Yellow bulb solution

[Justjoe]

Hey,
Just thought I'd pass on this observation before I pass out tonight.
I was having some 10K bulbs either burn yellow from the box, or turn yellow quickly (within a week or so) and during the September collecting trip with Sanjay and crew, I was talking to Sanjay about it. When he finally caught his breath from pulling the net he mentioned I should check and possibly change out the capacitor (in the ballast box) as he had a feeling that some bulbs may be sensitive to a changing/ older capacitor. In the past, the only time I dealt with a capacitor was when they failed and didn't fire a bulb anymore.
So, I changed out a 5 year old capacitor, put a new bulb in and it burned blue/white and stayed blue/white for two months now and still going strong. I also had another bulb go yellow, and changed out the capacitor and that bulb has burned blue/white for two months now and still going strong.
So the moral of the story is:
Don't have someone as valuable as Sanjay get a heart attack while pulling a seine net and also it may be your capacitor that is causing your bulbs to burn more yellow then they should.
Joe

 

[fishome25]

hmmm. i don't know what a capacitor is or how to change it..... but good to keep in mind regardless. thanks

 

[eboonaman]

I don't know have a clue where to look for a capacitor ? are they the glass blub thingy's that spark when you turn on the switch?
my bulbs ( HQI 10K) turn yellow when started but change to white/blue within a few sec. Is that suppose to happen or what you are talking about? or do your bulbs stay yellow?
sorry but I'm a electrical imbecile...
chuck

 

[dougwilliams]

Curious results...

First - the capacitor is inside the ballast box. And that in itself implies you are using a magnetic ballast and not an electronic ballast. (There are indeed capacitors in an electronic ballast - but "the capacitor" basically implies singular, and magnetic ballast) -

http://www.angelfire.com/pro/weed_seeds/faq_psmh.htm

That's the first page I came across with pictures of whats inside a standard magnetic ballast. The big heavy cube part is the transformer, the small can part is the igniter, and the bigger squashed cylinder looking part is the capacitor.


As a whole - those caps probably aren't the highest quality, and are probably degrading over their life due to the heat they are subjected to.

Sort of like Chuck said, as his starts it begins yellow and eventually goes full white/blue/purple-y. If the capacitor is on it's way out - then the ballast is never "fully starting" or not able to get up to the proper operating voltage. And thus the bulb burns improperly... (yellow).

 

[dougwilliams]

PS- If you have a name brand magnetic ballast and this happens - you should harass the manufacturer to fix it and tell them to stop using inferior parts if you have problems like this - at least let them know their design isnt robust enough for what they are selling it for.

 

[eboonaman]

doug I know I have a magnetic ballast (replaced 5 mo. ago - Ice cap) are you saying my bulbs are going or the ballast?

 

[Justjoe]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=8470656#post8470656 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by eboonaman
I don't know have a clue where to look for a capacitor ? are they the glass blub thingy's that spark when you turn on the switch?
my bulbs ( HQI 10K) turn yellow when started but change to white/blue within a few sec. Is that suppose to happen or what you are talking about? or do your bulbs stay yellow?
sorry but I'm a electrical imbecile...
chuck

Your start up varying colors is normal for metal halides, if they stay yellow then it could be the capacitor going bad and not the bulb at all. Mine were staying yellow, but with a new capacitor they then burned blue/white.
Joe

 

[dougwilliams]

The MH's take a heat up/turn on time to get to their "full color". Could be a few minutes actually - if you still have a yellow color after 10 minutes theres something wrong...


(Sorry about the tank crash)