Please help asap (Electrivity fluctuations)

[Dizoelio]

Hi guys. Installed my new HID properly today so I can have it on all the time.

Problem is my house has an issue where the power goes dim all of a sudden for a second. Been happening a couple of months, besides my modem dropping it has no effects whatsoever besides dimming the houselights a sec.

Electrician is trying to figure it out.

Anyhow, it appears that when the electricity fluctuates my HID-MH bulb goes out a sec. The "Ballast thingie still hums, and I can here the click of reignition.


So what I do is hit the switch on the power bar and leave it off for 30 seconds then turn it back on, light comes back on almost immediatly. But if I don't shut it off it doesn't appear to want to come back on it's own.

My question is will an MH bulb reignite in this case if I were away lets say shopping for a couple of hours. Or do I have to physically be here to reset it manually?

it's just a 250, not a 400. Is there a fire hazard in letting the ballast shoot like that without bulb igniting? I've never actually let it go for too long because I am paranoid. Did install a fire alarm in there though. Anyhow please shed light on the matter if you can.

 

[Dada]

I'm not an electrician, but I used to have a house in which this happened. The electrician could never figure out what happened because it would never happen while he was there and he could not see any obvious problems with our wiring.

I wonder if you could get a cheap UPS power supply designed for computers. The UPS should keep the power to your light steady for the couple of seconds when your house power dims. The current situation can't be good for your light, but the biggest problem will come when you put your plants into flower. If you miss a number of 12/12 periods, your plants are going to become stressed.

You can get those UPS things at Wal-Mart or online or at any computer store. They are pretty cheap, but make sure you get one rated for your light and anything else that you might have plugged into your timer.

 

[Elephant Man]

Not a bad idea...also, there is an electronic safety device made for intermittant power breaks. It is a timer, that will wait 15 minutes after power failure to refire HID lights. Apparently, immediate refires are damaging to bulbs and possibly ballasts, although I'm not sure why. Most really nice new digital ballasts have this timer built in.

Might be something to look at if your problem continues...stay safe and all.

I bought digital ballasts myself because of my old wiring and crappy consistency of local power during summer.

Hope you get that worked out. The timers are expensive, but safety is worth it. You can find one made by CAP.

 

[Dizoelio]

Elephant! Me and you are on same wavelengh. Must be the buds. Used a upc for my computer. worked fine! pLANTS ARE HAPPY!eace:

 

[Peeping Tom]

It's a brown out..

Something is drawing enough off the supply line to drop your voltage.

I doubt it's your house.

Unless you have no circuit breakers and are pulling more than the transformer can supply.

The device you want is one like this.

I own one. I have had power outs several times a day before living in the mountains.

It also buffers the "on" load by starting the fans and misc. on before the light and not all at once...

HLC is the maker

The first site I found it at in a search is http://www.4hydroponics.com/grow_room/caphlc3.asp