Need help. asap...

[Skunk Clown]

Ok, here it is.
I have a PFO 175 w mh........
It was time to replace the bulb. the one i have has been in almost a year.So i get a new one locally,paid a lil more then the net. but felt more comfortable with my purchase.
Get it home, fire it up...... for about a week, it works great. Then it started actin silly,, it will start to fire. and then just shut off.
So i take it back... get a new one (buying locally worked great!)
Get it home. fire it up. awsome light, great color. been needing it. I also at this time put my reflector in.
After 3 days, this one starts doing the same thing.. starts to fire, then just goes off.
but both times i threw my old bulb in there... like now.. and it works great. fires right up. nice and bright. the color is a lil different from the new ones. but i do not believe it has shifted a whole lot......
but i have a 75 dollar new bulb that i wanrt to use?
what might be the problem?

[Ninong]

What brand of 175w metal halide bulbs are you talking about?

[Skunk Clown]

Aqualine 10,000

[Ninong]

Those bulbs do better with an HQI type ballast. They sometimes cause problems with a regular ballast.

What brand were your previous bulbs?

[Skunk Clown]

all the same. that is the only bulb i have ever bought.

[Ninong]

AB-Aqualine bulbs are designed for use with pulse start ballasts that have an igniter in their starting circuit. I believe PFO is now offering ballasts designed especially for German-made metal halides like the AB-10000. PFO has always made regular ballasts and so-called HQI ballasts but they are now coming out with another option.

Anyway, most people in the past have found that the PFO HQI ballast works better with AB-10000 bulbs than the regular PFO ballast. But I believe the new PFO option is even better than their so-called HQI ballast for AB-10000 bulbs because it runs them closer to specs than the HQI ballast does.

All I can tell you is that many people have reported problems with running AB bulbs on regular ballasts and they have switched to Ushio bulbs. Evidently the Ushio bulbs do not cause the same problems on the same ballasts that AB bulbs cause problems on. Hope I didn't lose you there.

You will notice on the various online vendors' websites warnings that the 250w mogul base 20,000K Radium bulb must be run on an HQI ballast, for example. Also, they will tell you that the 400w 20,000K Radium bulb should be run on an HQI ballast. I know that in the case of the 400w 20,000K Radium it will run on a regular ballast but the PAR drops by about 20% compared to an HQI ballast.

I haven't seen any warnings about AB-10000 bulbs requiring HQI ballasts but that seems to be the concensus of opinion among hobbyists who have experienced problems with them on regular ballasts.

[kevinpo]

I've seen several posts describing the same problem as you. Try a couple of things. Make sure the power is off remove the bulb. Clean the inside of the socket (threads) very well and make sure there is no carbon buildup. Reach down to the bottom of the socket. You should feel a small tab in the center. Pull it ever so slightly up. This will allow the end of the bulb to contact better as will cleaning the threads on the bulb and socket. Also check the very end of the bulb and make sure it's shiny metal. If not you can use 600 grit sandpaper and scuff it up to expose-unoxidized metal. This has worked for me in the past with both Ushio and Radium 400W bulbs.

HTH,
Kevin

[Skunk Clown]

thanks guys.....and now that you mention ninong........
myy last bulb was an ushio
damn dang dang...........
kevin i will try your lil helpful hints. thanks guys!