Whitten Posted January 31, 2006 Share Posted January 31, 2006 The light fired this morning but tonight before we watched 24 we turned it off and left it off for an hour and then tried to turn it back on....no dice. I could here the ballast making a small buzzing sound intermitently but no bulb firing. All I have to say is that there should be no guess work as to when a fixture should fire. If the fixture doesn't fire when you turn it on then it is defective plain and simple. Link to comment
shag26272 Posted January 31, 2006 Share Posted January 31, 2006 im using a 70 watt HQI retro. I bought a currentUsa 14000k bulb from drfostersmith. Im having the same problem and all Im using is the bulb from them. So its got to be some kind of malfunction with the bulb and probabally not your fixture. I contacted Dr fostersmith this morning and told them my bulb didnt work and they are overnighting a new one. I finally got my bulb to light so I guess I will try both bulbs and pick the better of the two. Link to comment
Whitten Posted January 31, 2006 Share Posted January 31, 2006 im using a 70 watt HQI retro. I bought a currentUsa 14000k bulb from drfostersmith. Im having the same problem and all Im using is the bulb from them. So its got to be some kind of malfunction with the bulb and probabally not your fixture. I contacted Dr fostersmith this morning and told them my bulb didnt work and they are overnighting a new one. I finally got my bulb to light so I guess I will try both bulbs and pick the better of the two. I had thought about this late last night and decided that we are going to do the very same thing. I wanted to update you all with some events that took place last night after I signed off. The bulb did eventually fire after 35 minutes. The ballast began making an intermitent hissing slash buzzing noise then went to rapidly making it all the while the bulb had arcs running across the inner tube. After 5 minutes of that it made a lound deep buzz and then fired up. At any rate we are going to test the bulb theory and see if that is the problem or not. Link to comment
shag26272 Posted January 31, 2006 Share Posted January 31, 2006 I just turned mine off for 30 minutes or so to install my moonlight now it wont fire again. Im not sure if I should leave it on and see if it fires or leave it off. BTW i talked to DRFOSTERSMITH on the online chat help and they said I would have the bulb in 4-7 days so I said is there any way to overnight it because I have corals that will die. So she said ok you will have it tommorrow. whats the website for currentusa? Link to comment
chieferich Posted January 31, 2006 Author Share Posted January 31, 2006 ANSWER: After some troubleshooting, we found this is a bulb/ factory burn in issue. After a burn in process of a few days, they bulb may/ probably will fire without issue. Your other option is to get a replacement bulb. The first time the bulb fires up, it may appear to do some "weird stuff." I believe this is normal. Link to comment
shag26272 Posted January 31, 2006 Share Posted January 31, 2006 damn now im stuck with two of them. I have better chances of winning the lottery than this stupid bulb firing. Link to comment
Whitten Posted January 31, 2006 Share Posted January 31, 2006 I would love to hear a definitive answer from Current on this issue rather than it "may" be or "could" be. I know that they are working hard to figure out what they are going to do about this but in the mean time people with animals in their tanks that depend on light are going to suffer. It is seeming that the bulb issue is what is to blame and as such maybe an offer for a different bulb brand would be a good alternative. Link to comment
chieferich Posted January 31, 2006 Author Share Posted January 31, 2006 Ike (from current) and I both agrred both during our phone coversation and after a few emails, whether it was going to be a bulb or ballast issue. it was the bulb. email: "Hi Erich, OK, thanks. We figured it was just a burn-in issue so I am glad it worked for you. Let us know if you ever need anything else. Thanks, Ike" nice guy. For those with these problems let it take it's time for a few days. For the vast majority, this should work itself out as can be seen in this thread. - if this does not work, seek a replacement bulb. obviously.... Link to comment
Whitten Posted February 3, 2006 Share Posted February 3, 2006 Have some great news for everyone. I got a very helpful and informative email from Ike at Current that should settle the problems with the Sun Pods. Hey Ike, My address is as follows XXXXXXXXXXX He has the 150 watt lamp if that makes any difference, and thanks so much for clearing this all up and also answering my question about the glass lid. I really appreciate all of your help and understanding...I will pass on the good words to the others as I am sure they will be eager to hear that it is such a simple fix. Thanks again, Michael Hi Michael, No problem. The solution is actually the lamp. We had a few 14K lamps ship out that were not "burned-in" long enough during manufacturing, so when they are used in a fixture they have difficulty firing. If you just email me your address, I can drop a new lamp in the mail today. We have only had a few customers with a similar problem, all of them received new lamps and it completely fixed their problem. Unfortunately these things happen sometimes so I do apologize. Just email your address to me at ike@current-usa.com. Thanks Again, Ike Hey Ike, Sorry about it taking so long to get back to you. I had a whole lot of work and things have been crazy...all of which led up to a surprise emergency trip to Atlanta last night to have to pick up some animals at the Airport. At any rate I am all ears as to what the solution to this might be. My friend is also eager to hear what can be done. On a side note the fixture has been firing at exactly the time he has been turning it on or about 10 minutes later fairly consistantly so that is a plus. Thanks so much for the help, and I appoligize for taking so long to respond. ~Michael Hi Whitten, I PM you a message on your SunPod - did you get it? If not, just email me at ike@current-usa.com. I have a solution for your Sunpod lamp not firing. Sincerely, Ike Current-USA So there ya go. If you need help go to Ike...he makes Current's name what it is. I am extremely happy with his offer to help and his wilingness to get this taken care of...I will do business with them for as long as I am in the hobby. Link to comment
NanoMark Posted February 5, 2006 Share Posted February 5, 2006 Ike promised me a new bulb in the mail, saying the exact same thing about "dropping it in the mail" that day. It's been two weeks and I still have not received a new bulb. How long did it take Current to get you guys your new bulbs?Mark Link to comment
Whitten Posted February 7, 2006 Share Posted February 7, 2006 Just got an PM from Ike today saying that he was dropping the bulb in the mail today and that it should be here in 4 days or so. Link to comment
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