MH trouble. Needing HELP

[bdupuy]

So I recently got back into reefing and pulled out my MH. This system worked fine in the past and it’s been about a year since I’ve ran them. The bulb and ballast were only ran for about 6 months. I cannot figure out why it’s not working now.

All are Hamilton parts ordered from Hamilton.

Hamilton M58 250w magnetic ballast. Basic reflector. Hamilton 250w 14000k bulb. Bulb does nothing when plugged in.

I also have a Hamilton 200w-400w selectable electronic ballast purchased from a member here about a year ago. Hamilton bulb has a small spark when plugged into this ballast.

Thinking it was the bulb, I went an bought a ReefLux 250w from LFS .

When plugged into the magnetic ballast the ReefLux bulb has a faint dim light in the gas chamber but never fully lights.

When plugged into the electronic ballast the ReefLux bulb flashes brightly about every two minutes but never stays lit.

Image of bulb is the ReefLux on the magnetic ballast. It just stays light that and never fully lights. The rest of the combinations don’t do anything or the one combo where it flashes but I cannot catch a picture of that.

Any help would be MOST appreciated as this is driving me NUTS!

Thanks in advance!

 

[minus9]

Check that the wiring to the socket is solid and not loose. Reach out to Hamilton directly, they should be able to help.

 

[bdupuy]

Check that the wiring to the socket is solid and not loose. Reach out to Hamilton directly, they should be able to help.

Did both of those. Wiring looked great and Hamilton was confused. Said she could send me a new capacitor for the magnetic ballast and a new bulb at a discounted price.

 

[Hurricane Aquatics]

Have you tried different plug in locations in your home? Sounds like the voltage is being restricted.

If I had to guess, I would say your ballast is defective.

 

[bdupuy]

So I just had a friend come over who is an electrician. Tested the wire connections, capacitor, and voltage at the fixture from the magnetic ballast. All good, and the voltage at the receiving end of the fixture where the bulb screws in read 300V. So it appears that the bulb is bad.

It seems that I have a bad bulb. Didn’t think it was bad cause it was only used for a few months, and the second bulb I tried yesterday was also bad. This bulb had never been used but was a few years old. I didn’t realize these bulbs had a shelf life if they were not used.

Now I’m debating whether to buy another bulb to test this out or just sell all of it a go LED. These bulbs are expensive to just keep testing and are getting hard to find.

Thanks for the input.

 

[RedoubtReef]

buy new bulbs

Radium HRI-T250W/230/B/E40 250W 20K Aquarium Lamp

Radium HRI-T250W/230/B/E40 20K 250 Watt Aquarium Lamp (SE) Single Ended Radium enjoys a reputation globally as one of the most experienced brand name manufacturers of the lamp industry exporting lamps to some 60 different countries.

www.soslightbulbs.com

 

[Hurricane Aquatics]

So I recently got back into reefing and pulled out my MH. This system worked fine in the past and it’s been about a year since I’ve ran them. The bulb and ballast were only ran for about 6 months. I cannot figure out why it’s not working now.

All are Hamilton parts ordered from Hamilton.

Hamilton M58 250w magnetic ballast. Basic reflector. Hamilton 250w 14000k bulb. Bulb does nothing when plugged in.

I also have a Hamilton 200w-400w selectable electronic ballast purchased from a member here about a year ago. Hamilton bulb has a small spark when plugged into this ballast.

Thinking it was the bulb, I went an bought a ReefLux 250w from LFS .

When plugged into the magnetic ballast the ReefLux bulb has a faint dim light in the gas chamber but never fully lights.

When plugged into the electronic ballast the ReefLux bulb flashes brightly about every two minutes but never stays lit.

Image of bulb is the ReefLux on the magnetic ballast. It just stays light that and never fully lights. The rest of the combinations don’t do anything or the one combo where it flashes but I cannot catch a picture of that.

Any help would be MOST appreciated as this is driving me NUTS!

Thanks in advance!

Now I'm confused. In the original post, yous said you went and purchased a new bulb from the LFS. Now you're saying the bulb that came with it is bad? What about the new bulb? If the new bulb is bad, take it back to LFS and get a refund and buy a Hamilton or Phoenix.

MH bulbs don't have a shelf life unless they sold you a used bulb. I can say this, a $30 - $50 Mogul bulb will be A LOT cheaper than an LED fixture for sure.

 

[bdupuy]

Now I'm confused. In the original post, yous said you went and purchased a new bulb from the LFS. Now you're saying the bulb that came with it is bad? What about the new bulb? If the new bulb is bad, take it back to LFS and get a refund and buy a Hamilton or Phoenix.

MH bulbs don't have a shelf life unless they sold you a used bulb. I can say this, a $30 - $50 Mogul bulb will be A LOT cheaper than an LED fixture for sure.

I bought the original setup, magnetic ballast, reflector, and bulb from Hamilton brand new about 2 years ago. Used it about 6 months and it’s been stored for a little over a year. Does not light up.

I went to LFS bought a bulb yesterday. They said it was about 5 years old, ReefLux that was not used (it might have been used who knows), but I paid full price for it, $97 after tax. Tried it, didn’t work, just a dim light in the gas chamber of the bulb (sorry if that’s not the correct term) See pic above. I returned this bulb today for store credit

Today tested everything with a multimeter. All is good from the magnetic ballast to the fixture.

Just saying, new bulbs are about $85. Not $30-50. If you know where to get one for that price please let me know. But yes even at that price it would be cheaper than LEDs. Just frustrated.

 

[bdupuy]

Also just to be sure before I buy a new bulb, will a magnetic 250w ballast run 250w Radium bulbs?

 

[Troylee]

Also just to be sure before I buy a new bulb, will a magnetic 250w ballast run 250w Radium bulbs?

Yes it will run them.. it won’t overdrive them like the m80 ballast but they work just fine on m58 ballast.

 

[bdupuy]

Yes it will run them.. it won’t overdrive them like the m80 ballast but they work just fine on m58 ballast.

Okay. Last questions before I pull the trigger on the light mentioned above. That lamp stated it has an E40 base. Everything I’ve been working with is E39 base. Will this make a difference?

Also a UV shield is recommended with this lamp. My fixture does not have one. As I understand this is specific to Radium bulbs. Is this something to be concerned with and if so how do I fix it?

 

[Troylee]

Okay. Last questions before I pull the trigger on the light mentioned above. That lamp stated it has an E40 base. Everything I’ve been working with is E39 base. Will this make a difference?

Also a UV shield is recommended with this lamp. My fixture does not have one. As I understand this is specific to Radium bulbs. Is this something to be concerned with and if so how do I fix it?

I haven’t ran radium’s in years because I have hqi now.. when I did I never had any glass shields back then on mogul base bulbs.. the uv shield is more for hqi “double ended” lamps like I’m currently running.. they might have changed over the years I’m not positive on that.. the base is fine..

 

[Hurricane Aquatics]

Okay. Last questions before I pull the trigger on the light mentioned above. That lamp stated it has an E40 base. Everything I’ve been working with is E39 base. Will this make a difference?

Also a UV shield is recommended with this lamp. My fixture does not have one. As I understand this is specific to Radium bulbs. Is this something to be concerned with and if so how do I fix it?

Yeah, my mistake. Single ended are more expensive that double ended that I use. Here is a 20k bulb like you need.

Radium 250w 20000k Metal Halide Lamp

BASE: Mogul

www.championlighting.com

Yes, all Metal Halide should have a tempered glass pane that reduces harmful UV light. @jda might know where to get those.

Sonyou know if the fixture is a Hamilton Cayman Sun or? The fixture doesn't look like a Hamilton, but I thought you might know from the seller.

****I know some use them without the glass panes. I know DE bulbs require it, but not sure about single ended. ***

 

[bdupuy]

I haven’t ran radium’s in years because I have hqi now.. when I did I never had any glass shields back then on mogul base bulbs.. the uv shield is more for hqi “double ended” lamps like I’m currently running.. they might have changed over the years I’m not positive on that.. the base is fine..

Thank you for the help. I will buy the lamp mentioned above. I’ll let y’all know how it goes.

 

[bdupuy]

Yeah, my mistake. Single ended are more expensive that double ended that I use. Here is a 20k bulb like you need.

Radium 250w 20000k Metal Halide Lamp

BASE: Mogul

www.championlighting.com

Yes, all Metal Halide should have a tempered glass pane that reduces harmful UV light. @jda might know where to get those.

Sonyou know if the fixture is a Hamilton Cayman Sun or? The fixture doesn't look like a Hamilton, but I thought you might know from the seller.

****I know some use them without the glass panes. I know DE bulbs require it, but not sure about single ended. ***

The fixture is Hamilton for sure I bought it brand new from them in 2021. I forget what it’s called but it doesn’t have the black plastic on the outside of the reflector. The whole thing is metal. It’s meant to be mounted inside a canopy.

 

[PaulErik]

That is a strange problem with a magnetic probe start ANSI M58 ballast. The bulb is only lighting between the starting electrode and the main electrode next to it. Only thing that could cause that is a faulty bulb or the bulb is not getting a complete connection. If wiring looks good, check the socket. The center tab in the socket may not be making full contact with the base. With the reflector disconnected from the ballast you can use a flat blade screwdriver to pull up the tab slightly.

Your magnetic ballast (probe start ANSI M58) is not compatible with a Radium bulb. The operating spec and starting method is not compatible and has never been recommended. This will cause starting difficulty and under run the bulb.

 

[PaulErik]

States it on the package as well

 

[bdupuy]

That is a strange problem with a magnetic probe start ANSI M58 ballast. The bulb is only lighting between the starting electrode and the main electrode next to it. Only thing that could cause that is a faulty bulb or the bulb is not getting a complete connection. If wiring looks good, check the socket. The center tab in the socket may not be making full contact with the base. With the reflector disconnected from the ballast you can use a flat blade screwdriver to pull up the tab slightly.

Your magnetic ballast (probe start ANSI M58) is not compatible with a Radium bulb. The operating spec and starting method is not compatible and has never been recommended. This will cause starting difficulty and under run the bulb.

This is what I thought, but others just said it would run the Radium bulb so I just bought one from BRS.

What about the electronic ballast that I have (pictured above)? It’s a Hamilton 400w selectable watt ballast.

Ultimately I’ll just return the Radium bulb I just bought once it comes in.

Also another bit of information. While we were testing the equipment with the multimeter, the electronic ballast tested way lower voltages at the socket of the fixture (where the bulb screws in) that the 300V we found with the magnetic M58. Not sure if this normal for an electronic ballast, I know they run quieter and cooler, but I don’t know if this is the reason for lower voltage at the fixture. However, it does work and could it run a Radium bulb?

 

[bdupuy]

States it on the package as well

Correct. I’ve seen that and questioned it in this discussion. Others said to run it.

The reason this is even an issue is I cannot find mogul base 250w bulbs that are not Radion. This is what I was saying earlier about bulbs being hard to find.
I checked BRS, soslightbulbs, championlighting, Amazon, and Hamilton. The only 250w mogul are Radions. If anyone knows where to find these that are not Radion let me know.

 

[PaulErik]

Your Hamilton electronic ballast is for a 400 watt bulb. It is dimmable with an overdrive option. That should only be used with a 400 watt halide bulb.

Magnetic probe start ballasts can be tested with a multimeter. Electronic and magnetic pulse start will read incorrectly and could actually damage a multi meter or fry the ignition circuit / lamp ignitor. These ballasts output a highly peaked voltage on top of the open circuit voltage to fire the bulb. Typically between 2500 - 5000 volts. Some electronic ballasts will fault and have low voltage if an arc is not detected.

ANSI M58 bulbs:

Hamilton single ended 10k, 14k, 20k

Ushio CWA models 10k, 14k, 20k

Plusrite single ended E39 10k, 14k, 20k, BDX Blue (20,000k)

Hamilton should be getting more inventory. They sold out a lot but are getting more soon.