uvb bulb flickers acassionally

davebelcher · Member Joined: Mar 17, 2008 Posts: 41

i have a nice 160watt uvb bulb that flickers from time to time, is thios normal, i've detached this from my ceramic fitting because at first i thought it was the wire not connected properly, so i cut the wire and reapplied wire into the slots of the ceramic bulb holder. checked the plug also. it works great again for a certain amount of time, nice and reddish and looks bright again, then a come to find it a bit duller the next day and flickering again. it carnt be the bulb because it isn't that old , maybe just a few months.....could this be a contact issue somewhere maybe a faulty ceramic bulb holder.

has anybody had issues like this before. if so how did you sort it.

dave

p.s would the fuse have any thing to do with it. im using a 3amp fuse in the plug should i go higher. i think ill strip it tomorrow and make a new fitting....

txrepgirl · Posted: Wed Apr 30, 2008 4:57 am Post subject:

I was wanting to know this,too.I have had problems with some of my reptile lights for a while now.Some times they flicker and other times they just shot of by them self and after about 5 minutes they come back on.I thought it is because I have to move the lights so I can get in to the enclosure but I don't know.We just got new light bulbs about a month ago.I'm confused about that,too

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Warner · Posted: Wed Apr 30, 2008 7:34 am Post subject:

In either case they could be bad. If you can, it's always best to check the UV with a meter. After all, a UV light that doesn't put out UV is really just a light, right? A couple of months is plenty of time for one to go bad. They could be bad right out of the box, in fact.

Warner

txrepgirl · Posted: Wed Apr 30, 2008 7:54 pm Post subject:

I had mine for about 3 weeks and I bought 4 of them.Are you saying that they are all bad ? it would be really strange that they are all bad.I know it can happen sometimes that you get a bad one but 4 at the same time

.Where can I get one of those meters ?

davebelcher · Member Joined: Mar 17, 2008 Posts: 41

ive investigated this matter further with a friend of mine at the pet shop i bought max from, these bulbs have a built in ballast and this is what makes the bulb flicker, it isnt that the bulb is faulty its just because of this alone. he mentioned the old one he had that was exactly the same as the one ive got, use to turn of on its own, and come back on in time. this is just the way these bulbs are, its a shame too in my eyes, reason being why im changing my 160 watt mercury sun bulb for 2x 100watt bulbs that dont flicker, ones he said he could provide from his old stock he still has at home, apparently these do not flicker at all, some bulbs can be bought with a seperate ballast but with technology knowadays they built a bulb with this inside . this has been a problem with many reptile owners.

txrepgirl · Posted: Sun May 04, 2008 6:50 am Post subject:

Thanks for the info.I have some of the 100W and they do that,too

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