HPS bulbs getting old

I got my equipment from a warehouse, a HPS fixture up to 400 watts, and an assortment of bulbs. I know lumens = yield. Of course I want the most. When I put a 250 watt bulb in, it appears to be brighter than the 400 watt. I don't know how many hours are on any of the bulbs.

My question is this, Could a new 250watt bulb be better than an old 400watt bulb? Is there really that much loss on output of bulbs when they get old?

I only use my bulbs for nine months. I just replaced one 1000 watt HPS Hortilux and can see a difference in color between a new bulb and a bulb six months old. Are the bulbs all HPS or is one a Metal Halide?

are you using the same ballast to run both bulbs?? warehouse lighting doesn`t use adjustable ballast, well not for bulb wattage its either or, useing them like you made this seem is bad real bad, those bulbs explode and could be a little hazardous to your health.

Yeah, that's what I was thinking. The ballast is designed for a specific wattage bulb.

I third those statements. Sounds like you have a 250 hps. Do NOT use anything but 250 hps in it.

You're right, I went to the local specialty electric shop and asked about it. The fixture has a chart of the different temp and amp ratings for different wattage bulbs. That led me to believe anything up to 400 was ok. The electrician said that that the chart is for the fixture only, but the ballast inside the fixture determines the wattage. The 400 looked dim because it's a 250 ballast. I ran a 400 in it all through the last grow, and it produced some killer plants, but now I got the 250 in there, and my plants are loving it!
Lesson learned; if a bulb looks dim, it's probably not because it's old, it's because it's the wrong wattage.

I've got several of each. The MH is definitely a 400watt, I only use it during veg. I went to a pro and found out my HPS fixtures are rated for 400, but the ballast inside is a 250watt. So, right now, my girls are still vegging, so I've got the 400MH and the 250HPS on them. The first hairs started showing yesterday, so, soon I will take the MH out and put in a second 250HPS. Last time, during flower stage, I ran both HPS lights, one with a 250 and one with a 400, and they produced some killer plants. I have high hopes that this time will be better because in a few days when they really start to flower, they are going to get two 250HPS running correctly. Thanks for the input.

AArrgg! I'm having trouble uploading pics, sorry for all the duplicates, I meant to put several different pics that I just took a few days ago.

PopaShank said:

I got my equipment from a warehouse, a HPS fixture up to 400 watts, and an assortment of bulbs. I know lumens = yield. Of course I want the most. When I put a 250 watt bulb in, it appears to be brighter than the 400 watt. I don't know how many hours are on any of the bulbs.

My question is this, Could a new 250watt bulb be better than an old 400watt bulb? Is there really that much loss on output of bulbs when they get old?

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Never Never mix and match different wattage bulbs, just change your bulb every year, keep the old bulb as a spare ...easy no need to be so tight