Lamp/bulb spark

[Zabbi0]

Hey guys,

So I went to plug in Sami's CHE just now & I guess I didn't screw it in exactly the right way bc after about a minute it sparked. So I went to check it and the bulb had already got really hot but the lamp hadnt yet. So I unscrewed the CHE with a shirt to plug in the mercury vapor to make sure the lamp still worked and the bulb turned on... But when I would turn the lamp on and off the bulb would stay lit. I'm assuming I screwed up something major so should I keep it off tonight? It already smells strong from the spark. I just got these bulbs & lamp in the mail just a week or two ago finally. The CHE & Mercury Vapor bulbs are 100 watts and the lamp us a Flukers ceramic with dimmer holds up to 150 watt. I learned my lesson on using correct watt with lamp and using ceramic because I've already had enough of an incident of a lamp causing my outlet to catch on fire. Any help on this one would be great.

 

[jaizei]

Are you using the same socket for both and just switching them out?

How exactly did your outlet catch on fire?

 

[wellington]

If the switch won't turn it off. I would guess there is something wrong with it and I don't think I would use it. Does it have a ceramic socket? If not, that's your problem. Mvb and CHE should have ceramic sockets.

 

[Zabbi0]

Are you using the same socket for both and just switching them out?

How exactly did your outlet catch on fire?

I am using the same lamp for both and just switching them out, yes. Mercury vapor during the day and CHE @ night.
The outlet caught on fire before because I was not using a ceramic lamp and I was using a bulb watt higher than what the lamp could hold. For example a 150 watt bulb in a 75 watt non ceramic lamp. Learned my lesson. Now I'm using a 100 watt mvb & 100 CHE in a ceramic lamp.

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If the switch won't turn it off. I would guess there is something wrong with it and I don't think I would use it. Does it have a ceramic socket? If not, that's your problem. Mvb and CHE should have ceramic sockets.

Yeah I'm not sure why the switch would randomly quit working after the spark? That is weird to me.. I'm not sure what you mean by ceramic sockets but it definitely is a ceramic lamp.

 

[sibi]

Those mvb have a safety mechanism that when you shut off the light, you have to wait about 15 minutes to be able to turn on again. If you try to turn on the light after turning it off, it will not turn on for u until the 15 minutes have passed. Also, after a short, like you had, the circuit could be damaged and/or u may need to replace the socket. At this point, I would test the bulb first to see if it corrects the problem.

 

[Zabbi0]

Yeah I think the lamp is screwed. I just tried it again because j wanted her to have some heat & the switch still didn't turn it off. I was putting on make up and heard this weird sound. Turned around and saw smoke. I unplugged it quick and threw it on the floor. I guess I'll have to replace the lamp. I just hope the bulbs are still ok. I mean I'm sure I looked it up correctly that these bulbs are compatible with the lamp? It's a Flukers ceramic lamp with a dimmer 150 watt. I hope this dosent happen frequently. This is annoying. I've already had to replace a mercury bulb since I got all these things less than 2 weeks ago.

 

[Tortus]

Those mvb have a safety mechanism that when you shut off the light, you have to wait about 15 minutes to be able to turn on again.

I didn't know this when I first got my MVB. I have a dual fixture and tried to turn off the CHE, but accidentally turned off the MVB and wasn't very happy when it wouldn't come back on.

Zabbi0 if I understand your post correctly, I don't think you're supposed to use a dimmer with these. I can't remember if I read it on my CHE or MVB box, but one of them said don't use a dimmer.

 

[Yvonne G]

I'm not an electrician, but it sounds to me as if your light socket/switch has wires touching inside. You need to get rid of that one and buy a new one. And while you're at it, buy two so you don't have to use the same for both items.

 

[Tortoise]

I don't think you should use a dimmer with MVB, I did think its ok with CHE though??
I need to check that.
Its really important to have ceramic sockets as the lamps get so hot and can damage non ceramic sockets.

 

[Zabbi0]

Yeah I am going to buy a nice expensive dual lamp without a dimmer this Friday when I get paid. For now I have my old lamp with just a 75 watt heat/UVA light bulb in. It'll have to do til Friday.

 

[Tony the tank]

Try home depot they sell ceramic brooder fixtures for $10-$12 ... A lot cheaper and better quality than most I have seen at pet shops...

 

[Zabbi0]

Try home depot they sell ceramic brooder fixtures for $10-$12 ... A lot cheaper and better quality than most I have seen at pet shops...

Is this for a dual? 150 watt?
Yeah the 150 watt with the dimmer I got was like $20

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I was thinking of going to Home Depot this time rather than Pets Mart. I have had 4 lamps crap out on me from there now.