Bulbs Bursting?

[Reef Engineer]

I'm curious if anyone has any new information regarding the Sunburst 12,000K bulbs and their propensity to "pop" when they get hot. Has anyone else had this happen? I know of two individuals that have had three bulbs crack on them. The bulbs did not get in contact with water or get jarred - they were running fine and simply burst. I was looking at this bulb as a possible add on for my tank and wanted to see if anyone could shed some more info before I made up my mind. I wanted the bulb in order to offset the coloration of the current Iwasaki bulbs that I'm using. I'd be adding these to my current setup, not replacing the current setup.

Thanks in advance!

Randy

------------------
Come meet the gang!
http://www.homestead.com/reefengineer/homepage.html

[Reef Engineer]

I should add that I'm looking for information on the 400w bulbs although it would be interesting to see if a particular wattage were more susceptible to damage.

Thanks again!

Randy

------------------
Come meet the gang!
http://www.homestead.com/reefengineer/homepage.html

[tubs]

Randy,

I was talking to Steve Tyree about this bulb as well recently. He was trying them out for a few months a while back and ran into the same probs. I've had one 400w for about 2 months and hopefully, ALS has fixed the design issue. I imagine they would have already.

Maybe a call to them will clear up the issue.

------------------
John Susbilla
Visit my "Flashy" new site: John's Reef Flat
Alternate site Here
tubs@firstworld.net

[This message has been edited by tubs (edited 05-29-2001).]

[Reef Engineer]

John,

I would expect them (ALS) to say that they have fixed it - even if they hadn't. [img]/ubb/wink.gif[/img] I had a local guy have his burst as little as a couple of weeks ago - and the bulb was only about 4 months old so that's the reason that I'm leery. I don't know if it's a heat issue with him since he has two 400w MHs on an enclosed canopy with 4-110w VHOs and the tank is only an 80 gal but the other buddy who had his burst had only one bulb on an open canopy on a 150 gal.

Randy

------------------
Come meet the gang!
http://www.homestead.com/reefengineer/homepage.html

[PerryinCA]

Randy,

You have no interest in just using the 20k? Personally that bulb popping sounds a little to risky for me.

I'm guessing you already have the ballasts you want to use...

Let us know what you find.

-Perry

[Reef Engineer]

Perry,

Yeah, I have the PFO ballasts available for the bulbs and since the 20,000K have to be HQI, it won't work for me. Shame too since I have a buddy that uses them and could have scored on some old bulbs. Since I'm not worried about the PAR and only the color, it might have worked out. (Of course, spectral shift is another matter but at 20,000K, it would have to shift quite a bit to make a difference to me!)

Thanks,

Randy

------------------
Come meet the gang!
http://www.homestead.com/reefengineer/homepage.html

[Papa Doug]

My 400 has been running a couple months now Randy. No problems. I heard the bulging bulb problem was heat related. My pendant is fan cooled, and has been fine, so far!

------------------
Dougs Reef Page

[Reef Engineer]

Doug,

I just asked Marine Depot the same question and they stated that the previous envelopes were too thin and, when overly heated, would bulge and crack. They claim that a larger envelope has all but eliminated this problem so it might be OK now.

As soon as I resolve some heat issues with the tank, I'll decide on what to do and see if I go with the extra VHOs or the extra MHs. Right now, I'm hoping for the latter since I would rather have the extra "oomph" that the MHs deliver.

Randy

------------------
Come meet the gang!
http://www.homestead.com/reefengineer/homepage.html

[Evets]

I tried the ALS bulb a year ago, and it bubbled, cracked and stopped functioning after three months. I went back to the 20K Osram and haven't had a problem since. The problem, as I heard it, was caused by a combination of the hot element of the bulb being to too much off center and the glass sheath being too thin. FWIW, the 20K runs on normal ballasts, just not as intensely. If you're just looking for supplementation, then Tapio's old bulbs should dothe trick. Heck, when my 20K's need replacing I'll trade them to you for frags [img]/ubb/wink.gif[/img]
-Steve
-Steve

[Reef Engineer]

Steve,

Hmmmmm, sounds like a partnership made in heaven [img]/ubb/biggrin.gif[/img] I had not heard that they could be run on a regular ballast - have you tried this?

Randy

------------------
Come meet the gang!
http://www.homestead.com/reefengineer/homepage.html

[Papa Doug]

Randy, to be fair, like a post said on another board, my fan is only inches from the bulb, and blows directly on it, not a possible design for a large hood, with multiple bulbs.

So I cant say if the outer envelope has corrected the problem or the fan cooling it.

------------------
Dougs Reef Page

[Evets]

Randy,
Yes, I ran the 20K Osram on a standard PFO ballast for two months before I bought the HQI ballast for it. The naked eye can tell that intensity increases when powered by the HQI ballast (as Sanjay's study has already pointed out), and the color is MAYBE a little better with the HQI, but otherwise the bulb/ballast combo works fine. Piece of the Reef/Steve Tyree have several 20K bulbs on standard ballasts as well.
-Steve

[This message has been edited by Evets (edited 05-30-2001).]