Can't get Mercury vapour lamp to work!

Louise C

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Hi everyone,

Just decided to get an extra UVB/Heat lamp because we are overwintering our herman tortoise and I want to make sure he's got all the UV he needs. I have a 100w socket and a Habistat thermostat which already works on the 100w heat bulbs I have been using at night. I bought a new arcadia 100w D3 Uv Basking lamp and it just won't work with the thermostat. It works when I plug in direct to mains but as soon as I plug into the thermostat there is just a tiny twinkle inside but nothing come on! I have the thermostat set at 30c but have tried turning up and down and nothing. The thermostat works with the normal heat bulbs and is stated to work up to 600w so I really don't know what the problem is! I've sat and waited 20 minutes in case it's just slow to start but nothing happens.

This is the second bulb I've tried as I actually took the first one back to the shop and told them it was not working.

I'm going to try going back to the reptile shop today but just thought I'd ask here in case there's something obvious I'm doing wrong......suspicion that Arcadia bulbs only work with Arcadia thermostats but not sure.
These bulbs cost £40 each so not cheap and can't just go out and buy several types to try them.

Any help any one can give me would be much appreciated!
 

Louise C

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Hi THBfriend, it's a "habistat" one. Pretty much the standard model for reptiles here in UK. It's a dimmer thermostat with probe. I'd put a pic on but I'm out thrr house just now. Will do when I get back.
 

THBfriend

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A dimming thermostat? I guess that explains it. As far as I know, mercury vapor bulbs aren't dimmable. Dimming basically only works with incandescent lamps, or special fluorescents and LEDs that are explicitly advertised as dimmable.
A simple on/off thermostat should work with the MVB.
 

tortdad

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I use my MVB with a dimmer just fine. I don't have a dimming thermostat though. My MVB is hooked up to a lamp that has a dimmer switch on it. That lamp is hooked up to a timer fr 7am to 7pm. I have my CHE hooked up to my thermostat.

A MVB does take some time to get going (not 20 mins tho) and mine is very sensitive. If you even think about touching the adjusting switch on the lamp it shits down for 3 or 4 mins then comes back on. I don't think hooking MVB to a thermostat is a good idea. Try a timer and put a heater on the thermostat.


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Louise C

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Thanks THBfriend and tortdad,

I wish the guy at the shop had told me this! I explained my set up and even returned one bulb when I thought it didn't work. Not sure I'll use this type of bulb then as I'm out of the house about from 5- 9 hours a day and would be paranoid that it was overheating while I was out. If I used and on/off thermostat then my tortoise could potentially be without a heat spot/UV for a large portion of the day. I'll try and get it back to the shop for a refund. I wonder why Arcadia don't put this info on the box also?

Think I need to add electrician classes to my list (which also has carpentry and horticulture!) :confused:
 

THBfriend

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I use my MVB with a dimmer just fine. I don't have a dimming thermostat though. My MVB is hooked up to a lamp that has a dimmer switch on it.
Interesting that it works at all, but you really shouldn't use dimmers with MVBs.
If an MVB turns itself off for a couple of minutes, then its integrated protection was tripped, which does happen from overheating, but possibly also from other things like vibration.

I imagine that most MVBs don't mention this on their box. The Zoo Med PowerSun doesn't, for example, but it definitely is stated in the instructions and on their website. Nothing on the Arcadia website, though.
 

tortdad

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Interesting that it works at all, but you really shouldn't use dimmers with MVBs.
If an MVB turns itself off for a couple of minutes, then its integrated protection was tripped, which does happen from overheating, but possibly also from other things like vibration.

I imagine that most MVBs don't mention this on their box. The Zoo Med PowerSun doesn't, for example, but it definitely is stated in the instructions and on their website. Nothing on the Arcadia website,

though.

I dialed mine down just a tad to lower the temp. It's in an enclosed chamber so I can't raise it any higher. Once I got the temp where I wanted it I haven't touched the dial again. It works perfect. Plus my guys get real sunlight.



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Louise C

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Interesting that it works at all, but you really shouldn't use dimmers with MVBs.
If an MVB turns itself off for a couple of minutes, then its integrated protection was tripped, which does happen from overheating, but possibly also from other things like vibration.

I imagine that most MVBs don't mention this on their box. The Zoo Med PowerSun doesn't, for example, but it definitely is stated in the instructions and on their website. Nothing on the Arcadia website, though.

I looked everywhere on the Arcadia box and enclosed instructions and didn't mention how to use at all, just said "use an electrician"! Not so user friendly really!
 

Yvonne G

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I'm not that proficient in electricity, but I THINK MVBs have a ballast, so that when you turn them off they have to cool down before they'll turn back on. So if you try to use a dimmer, I think the ballast would want it to cool down before it came back on, so a dimmer wouldn't work with a MVB?????

If you want to use a dimmer, maybe you should just get a tube-type UVB and use a regular incandescent bulb on a dimmer.
 

Louise C

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Thanks Yvonne,

I knew they had to be a reason for it. Will stick with the tube UVB I've got and the regular solar-glo heat bulbs under the basking lamp. I just thought a little bit more UVB would be helpful seeing as he can't get outside until spring now.
 

Tom

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A 100 watt socket is too small. You need an aluminum domed, ceramic based socket, preferable with a heavy duty cord. These are usually rated too 250 watts or more.

MVBs will work fine with a timer, but should not be used with thermostats or dimmers.

Rather than "worry" about the temperature overheating: Turn the bulb on and let it run for a couple hours, then check the temperature at tortoise shell height, and adjust the height of the bulb as needed. If its getting too hot use a lower wattage bulb or raise the fixture higher. Thermostats are more for maintaining a minimum ambient temp, not for setting your basking temp. Basking temp should be set to around 100 for most species, and the ambient can be maintained with a thermostat and CHE for tropical species, or ambient can just be room temp for temperate species.

Remember that basking lamp is to simulate the sun. It is there so that they can move into the warm rays when their body temp drops, and move back into the shade when their body temp is warm enough. You don't want the "sun" cutting on and off all day and you are using the MVB (or an incandescent) to create a warm basking area on one side, not to heat the whole enclosure to a given temp.

I can't tell from your avatar pic on my little screen what species we are talking about, but here is a russian care sheet that explains all this in pretty simple terms: http://www.tortoiseforum.org/threads/russian-tortoise-care-sheet.80698/
Care would be the same or similar for hermanni or greeks too.
 

Yourlocalpoet

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Thanks THBfriend and tortdad,

I wish the guy at the shop had told me this! I explained my set up and even returned one bulb when I thought it didn't work. Not sure I'll use this type of bulb then as I'm out of the house about from 5- 9 hours a day and would be paranoid that it was overheating while I was out. If I used and on/off thermostat then my tortoise could potentially be without a heat spot/UV for a large portion of the day. I'll try and get it back to the shop for a refund. I wonder why Arcadia don't put this info on the box also?

Think I need to add electrician classes to my list (which also has carpentry andhorticulture!) :confused:

As Yvonne said, they are ballasted. It won't overheat, and if it does it will turn itself off and cool down before coming on again.
I use Arcadia and they are good bulbs, the PowerSun's explain the turning off/cooling down thing in their instructions for sure.
None of my MVBs have ever turned themselves off though, and I leave mine all day while I'm out.




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Louise C

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Hi everyone,

Just an update......I tried out the MVB when Pedro was in his playpen for a couple of hours and I felt much more confident in using it and what height to set it away from. Anyway.....Pedro was having a bit of an "off" spell and just nibbling at food for the last week or so. An hour after changing to MVB he began to stuff his face like crazy. That was yesterday and he's back on the food big time today. Must be the extra UV? I'm so glad I used the bulb in the end as I was about to make a vet appointment for his eating.

Thanks so much for helping out everyone.
 
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