MH Bulb Question.

[gixxer600]

This may be a stupid question but i am going to ask anyway. I have only run SE MH bulbs before and they have all been 175 watt. My question is, how do i tell what the wattage of a bulb is if it has no markings on it? The reason i ask is that i was given a bulb to try out and was told it was a 175 and when i got it home i screwed it in and noticed that the bulb was larger in diameter and length also my ballast would not fire it. Are all bulbs of the same wattage the same size in length and girth:thumbs:. Thanks for the help.

 

[porpoiseaquatics]

I don't believe they are. If I compare my 250's to a 400...the 400 is slightly larger in both length and diameter.

 

[grouper therapy]

i have seen 250s almost the same size as some 400s or vice versa. The arc tube on the inside is the easiest way to tell but you almost need another wattage bulb to compare with unless you have seen a lot of them. They may not be firing for other reasons such as incompatible ballast with that bulb.

 

[grouper therapy]

gixxer600;528314 wrote: This may be a stupid question but i am going to ask anyway. I have only run SE MH bulbs before and they have all been 175 watt. My question is, how do i tell what the wattage of a bulb is if it has no markings on it? The reason i ask is that i was given a bulb to try out and was told it was a 175 and when i got it home i screwed it in and noticed that the bulb was larger in diameter and length also my ballast would not fire it. <u>Are all bulbs of the same wattage the same size in length and girth</u></em>:thumbs:. Thanks for the help.

no

 

[cr500_af]

I've got three different brand 250w SE bulbs here and none of them are the same physical size. Of course, that doesn't mean they ARE the wattage you were told... but I'd vote on an incompatible bulb/ballast combo.

 

[smoothie]

Sneakin some of my stash did ya?
To answer your question no. What is the shape of the bulb?