Help: broken new MH unit!?

[Doglover_50]

Well, the morning my MH unit is on the fritz. This is a 2 month old Hamilton unit, 250w, fixture is a hanging pendant, and the ballast has been sitting on a little table next door to the tank. No water contact to light or ballast, no , falls, no water has ever touched bulb (glass plate keeps it clean) or anything else.

This a.m. I went downstairs and the ballast was quietly humming but the bulb just had a tiny on and off dim flicker to it. It would have been on about 2 hours before I noticed it. I didn't have time to play with it this morning, so my high tech solution will be the old unplug/plug routine when I get home this afternoon.

Any other suggestions? Thanks

 

[grenaria]

This is common behavior if there was a brownout or complete power loss, even if just for a second. When the power returns, the bulb is too hot to refire. You have to wait 10-15 minutes for the bulb to cool before refiring. That doesn't mean that this is what happened, just a possibility.

 

[sir_dudeguy]

or an old bulb? but you say its only 2 month old fixture so i'm guessing you got a new bulb at the same time, but if you are using a used bulb, that could be it i spose. But my guess is what grenaria said. They have to cool off before you turn them on again, even if they're only off for like 2 seconds.

 

[Doglover_50]

Update: NOT a brownout. Retried after being off for hours, no go. Took out and reinserted bulb--no better. I'm thankful I bought it from drs foster and smith. There are replacing it after nearly 70 days, no shipping costs or anything.

 

[sir_dudeguy]

ya doc fosters and smith is pretty good about that usually.