Bulb problems.........Again!!!!

B

babiesfirstgrow

Member
Hi all,

has anyone had problems with the solder/contact on the bulb melting away? the bulb is not blown and this is the second brand new bulb that this has happened with in two months both of different manufacturers. I go and check my babies and there is no light just a buzzing ballast. i screw out the 4 week old bulb and the little blob of solder is gone so its not getting the jolt it needs to fire up. I have wet the bulb(not recommended) and put it back in and this has been working up to now but obviously not ideal. is something causing this to happen and also i now have 2 bulbs with this problem so can i put a blob of solder on them myself? dont want to start fucking with electricity or burn the place down.
Thanks in advance.:wall:
 
Sub Zero

Sub Zero

Well-Known Member
That would scare the crap out of me... to the point of trashing that system and buying a new one!
We need more info, before you burn the house down...:peace:
 
Sub Zero

Sub Zero

Well-Known Member
babiesfirstgrow said:
Hi all,

has anyone had problems with the solder/contact on the bulb melting away? the bulb is not blown and this is the second brand new bulb that this has happened with in two months both of different manufacturers. I go and check my babies and there is no light just a buzzing ballast. i screw out the 4 week old bulb and the little blob of solder is gone so its not getting the jolt it needs to fire up. I have wet the bulb(not recommended) and put it back in and this has been working up to now but obviously not ideal. is something causing this to happen and also i now have 2 bulbs with this problem so can i put a blob of solder on them myself? dont want to start fucking with electricity or burn the place down.
Thanks in advance.:wall:
Click to expand...

You should post that question here...
https://www.rollitup.org/grow-room-design-setup/181708-experienced-electrician-here-answer-any.html
 
M

mrmadcow

Well-Known Member
sounds like the base of the bulb is getting dangerously hot. I would ditch the setup and start over before a fire makes you start ALL over.
what type of reflector are you using? is the mogel base enclosed,getting enough airflow?
something is very wrong w/ that setup & I would not use it until you find out what
how about some more details?
 
prebs

prebs

Well-Known Member
haha, damn dude. wetting the bulb!? Yeah get a new system before something goes wrong. Maybe the bulb is too powerful for the socket you have set up and its getting too hot
 
B

babiesfirstgrow

Member
ya i know it sounds dodgy but everything is brand new. first bulb was a phillips new one is a sunmaster. bulb and ballast are both 600w so they are matched. ballast is GiB. its the initial jolt to fire the bulb is the problem. once its on its fine. The major problem is im flushing at the moment and should be cutting tomorrow so this is about as welcome as a fart in a spacesuit!
I could just cut now but i was going to take the top buds and drop the light and let the lower ones flower for another week or two.
 
B

babiesfirstgrow

Member
Ha! have it back on now after 36 hours in the dark. licked the contact and started it vertically instead of horizontally. theory is spit drips into it and conducts then evapourates or burns away.fucked if im buying any more bulbs. Ill kill us all first!!!!:bigjoint:
 
TheConstantGardner

TheConstantGardner

Well-Known Member
It sounds like you have arcing between the bulb and the socket, and it is melting the solder. After it heats up, it is connecting (barely) due to the metal expanding as it heats. I think you'd be wise to clean the socket to remove any possible corrosion that may have occurred due to the arcing and spitting and licking and then extending the center contact a bit to allow full contact when the bulb is screwed in.
 
B

babiesfirstgrow

Member
Thanks constant gardener you are exactly right. pulled the little u shaped contact a little and wiped it before it started. Any idea whats causing the arcing? still have a fucked contact on both bulbs. im tightening them as much as possible without breaking them.
 
TheConstantGardner

TheConstantGardner

Well-Known Member
manufacturers defect. That center contact may have been positioned too far back. If there was a slight gap, electricity would arc from point to point creating a lot of heat. That arcing would melt the solder point on the back of the bulb base. The coat of saliva provided some conductive surface to bridge the contact points and reduce arcing. Once everything was running, the metal probably expanded.

A bit of solder on the center contact in the base would probably fix the problem for good and keep you from having to really tighten them down so much.
 
TheConstantGardner

TheConstantGardner

Well-Known Member
I couldn't recommend any type of soldering on the bulb though...that might be dangerous.

Any damage already to the bulb is already done, but would be a good thing to prevent any damage to future bulbs.
 
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