Having Some Problems With my HPS Lights

Okay. To start it all off I just built some reflectors with 5 sockets mounted evenly throughout the reflectors. I have had these running for about a week now and have been running CFL's. Everything has been running smoothly.. So, I decided I was gonna get some HPS bulbs and hook em up so I could get some more lumens out of my bulbs since my plants are getting pretty big. I went and got some Sylvania 100 Watt Medium base HPS bulbs and hooked them up. My sockets are medium base also. Once I hooked them up the lights just wouldn't turn on. I have screwed them as tightly as I possibly could in without damaging anything, but nothing seems to be looking any better. the bulbs are still not turning on.

By the way I have tried other cfl's in those exact sockets and the socket is fine. Wondering if my bulbs are bad which I don't know how in the hell I could purchase 4 bulbs that are all bad. or if the socket just doesn't support those kind of bulbs.. I have experience growing, but only with cfl's. I'm completly new to the whole HID setup.

If anyone could give me some insight I would totally be stoked.

Thanks, CDUB
"Live the Life You Love, Love the Life You Live"

cfl's and hid light are two very different things. you can't use a cfl ballast for an hps lamp

hps bulbs use plasma in an evacuated tube to produce light. The plasma requires an initial burst of high voltage to initiate its ignition. Then the voltage must be then choked out or reduced to prevent the bulb from exploding. This process is what a ballast does. Yes the bulbs are medium base and dont require a mogel socket however they still require a ballast to amplify, then reduce the current. A standard hardwired socket will not do this. Sorry to burst your bubble but im pretty sure your using them wrong

Right on guys.. I had started to kinda figure that this morning, but as I said I hadn't ever worked with an HID system so, I was totally lost on the whole thing..

One more thing... Where and how much would it cost to get, I beleive 4 ballast for my 100 watt HPS for my 2 reflectors.