MH 250w DE went out, then went back on?

[sarahdae]

I thought I would post here since you local guys seem to be more responsive than the equipment forum...but I will post there too if I need to.
I have a new 2x 250w MH retrokit installed in my canopy. It is only a week old. The ballast is in my stand, and it's magnetic. It came as a complete kit. Anyway, so I was watching the tank today and one bulb just shut off. It didnt pop or burn out, just shut off. So I switched the bulbs and it worked fine on the other side, so for some reason the ballast or socket on that side was not firing the bulb. The other side worked fine. I then took the bulb and put it back in the socket of the side that burned out--agian, it would not fire. So I concluded that it was not the bulb, it must have been the socket/wiring/ ballast for that side.
So I switched off both ballast switches, and let it sit for about 30 minutes. Then, I turned it back on again, and both bulbs were working fine.
I don't know much about these things, does anyone know what caused this? If the ballast went out, then why did it seem to work again, is there some sort of device that will turn the ballast off if it gets too hot? If so, how do I keep this thing cool, it does not have a fan on the ballast box, just an aluminum housing with grooves.
I am now scared there is something wrong with my ballast and I don't want to ruin my new $70 bulbs.
Has anyone else dealt with this, what should I do?

 

[sidewinder770]

Not sure why it shut off the first time but, it will need about 10 or so minutes for the ballast to reset before it will fire up again. You just have to play the waiting came if the light shuts off (or you turn it off). Is the light on any sort of timer or controller that could have made it turn off the first time?

 

[aztbs]

I had the same problem with new MH. Look for info on "cycling" of bulbs. I had one bulb do that for about a week randomly and then it stopped. I had another instance where the bulb and the ballast were mismatched in type. I had a semi-used Ushio that would not stay lit on the magnetic ballast. But the XM's work great.

The little computer case fans work great to cool the lights, some wiring required.

 

[sarahdae]

my bulbs are 10k reeflux 250w DE bulbs, and all I know is the ballast is a dual 250w magnetic ballast. It came from catalina aquarium (aka aquauniverse.com).
They say the ballast is "their" brand with a 5-year warranty.
The unit was not on any device that could have turned it off.
Has anyone else had this happen with either new bulbs or a new ballast?
Sarah

 

[#99]

Sounds like the wiring in the ballast shorted out and heated up the ballast causing it to reset.There is something wrong with the ballast,if it has a 5 year warranty on it then I would send it back for a new one or a repair.
Matt

 

[Pyrrhus]

you are running DE bulbs on a standard 250w ballast correct? not HQI?

If so that is your problem, only HQI and electronic ballasts will properly fire DE bulbs.

 

[sarahdae]

I assume the ballasts are HQI because I ordered the whole thing as a kit. They sell HQI ballasts on the website, so I hope they put HQI ballasts in there, not regular magnetic. Anyone know how I can tell?
They are in this unmarked aluminum housing with switches.

 

[Pyrrhus]

you would have to take apart the ballast box and read off the designation # usually it is M80, M59, M157, etc. I believe that M80 is 250w HQI ballast.

how about a link to what you bought?

 

[sarahdae]

Well, I called aquauniverse.com (catalina aquarium/pet supply liquidators) and talked to Jim. He's a nice guy. He asked where I had my ballast, I said sitting in my stand. I didn't have a fan on it, and it didnt have a fan installed on it. I did notice that day it went out, it was very hot, it would probably burn your hand if you touched it for more than 1/2 seconds. But not hot enough to instantly scald you if you touched it. Anyway, he said that if the ballast gets too hot, it shuts off. He also said the HQI lamps will do this as well. (anyone else heard of this?)
So I propped the ballast box up on two small ceramic bowls I had laying around, so air could get under the box, and placed a DC fan right next to it. So far, so good, the light has not turned off and the ballast is cool enough for me to leave my hand on it (very warm, but not enough to burn.) and I noticed the ballast does not stink as bad. I guess the funky smell dissapears as it breaks in(read other posts on RC). It is not a burning smell, BTW. More like a funky dead animal smell.
Needless to say, if you buy an item from aquauniverse.com make sure you call the number if you have any problems, you will get more prompt service. They are also sending me a new bulb, the original had a fat/deformed pin or something that prevented it from going all the way into the socket.
Overall, I am very impressed with the workmanship of the unit, it is very heavy duty.
One more question for yall...they mounted the VHO electronic ballasts above the metal plate that the retro is mounted to (so basically the E ballasts are sandwiched between my wood canopy top and the metal housing of the retro kit). I would imagine it gets VERY hot in there, how to e ballasts hold up under high temps? I drilled some large holes in the canopy right above the ballasts to allow air to circulate, rather than having them trapped in the housing.
I will have to show pics of the unit.
Unfortunately, I don't really have a link because they custom built the unit for me. It is 2x250w HQI MH, plus 2x110w VHO atinic on each side of the MH. Came with bulbs, ballasts, reflector/glass sheilds, everything is plug-n-play for $529.