I have a 250w HPS ballast with an HPS bulb and MH conversion bulbs I have one grow using these bulbs (4 weeks of MH, 8.5 weeks of HPS)...are they good for a entire second grow? how many grows do you expect out of a MH or HPS bulb? Thanks for any help. chief
I heard that most bulbs have a life span of about 10,000 hours i beleive?? Myabe im wrong but thats wat i remember being told.
The amount of hours should be listed in the specs. for the bulb. They vary. The bulbs will lose a little efficiency over time.(lost lumens) If you are just doing a 1 - 3 plants, I'd say get new bulbs once a year. I'm new, but the only experienced grower I know, switches out bulbs once a year. He uses (3) 1000w bulbs. I'm switching out my (1) 1000w hps this week. It has 2500 hrs. on it. If I was only going to be flowering 3 plants, I'd leave it in because it would still be efficiant enough to handle it. I'm going for 10 -12, I need all the light I can get.
It depends on how much you grow. I have 2- 600W HPS lights and 1- 1000W HPS and 1- 1000W MH. All bulbs are replaced every 6 months. Needless to say I have a stockpile of "spare" bulbs in case one burns out.
thanks guys for the help. i figure since i used them on only one grow, i'll use them again for a second grow but buy a second set of bulbs anyways in case they burn out.