Flourex minimum distance

[sharp229]

I recently upgraded my 10 gallon terrarium from 2 18" tubes to a Flourex 65 watt fixture. Unfortunately, the fixture just stopped working after an hour or two of use.

I originally had the fixture mounted directly on glass with a few DC fans on the back. When it started getting a little warmer than I like, I mounted it on wood with a slot beneath the light and fans mounted on either side. This seemed to make it a lot cooler.

However, the light ended up going out. There were no obvious overheating indications other than a relatively small smell. I am not sure if this could have been done by overheating. The bulb had no black spots and there was no smoke that I know of.

I have been reading this forum for a few days now and have seen people say these bulbs have a high defect rate.

My question is whether directly mounting on glass or wood somehow damages the light. The box of the light says it should be 3' from the ground and 5' from reflective surfaces, but I thought this was just so that the light sensor wouldn't be triggered.

Thanks a lot for the help; I hope I did not make that too long

-Ben

 

[Tony Paroubek]

Hi Ben,

Sounds like you need to return it for a replacement ;< I don't think your mounting methods had anything to do with it failing.

 

[superimposedhope]

Flourex is known for its failure rate. I use an identical product by a different company called Regent instead of Flourex.

Joe

 

[sharp229]

OK, thanks. I will try and return it to Home Depot. I just didn't want to return it if it was my fault, and I wanted to make sure it doesn't happen again.

Do you know why the manual says it should be 2' from the ground and 5' from a reflective surface? I thought this is so the light doesn't trigger its own sensor.

Thanks for the fast reply!

 

[superimposedhope]

I personally use electrical tape over the sensor so that I can control on and off totally. (mine has a light and dark sensor). I don't know about the reflective surface thing but, 2' from the ground might be for splash back from rain since at least mine is actually a street lamp. Otherwise I don't know. I have not used or seen Flourex.

Joe