baltor
Newly Enlightened
my opologies if this has been covered before - but i couldnt find an answer with search
I'm currently on my 2nd bulb with my maghid - and my first bulb blew VERY fast (I'd estimate no more than 10 to 20 hours use). At $80 (or so) per bulb, I'd really like to know why.
Since then I've been getting more into the "hotwire" mags and having fun with those, but one thing I've learned from those threads is to never run batteries fresh off the charger on a bulb thats already over-driven. I'm wondering if the same precaution should be taken with the HID? I KNOW for a fact I've taken batteries straight from the charger almost every time and popped them into the light (8 NiMH aa's).
I just pulled 8 aa's off the charger and they read 11.24v. I realize the ballast is supposed to offer some regulation... but everything is speculation at this point to me (I AM after all a newbie here). Another observation I made is the "blown" bulb now has a visible arc within the "coil" or wire-winding just below the discharge part of the bulb while its TRYING to start up. That may mean something to somebody... but not me.
Any thoughts? I'd appreciate the input.
I'm currently on my 2nd bulb with my maghid - and my first bulb blew VERY fast (I'd estimate no more than 10 to 20 hours use). At $80 (or so) per bulb, I'd really like to know why.
Since then I've been getting more into the "hotwire" mags and having fun with those, but one thing I've learned from those threads is to never run batteries fresh off the charger on a bulb thats already over-driven. I'm wondering if the same precaution should be taken with the HID? I KNOW for a fact I've taken batteries straight from the charger almost every time and popped them into the light (8 NiMH aa's).
I just pulled 8 aa's off the charger and they read 11.24v. I realize the ballast is supposed to offer some regulation... but everything is speculation at this point to me (I AM after all a newbie here). Another observation I made is the "blown" bulb now has a visible arc within the "coil" or wire-winding just below the discharge part of the bulb while its TRYING to start up. That may mean something to somebody... but not me.
Any thoughts? I'd appreciate the input.
