guys suggested that if the capacitors degrade, they cannot put enough current to light up the bulb. Any idea if MH requires more power to start compared to HPS ?
The ballast is ETI 250W electromagnetic, nothing too fancy but it did the job throughout the past 4 years. Few months ago I was vegging with PowerPlant MH SuperVeg 250W bulb for about 30 days. It worked ok for the veg period and then I replaced it with HPS to finish the crop.
Just recently I started another crop with the old MH lamp from the previous grow. To my surprise the MH lamp was not starting up. My ballast was making a buzzing sound. I went to the local reseller and the guys there tested it. Once it started and the next time it didn't. They replaced the MH bulb and I saw how the replacement was starting up at the shop with no problems whatsoever.
When I got back home to test it, it was the same buzzing sound coming out of the ballast and no light. If I replace the MH bulb with HPS one, it starts right up. I have 3 spare HPS lamps that I have no problems with, but the MH can't start, even though it was brand new.
Any idea what could be causing this? Nothing in my grow room has changed since the time when the MH was working fine. The power cord is less than 2 meters, so cabling shouldn't be the cause.
Could my ballast be faulty? But then again, how come it powers fine HPS bulbs and MH not? I red through some posts and I find out that this could be caused by a faulty capacitor in the ballast. One guys suggested that if the capacitors degrade, they cannot put enough current to light up the bulb. Any idea if MH requires more power to start compared to HPS ?
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