Halide started to flicker - now what?

My metal halide lamp started to flicker last week before I left town. The flickering is pretty bad.

I read a couple threads about it here and there seems to be a few things to try. I am curious what you recommend...

My lamp: Ushio 14k DE 150w
My ballast: 175w IceCap electronic ballast-
IceCap 175W Metal Halide Electronic Ballast - AquaCave

You can't get a 150w IceCap ballast anymore and I was told that overdriving would be fine. It seemed to be until now - some 8 months later. I was planning on replacing the bulb next month.

Perhaps from overdriving - the bulb is burning out earlier?

In other threads some recommending adjusting bulb first - what do you think?

matt

 

If you have an old bulb put it in and see if its the same results. then its the ballast. if not then its the bulb.

 

i'd go with what reefbruh said. if that doesn't work, have you checked with the manufacturer? if it's still within warranty, they'd be your best bet.

 

Not a bad test sir. Thanks!
I believe I sold the old bulb with my old fixture... I'll have to go fish...

 

hi matt i have read alot about Ushio and they don't seem to last as long as some of the others, i believe they use certain ballast when they are tested by Ushio and you get better proformance if you use the same ballast that Ushio does when testing

 

i overdrive my 20k radiums all the time...when i want a little more purpleish look i turn them down..

 

Good to know. Overdriving makes me paranoid. Even if only 25 watts.

That is interesting. I was planning on trying a new bulb anyway but if you have a link to that I would love to see it.

Thanks!

matt

 

here is one of the item comparing ballast

[FONT=Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]Sanjay Joshi & Dave Morgan[/FONT]​

Reprint of the Article from 2001 Annual Marine Fish and Reef USA, Fancy Publications.
[FONT=Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]Introduction [/FONT]

[removed article - please just put the link - do not reprint without permission]

 

Interesting read proreefer - thanks. I had to remove the article though - just put the link as reprinting without permission probably is not cool. More reason to try a different brand it seems as I don't have the ballast they stated there.

Oddly my flicker was not there when I returned from vacation yesterday but did show up today briefly. Hmmm.. Think I will order a new bulb and go from there..

matt

 

would you like to try a 14$ bulb that has been working perfectly for me for 6 months?