Bulb Age

I inherited 4 Iwasaki 250w MH bulbs and they have some burning marks towards the base.

My question is how can I tell if they are any good? Is there a way by looking at the bulb itself to see if its been used for 6 months/1 year...etc?

 

Pretty sure a Par meter or Spectrum Analyzer is the only thing that will do it.

 

Yeah, if you don't have any idea as to the age, I would see if they light, then take a PAR or a LUX meter to them to see if they have any usable life left.

 

You can't really judge by looking at them. All bulbs are tested by powering them on at the mfg. So, especially MH bulbs will have some discoloration to them. Without the proper equipment, you're guessing blind.

You can't go by the color it puts out either, since every mfg color spectrum varies. Unless of course you have had the same mfg bulb type for years & can tell by it's output that it's getting weaker.

 

this thread had a cool trick i haven't tried it yet though

photoshop trick

 

You would have to see what anew one does versus the used ones in order to get any idea.

While that photoshop trick sounds neat, it really is not that practical....unless you have new bulbs to compare....

 

I would think you could tell just from how much red shows up.

 

Interesting...where do you get a PAR meter or the other thing you need?
not sure if it would be worth the investment.

I wish there was an easy way...that would be nice to have/know....even for current bulbs you're using.

 

Here one site. This is a little review I read on a site on a meter. "But if you are trying to measure light at different wave lengths, like for example grow lights, aquarium/reef lighting or any other specialized lighting this meter is not going to do the job unless you know the wavelength you are measuring and feel you can trust "

Good thing to know..

Light Meters

 

Just found this meter made for us. ;D Hmmm, I wonder how I got that picture.. I'm like a ninja at times.. lol.. Love being able to read source code. Zeros & ones.. ;D $84.24 not a bad price


The Milwaukee Instruments Lux Light Meter SM700 measures aquarium lighting intensity. It's a great tool for testing the intensity of your lighting system and determining when the bulbs need changing.

• Product Manual (pdf format in new window)
• Settings for 0.000 - 1999 Lux, 2000 - 19999 Lux or 20000 - 50000 Lux.
• Range setting Manual through key buttons
• Accuracy: ± 6% of reading ± 1 digit
• Peak wave length: 560 nm
• Sensor type: Silicon Photodiode
• Sensor sensitivity: 100 scotopic LUX
• Sensor stability: ± 2% change per year (in the first two years)
• Battery/Life: 1 x 9V/150 hours continuous use
• Environment: 0 to 50°C; RH 95%

Milwaukee Instruments SM700 Lux Light Meter