Reptile & Amphibian Forums

Is it just me that's having bad luck. I ordered a 100 watt powersun bulb. It blew within two weeks. I also ordered 2 ESU 160watt super-b bulbs. One blew a week later..broke at the base when turned on. The other one blew the next week. Both replacements got here and one didn't work from the beginning and the other one blew a few days later. I finally got the replacements for them and one has already died.
I have the ceramic reflectors for them plugged into surge protectors and they are rated up to a 250 watt bulb. I'm starting to think these bulbs are crap and see why the petstores here stopped carrying them.

Anyone else have this problem or any suggestions for bulbs you've had good luck with?

If you are jinxed - join the crowd. I really like them for the obvious "sun" benefit and have spent a mint on them since they originally came out. I sometimes will have one last a few months, but NEVER have had them last according to the manufacturers specs. Many have been exactly as you described. The company should be paying me for all the customer referrals I give to these lights - but I am getting a very bad rep because of the lact of realiability on them and the cost.

I have been switching more and more over to the new spiral florescents. VERY frustrating because I really liked having it all in one bulb. And yes I have been told by pet stores that that is why they are no longer carring them.

Which kind of spiral bulb are you using? I've seen them at petstores in the reptile section and Wal-mart has some household spiral bulbs. From what I've read on the package they're the same except wal-mart is cheaper.
I do have some over a few of my snakes and like them.

If you are "handling" the bulbs that is the reason why they wont last. You have to wear gloves I was told. Mine blew in a manner of hours and took it back to the store and thats what I was told. The oils in your hands heat up and blow the bulbs. Doesnt make sense cause I used my hands on my other bulb and it didnt blow. Who knows. I will be using gloves from now on.
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Cheryl

I am sorry to hear you have had sooo many issues with the bulbs. I use them for all of my torts and I guess "knock on wood" I have only had 1 burn out with thin the warranty and got my replacement. The only thing I can say what I am doing is I NEVER use the switch ont he light fixture. i just unplug the light or turn the switch off on the power cord. Also if i need to turn the light off for any reason during the day I let it sit for a half hour before i turn it back on. I hope things get better for you with the lights.

#1 reason: In the wild reptiles rarely spend more than a couple of hours basking in the sunlight. Most of the time is spent hiding or in a humid shelter (for desert species at least...to conserve water storages). Being in the sun means being out in the open, and wild reptiles typically don't feel safe doing that.

However, in captivity, reptiles are usually out basking or cruising around their enclosure more. This is most often because they are not given enough hiding spots, but partly because they feel more comfortable out in those surroundings. This means that they are usually under the UV lamps all day, and I do not believe that the excess UV is going to help them in any way....and I think that it might actually cause problems because of too much d3.

However, that is just my hypothesis, and that mainly applies to lizards, as I am a beginner with tortoises and therefore do not have enough experience with them to be able to apply my own theories yet.

Reason #2: They cost a lot. I'm going to be completely honest here. I have a leopard gecko (which doesn't need UV anyways), a bearded dragon, a mali uromastyx, and a russian tortoise. The baby russian tortoise is the only one that has any sort of UV bulb, and that's just because he's a baby. With how little UVB the flourescent tubes actually put out, they are not really helping the reptiles as much as you think. They are getting far more d3 from the supplements on their food, which is really all they need.

Last year I bought a the powersun and it lasted only about 2weeks as well and blew out...I had to count it a loss because I didnt keep the warrenty card....Im going to try this kind for my tegus new enclosure..I hope it works longer..
http://reptileuv.tripod.com/SelfBallasted1.htm
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>http://reptileuv.tripod.com/SelfBallasted1.htm

I think you will be VERY pleased with any of the products available from ReptileUV!

-- a most happy user of both the SB and EB bulbs!

to have them die so fast. I only have the one left and guess that's it. No more mercury vapor bulbs for me. Thankfully I got them alot cheaper than some other places so it's not a huge money loss.

I am going to start getting the mercery vapor bulbs, I guess I'll cross my fingers.

Some things I gathered in the above thread that are worthy to comment on.
1)spiral flouresents from walmart are not full spectrum.

2)Any type of full spectrum bulb does not compete with real sunlight. You do not need to worry about over exposure (UVC is the dangerous stuff, and is not produced). Excess D3 is never a problem when the animal is producing it. Oral supplementation can be a problem if too much calcium is also a problem. (too much calcium absorption) Fix the problem with fixing the rest of the enclosure (someone mentioned not enough hide's)

3)Be carefull of the advice of a single individual, especially one who's herp experience appears to be limited to a few animals, and without any long term effects noted on. That goes for me too, if you think my opinion's valid, see if my other post's make sense, and see if there are any huge contradictions on other topics too. I guess that's just internet common sense though

Ian

I only have 3 weeks of experience with the Powersun 100 Watt Mercury Flood and Zoo Med 8.5" ceramic clamp so far. Everything seems to work fine, however, about 25% of the time when I turn it on first thing in the morning, after about 10 seconds when the UV light kicks in, the unit shuts off. If I wait 15 minutes and turn it back on, it stays on for the rest of the day. It has never gone off after being turned on the second time in one day. It's a strange little glitch but if that's all that ever goes wrong, I can live with it. Of course it may be a precursor to the bulb failing in the near future, I hope not. Anyone else have the same experience?

Fred

All mercury vapor bulbs do this Fred. If you turn them off and try to turn them on again they will not turn on until the bulb cools off again. Does not mean the bulb is faulty in any way.

The key to using Powersun is proper set up, which itself is not cheap.

View Powersun as a sophisticated and delicate electronic device. The directions must be followed very closely. Most people like to use spot lights at an angle. For those that do this with Powersun, you will find your Powersun going out for good in a short amount of time. It must be pointed straight down. I use not only a ceramic socket, but also a large ventilated aluminum hood outside of the enclosures (many monitor/ lizard keepers set them up inside of enclosures). With this set up, I have not lost one bulb or had temporary shut down. These are used in my reptile room, which is very well ventilated to the outside (for the last 6 months 90 highs with moderate high humidity- always high compared to the US). If there are temporary shut downs, they are caused by improper conditions or excessive heat build up.

The mercury vapor bulbs are far superior in UVB/UVA output to the fluorescent fixtures and there is a significant difference in some of my reptiles that have the Powersun which includes improved color, appetite and increased activity. One warning: there are some brands mercury vapor lights that may have too high of an output and have actually caused eye damage in some specimens; I am not sure whether this was caused by 24 hour lighting in all cases or not.

There should be no danger of vitamin D3 overdose from using artificial lighting. The only cases of internal calcification due to vitamin D3 overdoses that I have come across in research have been from excessive vitamin D3 supplements together with natural sunlight. I have never heard of a case where supplements given as directed have caused this problem even with the combination of natural sunlight and vitamin D3. If anyone knows of this happening in a case other than this, please let me know.

I personally do not use Powersun for my tortoises, but then again, I have the luxury of the ability to house my tortoises/ place my hatchling tortoises outside all year round. I use them for my young monitor lizards and agamids.

Technology is constantly improving in reptile lighting, but nothing compares to natural sunlight! For those in the temperate climates, I know natural sunlight is not an option during the colder months.

Hope this is of help to disgruntled Powersun users or those interested in its use.

Michael

Michael offers some important advice regarding the use of MV lamps.

here are a few more considerations. if you are buying your powersuns from the local petshop, you are paying way too much. there are other MV lamps available, some with better life expectancies and more important, better UV output over time. most of these lamps are putting out effective UVb for about 6 months and then need to be replaced (getting a UVb meter is an essential tool for anyone trying to keep track of several lamps).

"Capture the Sun" lamps have lasted longer, had fewer failures, and longer UVb output than Powersuns -- in my experience. i have gone through a couple dozen of each in the last 3-4 years.

a newer lamp, the Mega-Ray be Westron, is a tremendous improvement (especially the externally ballasted version), good and lasting output. the drawback or benefit, depending on the type of reptile you're housing and your basic philosophy, is that it doesn't produce much heat, so an additional basking lamp is required.

whichever lamp(s) you choose, take the time to look around and consider buying online, they are much cheaper that way.

reptile UV is one source and big apple herp is another.

matt

In all my years of dealing with mercury vapor lamps I can honestly say that the best one I have dealt with in terms of overall performance is a Mega Ray bulb. I recommend these.

where would be a good source for a good uvb meter

I know that Zoo Med makes one, but they are not cheap and probably too expensive for the normal private collector.

Michael

>>where would be a good source for a good uvb meter

just let your mouse do the clicking...

google --> solarmeter 6.2

you'll get several sources where you can order one. you're looking to spend about $150, but well worth it if you burn many lamps, want to compare lamps, or just want to know how badly you're getting UVed on a sunny day.

matt