Who's had Mercury Vapour bulb problems and who hasn't?

[wolverine]

I never had any problems with the mega ray bulbs,but when i get them shipped the bulb is just laying in the bottom of the box with a handful of peanuts witch could be the reason why they dont always work good

[Eire_Ade]

Originally Posted by Kirkie

After an hour the bulb is registering 200 uW/cm² at 12" and is still slowly creeping up. If this doesn't deteriorate drastically (minimal deteriation was indicated in the UV Guide report linked above) I'll be well happy.

Ade,
You said you had a spare of these bulbs ready to go, how old is this bulb? I'm not sure when these new bulbs came on the market. My understanding is this new T Rex bulb is made at the same Westron factory as the Megaray and is a Bob MacCarger (Megaray head honcho) desgin. I dont know if this means it's simply a rebadged Megaray but at first look it does appear to be an alternative.

I've heard similar things about the performance of new Komodo range of bulbs but they are retailling at around £80 for some reason!

Hi Kirkie,

My spare is approx 2 years old, I got it off Dazza just after my original faulty one was sent back to the t rex UK distributer at the time. So it was before mega ray was readily available in the UK marketplace.

I had heard that the trex active UV were supposed to be the meag ray bulbs which didnt quite hit the mark, but reading what I have I think both myself and Mum have been very lucky with our trex bulbs and would make me think twice about rushing out to get a mega ray now when these bulbs expire.

[Alan1]

I think these bulbs should have at least a 12 month warranty for lighting up even if not a UVB guarantee

[Gem]

I use megaray have done for years.......never had any problems with them I replaced them after 2 years use as the uv had dropped, no problems with the bulbs at all.
Tried one of the Halide sets from shelled warriors shop (dessert bright) and it was rubbish, uv was terrible right from the start, the whole lot went in the bin after just 2 months.........would never buy another one of those again.

[yuna1971]

Originally Posted by Kirkie

After an hour the bulb is registering 200 uW/cm² at 12" and is still slowly creeping up. If this doesn't deteriorate drastically (minimal deteriation was indicated in the UV Guide report linked above) I'll be well happy.

Ade,
You said you had a spare of these bulbs ready to go, how old is this bulb? I'm not sure when these new bulbs came on the market. My understanding is this new T Rex bulb is made at the same Westron factory as the Megaray and is a Bob MacCarger (Megaray head honcho) desgin. I dont know if this means it's simply a rebadged Megaray but at first look it does appear to be an alternative.

I've heard similar things about the performance of new Komodo range of bulbs but they are retailling at around £80 for some reason!

Kirkie - re: The Komodo ones, do you have a link for where they can be bought (not worried about the cost). I have had my MR for about 6months but I would like to get a back up in case this one blows or stops working for some reason. I did have a bit of trouble in the beginning, I started with a MH 70w but the ballasts x2 didnt work after 1 use. Then I just settled for something easier like the MR. I have the 120w and during the first few days, it did seem to short out ..BUT touch wood, since then it has been fine.

[Alan1]

Originally Posted by Gem

I use megaray have done for years.......never had any problems with them I replaced them after 2 years use as the uv had dropped, no problems with the bulbs at all.

It's a pity they are not all like the ones you got, the UVB on one of mine is practically no use after 5 months use and the one I had with good UVB levels blew after 5 months. I had one blow after one day as well. I suspect the moving from 100w to 120w has been a failure hence the return of the 100w coming in the next few weeks, the lesser of 2 evils perhaps.

Many years ago we had a 150w bathroom heat bulb which was similar in size to these MV bulbs but of course just produced heat, no mercury in there but it worked for something like 10 years before packing in and in winter it was left on for hours as a heat source. I think at £50 a go we are entitled to better than what we are getting from all MVB manufacturers. Megaray in my opinion are not so much the best, it's more a case of not being as bad as the others

[Kirkie]

It'll be interesting to know if Gem is UK or US based, as "Wolverine" who posted in either this or another MR thread said they'd had no problems with them (Wolverine is in the US) Maybe it is a power conversion thing.

And for Yuna, this is the Komodo bulb

http://www.komodoproducts.com/KOMODO%20UV-SUN%20BULB.html

If you google "komodo UV-Sun", you'll find a few UK stockists.

[yuna1971]

Kirkie/everyone - I may sound silly or dumb here but how is everyone measuring UV from these bulbs. ?? I dont understand - I think I need a lecture or a HOW to do here,
Should i be worried about this - as I will be honest I have no clue about how to measure UV, nor when or how often I should do this.
xx
Im worried. For info - Had a 120w MR for about 4-5months.

[swad1000]

You can buy a UV meter, you use that to measure it. If you have lots of tortoises, are really keen it might be worth buying one.

Most just rely on changing bulbs at regular intervals depending on what sort of bulb you are using.

[Alan1]

they are £125 rachel