how to tell how much lifetime left in my metal halide bulb?

[bk_market]

is it possible to tell how long the bulb been running? I see the white dust cover on the two side. does it mean anything? thanx

[SkiCurtis]

I think most people say 1 year life with running 8 to 9 hours a day.

[DEEPBLUE]

I've always noticed a yellowish color in the bulb light or about 6 to 7 months.

 

Eric

[davelin315]

Depends on the bulbs themselves. Some last longer than others. It also depends on personal preference.

[Freezerburn]

I found out the hard way with a used bulb and angry SPS :( RTN and all. Eventually recovered the last club I was in we talked about getting a PAR meter for the club.

[Grav]

I think the question was: can you tell by looking at a bulb how many hrs have been used up and how much live is left. Don't think so... If there is a way, I don't know it.

 

FYI new and non-members: we have 2 par meters for member use.

[bk_market]

thanx Grav for clearing up my question.

 

Let say if I was given a used bulb. I never use the bulb before and I dont have a exact same new one so i have no idea to compare. But by looking at the bulb itself can i tell how much time it been running?

 

Example maybe overtime the bulb itself get cloudy inside with white dust???

[jason the filter freak]

thanx Grav for clearing up my question.

 

Let say if I was given a used bulb. I never use the bulb before and I dont have a exact same new one so i have no idea to compare. But by looking at the bulb itself can i tell how much time it been running?

 

Example maybe overtime the bulb itself get cloudy inside with white dust???

 

The cloudyness occurs pretty fast after the bulb burn in period, I would use a par meter.

[fab]

I do not understand how a PAR meter helps to determine how much useful life is left in a metal halide.

What makes a metal halide bulb no longer useful is a shift in the power spectrum it emits, not the total amount of light energy it emits. I thought that PAR meters simply measure total emitted energy.

 

 

In order to know the distribution of power has shifted within the spectrum I would thing that you would have to have a device that measures the light energy coming from the lamp at different wavelengths. Does the PAR meter have a bank of wavelength specific filters to allow you to make such measurements?

 

fab

[Black Mammoth]

Another way you can tell, at least with my experience, you will notice a color change in your corals. Mine would start to brown out.