fluorescent bulb getting dim?!

rnsheehan21

My fluorescent bulb (Coral life T8 17w) seems to be getting dimmer ..... most recently noticed this the past week when i saw a huge change. Normally I would not care but its a plant bulb and I am worried my plants will suffer. I hate to buy a new bulb cause it was like 25 bucks and its only 2 months old! I was wondering if anyone else has had a similar problem or possible solutions?

Byron

A T8 tube should be sufficient for a year, some say 2-3 years; I just replacee my T8's after about 21 months and noticed quite a difference.

I have never seen a difference without replacing the tube, it is usually gradual over time. Tubes loose a lot of intensity during the first few months, though I have never been able to notice this unless I replace the tube.

Byron.

rnsheehan21

Thanks. I just came back from vacation so thats how i noticed it was dimmer....today is the first chance I had to actually work on it but no luck.....I'll let it be until I see any signs from my plants that they aren't getting sufficient lighting.

rnsheehan21

Well the bulb has gotten even dimmer since my last post....no idea whats wrong but I put in an extra lamp I had and that one works fine....so at least its not an electrical problem with my hood. I have the receipt so it looks like I'll be trying to contact the company that made it to get a replacement or my money back.

Byron

That is interesting. If it is that noticeable, I would also expect a malfunction of the tube. I guess these things happen.