Cracked bulb Help please.

I just noticed a teeny tiny crack on my 600 watt bulb. its so small i couldn't get a decent picture of it. It looks like the little metal bar that runs length wise with the bulb barely touched the inside of the glass cuz its really really close to the glass. Its my first grow and i couldn't find any thing when i searched for "cracked bulb". so Any advice will help. it looks so damn small i could just keep using it cuz i only have 3 weeks left to go and no money to buy another one. Another question can i unscrew the bulb just a tad so the little metal bar that runs length wise won't hang toward the inside of the glass. or does that sound like a bad idea? PS sorry if i don't make great sense im not good at being on computers and being stoned Oh and also its a phillips hps 600 watt running off of lumatek ballast THANKS!!!!!!!!!

As long as air isn't getting in it should still work. That being said, I would probably be more inclined to try a cracked 60w bulb than a 600w. Fire is bad.

buy a new bulb, fire is not worth it. DO NOT risk it bro, grow safe man.

thanks bro i plugged it in anyway and put a lightweight shirt over the plants and nothing exploded. but i'm still nervous

Like I said, it should turn on, but a cracked bulb will fail due to overheating from loss of vacuum. Fire, although heavy in red light, is very bad for your plants, you, and the whole damn neighborhood.

smokebros said:

buy a new bulb, fire is not worth it. DO NOT risk it bro, grow safe man.

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well shit i don't think i can afford another bulb, i maxed out my credit cards setting up the grow room, 4 600's over 41 plants SOG. and just can't swing it. but if all you guys so its a bad idea i'll take it out tomorrow

burninjay said:

Like I said, it should turn on, but a cracked bulb will fail due to overheating from loss of vacuum. Fire, although heavy in red light, is very bad for your plants, you, and the whole damn neighborhood.

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lol

Bro get a $10-20 bulb @ home depot lowe's ect. don't be a hazard to your self, Don't put any thing over the plants do some research,like read an indoor grow book it does help.If u try to push that light 3 weeks u have bigger balls than i do!!

burninjay said:

Like I said, it should turn on, but a cracked bulb will fail due to overheating from loss of vacuum. Fire, although heavy in red light, is very bad for your plants, you, and the whole damn neighborhood.

Click to expand...

Damn! i guess i'll take it out now. you fellas sound pretty sure so thanks for the advice, i swear though its almost microscopic you can barely see it! i thought it was a gnat and tried to clean it but upon closer inspection you can tell its a little crack and the glass is even a little brown where the metal touched it so yeah i'll take it out now. that takes me down to 8437 lumens per square foot which i guess is acceptable but i really wanted it to be over 10000

i have read a book i'm not a total newbie, the book says minimum 10000 lumens per square foot but thanks for the lowes suggestion i had no idea they had 600 watt bulbs for 20 -30 bucks i'll shoot down there and pick one up tomorrow

ya man go to the hardware for sure and get a cheap one. deuces

maybe growing what you can afford is a better idea. and u can grow your garden with less watts if set up right.1 400watt mh will veg up to 12 plants in a 4x4 area.lumens are measured 1 ft off the top of plant.If you can get your lights closer to plants the lumens increase 50,000 at 6 inches is 100,000 lumens. so take this and grow with it.good luck. and u grow under as little as 5000 lumens to get a good grow 7000-8000 lumens is all u will ever need. Buying good grow lights some time down the road will also make a huge diff in plant growth. and the right hood.

i have a hydro store close to my house there lights from 400-1000 are all the same price it is a cheap bulb $25.00not bad.good bulbs range from $99- 215 i will be using a $25 bulb to flower my plants

These guys have cheap bulbs and expensive ones as well

http://www.dchydro.com/cgi/commerce.cgi?search=action&category=BLB0&searchstart=48

you can get 1000w plantmax for less than 35 fuck home depot shit its not the same lighting.

If your close enough to grow store just go buy a 600w and then take it back and say its fucking cracked and get a new one, that way you pay for one but end up with two

well 3 weeks was pretty laughable. i took it down and the "microscopic crack" spread into a 8 milimeter long crack in less than 3 hours. deffinitly wouldn't have made it through the night. Thanks for all your advice all you guys you saved my cheap ass.

so what the fuck i took a closer look at my other bulbs. and one of them looks like it has a tiny tiny crack just starting, BUT I HAVEN"T DONE ANYTHING rough on them. It doesn't make sense. The only thing i have done is clean them a couple times with a lint free cloth to get some gnats off and that was a while ago. Does anybody have an idea on what can cause a bulb to crack. I did a search and couldn't find anything. Thanks!

i always neem when the lights are off, i guess its possible one little drop hit the bulb and didn't evaporate before i turned on the lights, i usually wait a little while after i spray em to turn on the lights and i'm carefull not to mist the bulbs so still wtf. That's the only thing i can think of

Oils evaporate pretty slowly. A small droplet might be enough to cause a hot spot. If the glass heats unevenly, stress fractures would seem a possibility. Hell, a fingerprint can shatter a halogen...