PowerSun Died After One Month?

[CaseyUndead]

I got a Powersun bulb at the last reptile expo i was at to replace the exoterra SolarGlo i had. The Powersun only lasted for about a month, though. I went in and it was off.. so i took it out and put the old SolarGlo back in and it worked, so the lamp itself works. I tried putting the Powersun back in later and it still didn't work.. so, uh, i'm kind of frustrated after how much i paid for it. For now i put the old SolarGlo back in(it still works, i've just been using it for awhile now so i wanted to make sure my tegu was getting enough uv) until i can order a new bulb. Anyone else have this happen with Powersun? I just now ordered a MegaRay...

 

[Stef41]

I'm sorry that happened to you--I know it is SO frustrating.

I had this happen to me with a Power Sun bulb as well. It's maddening when you spend $40 on a light bulb and it burns out so quickly (when the box claims you'll have over 10,000 hours of light!)

And the worst part is I didn't fill out the warranty......because I hadn't SEEN the warranty. I called the company, and when they asked if I had filled out and mailed in the warranty, I told them I had no idea there was one to "fill out." That's when they told me it's at the very bottom of the box, beneath the cardboard. A real clever way to make sure no one sees it, ha. :bang

So anyways, now the only big bulbs I buy are the Solar Glo's, and that's only because my local pet store itself provides a 6 month warranty on them, which I find comforting. I'm hoping the Solar Glo holds out. I've heard pretty good things about it...

 

[ashesc212]

I've had this happen to numerous lights of mine of all brands. Some of them are just duds.

On the other hand, just because the light is working doesn't mean its putting out the right amount of UVB. Three weeks ago I bought a Powersun and used it for 1 week. When I tested it with the Solartech 6.2 it was putting out ZERO UVB at the recommended distance.

This happened with about 3 of our 5 SolarGlos too. If you are interested in learning more about hte problems with all the MVBs check out beardeddragon.org....they have tons of posts and a lot of them checked with their own UVB meters.

Right now I am trying out a Fluker's but I wouldn't count on it working any better than the others because a lot of these are manufactured in the same factories.

I also used to use T-Rex, which was good until they started making them differently. Then they weren't putting out any UVB after burn-in. However, it appears they have changed them again and I bought one to test that I haven't opened yet.

I'd say be very careful these days with the MVBs. They don't always live up to their promises. When they work, they are great! When they don't work and people don't have UVB meters to check, then that's another story.

 

[laurarfl]

I have good luck with Power Suns. One quit working and I had it replaced via warranty.

I like this for a guide. <!-- m --><a class="postlink" href="http://www.uvguide.co.uk/mercuryvapourlamps.htm" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;">http://www.uvguide.co.uk/mercuryvapourlamps.htm</a><!-- m -->

I heard from the owners of this site that their were some problems with the new SolarGlo 160 not producing adequate UVB. They are the bulbs in the new packaging and are very weak.

 

[Stef41]

Thanks for the links. I'll be checking in to that.

I found this article on that forum Ashesc mentioned, I found it quite comical and cute. http://www.roanoke.com/columnists/casey/wb/246384

So common for people to purchase a reptile (or any pet for that matter), without taking in to consideration the immediate and long term financial responsibilities.

Luckily the boy's parents from that article were willing to spend what needed to be spent in order to set the Beardie up properly, though. We've all been to a pet store or an expo and watched an excited kid (or adult :shock: ) purchase a reptile, a cage, a water dish...and head on their merry way. Oi.

Anyway, the article is worth a read, it'll make you smile

 

[DaveDragon]

A couple of years ago I had 3 of 4 brand new T-Rex MVB's fail in 2 months. 1 was dead right out of the box, 1 failed in 3 days. That's when I changed to PowerSuns put only recently got a UVB meter to check them.

 

[Citrinellus]

My local reptile store owner said to make sure to use a towel or a shirt to screw in the mvb bulbs because the oil on your skin can limit their life span. I've only had the bulb for a month, which is a solar glo 160w, so I can't say to see if it makes any difference.

 

[ashesc212]

My local reptile store owner said to make sure to use a towel or a shirt to screw in the mvb bulbs because the oil on your skin can limit their life span. I've only had the bulb for a month, which is a solar glo 160w, so I can't say to see if it makes any difference.

Interesting...what's the logic behind that?

 

[Stef41]

My local reptile store owner said to make sure to use a towel or a shirt to screw in the mvb bulbs because the oil on your skin can limit their life span. I've only had the bulb for a month, which is a solar glo 160w, so I can't say to see if it makes any difference.

A lady at my local pet store said something along those lines, too. When I told her about my bad luck with Power Suns and she said some other people had had issues with them as well and one of her first questions was whether or not I had handled the bulbs with my "bare fingers?"

I didn't understand why she asked and still don't...

 

[Citrinellus]

After some searching I came up with this about halogen bulbs. Not sure if the same concept is applied to mvbs.

<!-- m --><a class="postlink" href="http://answers.google.com/answers/threadview?id=286499" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;">http://answers.google.com/answers/threadview?id=286499</a><!-- m -->

 

[Guest]

The bulb on a MVB is on the inside of the the outer glass reflector. If you look inside you can see it. There for it is impossible to touch the bulb.

My PowerSun bulb (100w) lasted for about 18 months. Before that I had a Sunforce the lasted for 9 months. I hibernate my Tegus for 3 months a year and do not use the MVBs at that time.

If they stop working try putting the in the frig for a couple hours. There is a metal contact that moves inside the bulb. This contact is why most of the MVBs go bad. sometimes lowering the temp will kind of reset them. Make sure the bulb is cold before you put it the the frig or it will shatter.

 

[DMBizeau]

The bulb on a MVB is on the inside of the the outer glass reflector. If you look inside you can see it. There for it is impossible to touch the bulb.

My PowerSun bulb (100w) lasted for about 18 months. Before that I had a Sunforce the lasted for 9 months. I hibernate my Tegus for 3 months a year and do not use the MVBs at that time.

If they stop working try putting the in the frig for a couple hours. There is a metal contact that moves inside the bulb. This contact is why most of the MVBs go bad. sometimes lowering the temp will kind of reset them. Make sure the bulb is cold before you put it the the frig or it will shatter.

I had my 160w Megaray go out this morning and tried the fridge trick and it actually worked. After keeping it in the fridge for a couple hours I took it back out and let it get to room temperature. When I tried it again it turned right on.

 

[DaveDragon]

My biggest problem with PowerSuns lately isn't them failing, it's the failing of any UVB output while it is still lit. I checked all PowerSuns I have with a SolarMeter 6.2 and found they had 0 UVB output ay about 1 year old! I checked 12 to 15 month old ReptiSun 10's and found they still had more than half the original output. We're told the UVB tubes need to be replaced sooner than MVB's, but I'm finding just the opposite.

 

[Guest]

Well, I know that the Powersuns have a kind of "fail safe" thing on them that if there's a surge of power or if they get too hot, they'll turn off for 10 minutes. Not only that, but if for whatever reason you turn it off, it won't turn back on for that 10 minutes as well. So I'm wondering just how many people failed to read that little tidbit in the included instructions, and then thought their Powersun up and died for no reason...

The Boyrfriend and I live in an old Victorian apartment, and while it's beautiful, the wiring in the place is REALLY dated and if we're not careful, we blow the fuse all of the time. Half of our reptiles are kept under Powersuns, and whenever this happens, after we re-set the fuse, the bulbs just automatically come back on after about 10 minute...

... I'm so happy we're moving into a house soon.

 

[Guest]

I had my Mega-ray bulb go out 2 weeks after I received it. I just sent the company an email and they replaced it free of charge with no problem.

 

[Curtis T]

Hello where do you buy your uv meter what brand ect how often should you check the bulb? Not trying to steal this thread but it goes hand in hand.
Curtis

 

[DaveDragon]

I bought the UV meter on eBay from an authorized dealer (I checked with the manufacturer). http://cgi.ebay.com/Solarmeter-UV-M...&ps=63&clkid=5483009445486044495#ht_701wt_760