Lighting Nose burn, and other HID niggles

[Oldbie]

I have a 400 MH, I run the bulb in my new homemade gull-wing reflector, away from the ballast.
two things so far, I have noticed that if I end up spending too much time with my girls, I end up looking like Rudolf the ****-ing red-nosed reindeer. radiation from the bulb, no doubt, giving me the equivalent of sun-burn. peaked hat and shades from now on.
more important is the occasional power outage, due to electrical storm activity, and not necessarily within my local area; could be well beyond seeing and hearing the guilty electrical storm. anyway, thing is, even a split second outage which will cause all other light types to flicker and come back on, will knock a HID light out, and it wont come back on until you switch off and allow the ballast to cool; a major hassle and concern if you, like I do, spend the odd night away from home. has anyone had any experience in using a computer UIPS (uninterrupted power supply) to counteract this potentially major drawback???

 

[Oldbie]

C'mon guys, surely someone has some expertise/experience with HID downtime due to power outages???

 

[Son of Hobbes]

I have a 400 MH, I run the bulb in my new homemade gull-wing reflector, away from the ballast.
two things so far, I have noticed that if I end up spending too much time with my girls, I end up looking like Rudolf the ****-ing red-nosed reindeer. radiation from the bulb, no doubt, giving me the equivalent of sun-burn. peaked hat and shades from now on.
more important is the occasional power outage, due to electrical storm activity, and not necessarily within my local area; could be well beyond seeing and hearing the guilty electrical storm. anyway, thing is, even a split second outage which will cause all other light types to flicker and come back on, will knock a HID light out, and it wont come back on until you switch off and allow the ballast to cool; a major hassle and concern if you, like I do, spend the odd night away from home. has anyone had any experience in using a computer UIPS (uninterrupted power supply) to counteract this potentially major drawback???

What kind of ballast do you have? I have two iPower digital ballast and live in a very storm-prone area; the lights have always come back on their own. I ran a 1000W magnetic ballast however a few years back and that one you did actually have to reset. I know there's a cool down period for a lot of ballasts and it can be harmful if you try to turn on a hot lamp right away after it's been turned off.

Not sure about the UPS thing, I've seen it mentioned on some posts elsewhere on the internet but don't know anybody that's actually used it themselves.

As to the HPS sunburn, how long are you spending in that tent man? Never got a sun burn from my lights and I used to run 1800W of HPS in the same space! I would recommend some good glasses though; those lights will WRECK your eyes and cause some damage if you aren't careful, and even glancing views can cause damage over time.

 

[HashMaster]

My digitals have always come back on.

No experience with a back up power supply as I've never needed one.

+1 on the maximum eye protection. No matter how long you will be near it.

 

[Oldbie]

What kind of ballast do you have? I have two iPower digital ballast and live in a very storm-prone area; the lights have always come back on their own. I ran a 1000W magnetic ballast however a few years back and that one you did actually have to reset. I know there's a cool down period for a lot of ballasts and it can be harmful if you try to turn on a hot lamp right away after it's been turned off.

Not sure about the UPS thing, I've seen it mentioned on some posts elsewhere on the internet but don't know anybody that's actually used it themselves.

As to the HPS sunburn, how long are you spending in that tent man? Never got a sun burn from my lights and I used to run 1800W of HPS in the same space! I would recommend some good glasses though; those lights will WRECK your eyes and cause some damage if you aren't careful, and even glancing views can cause damage over time.

thanks very much for the reply Son of Hobbes (is there a shorter version that would be acceptable? I have an aversion -not a serious one- to names of more than 2 syllables-just an eccentricity of mine)
seriously, thanks man. my MH (not HPS) light is a cast-off from an industrial application and was a complete ballast bulb and reflector in a box type. its only in the last year that I have made myself an adjust-a-wings type reflector and separated ballast and bulb; the ballast runs quieter and more efficiently if its away from the heat generating bulb. also so as to get more intense light, I run the bulb bare, ie without the additional pane of glass that the original all-in-one box contained. not recommended I know, but lets face it, most of us will do anything to get an edge. even CFLs emit enough radiation to give slight skin damage if you are close enough for long enough.
yes polaroids on from now on. getting enough eye damage, thanks to my laptop.
as for time spent with the girls....countless times a day, just like everyone else. there are times when I am away fro 24 hours or more which is why an outage, especially a split second one can mean darkness until I get back. hence my quest.
thanks again.

 

[Oldbie]

My digitals have always come back on.

No experience with a back up power supply as I've never needed one.

+1 on the maximum eye protection. No matter how long you will be near it.

thanks hashmaster,
good to get extra emphasis on the eye safety.
my ballast would be electronic, as opposed to digital.
perhaps I should invest in a more up to date HPS,
but its been an expensive year already so far with all the tweaks I have taken on board having finally invested in
the latest edition of Jorge Cervantes indoor marijuana culture.
see ya later.

 

[Son of Hobbes]

A good guy I would ask about the UPS would be @A4 . He's got a good head about the electric side of things and he'll shake your tree if he sees you suggesting doing something stupid lol.

 

[Oldbie]

A good guy I would ask about the UPS would be @A4 . He's got a good head about the electric side of things and he'll shake your tree if he sees you suggesting doing something stupid lol.

Thanks Hobbsy (sorry if that's unacceptable),
if I am not mistaken, using at @A4,
should alert him ???
lets see if we've woken him up.
if not i'll go knocking.
see ya around

 

[A4]

You can use a UPS without any problems but it will be more expensive than purchasing anot updated digitalk ballast that will restrike. You can get a reasonably priced ballast for less than $100. You won't be able to purchase a UPS that will power your light for more than a few minutes for anywhere near that.