mercury bulbs safe?

[nat_the_brat]

Hi. I decided to try out a 100 watt powersun and when it came (ordered it online) it flickered for quite a bit before working. I was using a 150 watt max light fixture though I don't believe it was ceramic. I was checking the light bulb regulary to make sure it wasn't getting too hot and I noticed that it did seem way to hot around the case of the light bulb and I could almost swear I smelt a burning plastic smell. So I unplugged and and after that the bulb refused to go on at all unless pointed in a particular direction. I have since returned the bulb and am hoping to either exchange it or get a refund. I was wondering if anyone else has had similar events with mercury bulbs and if anyone has noticed a brand that seems supierior to others. My torts absolutely loved it for the short time it was on and if I could use a mercury bulb it would be great as their enclosure it quite large making the tubes kinda usless.
thanks
I should also add that I am purchasing a ceramic base light fixture so I feel safer about any light bulbs I choose to use.

[timminsreptiles]

Metal Halide (mercury) bulbs can take up to a few min to light and need a few mins to cool before re-lighting them if you shut them off. I use a 250W *Sylvania to light my reptile room (cause i have a few iguanas that roam loose in the room) and it really does a good job at lighting and heating the room. MH is also the best artifitial source of UVB and mimics the sun in the spring and early summer. High Pressure Sodium (HPS) is also very good and mimics the sun more towards middle and mid-late summer. ceramic base fixture are much safer due to the extreme heat these bulbs produce.........Lucas

[aaron]

Another point which should be noted is that these bulbs are only to be mounted in a fixture that hangs vertically.They are also supposed to be mounted in a secure fixture that cant be wiggled or moved too much. I'm not sure about the other brands but with the zoomed bulbs that my friend and I have tried, they seem to be very tempermental and burn out easily if moved around too much. Zoomed guarantees them for 1 year but it takes usually about a month to get the new bulb back after you initally send the "burnt out" bulb back!

Good Luck!
Aaron

[nat_the_brat]

thanks for the info... this bulb would flicker out as soon as i tried to put it vertically so it definately wouldn't work for me. I knew about the cooling down and heating up before you could expect it to work properly but this one was conpletely cool and still wouldn't work. I guess I just had a bad bulb.
I may try out another brand if the second one they (hopefully) send me doesn't work. I am paranoid that the bulb I sent back to them is going to work perfectly and I will end up paying extra shipping to get a bulb that doesn't work.
but I see no reason why it wouldn't work for me and work for them.
thanks for the info

[jaracas]

Metal Halide and Mercury Vapour lamps are different but both need a 'burn-in' time when first purchased for them to work correctly.
Both have been used for years in Aquatics, but Mercury Vapour is now not used so much, with Metal Halide taking over the niche