# HID Warm up Times Video series.



## Patriot (Jan 8, 2010)

A few members asked me to create this thread while back and then recently several have inquired about HID warm up times in the past few days. I decided this would be a good pointer thread or would querry if someone ran a search. All HID's will be different of course but hopefully this will be helpful for general purposes. I'll add more when ever possible.



The following links are all youtube videos:


Jil Lite EZNite 10W HID
*28* lux stabilized at 1:15
*45* lux peak at 14 sec 


AE Light PL24/S 24W HID
*100* lux stabilized at 1:00 
*101* lux peak


Wolf Eyes Boxer 24W HID 
*151* lux stabilized at 1:35 
*152* lux peak


Microfire Warrior K3500 35W HID
*305* lux stabilized at 1:30 
*310* lux peak


Costco / Harbor Freight 35W HID 
*296* lux stabilized at 1:10 
*419* lux peak at 35 sec.


Power on Board 35W HID
*326* lux stabilized at 1:35
*333* lux peak at 2:00


Polarion PH50 Helios 50W HID
*650* lux stabilized at 50 sec.
*1000* lux peak at 9 sec.


Polarion Night Reaper (CSWL) 50+W HID
*740* lux stabilized at 1:00
*1134* lux peak at 11 sec.



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## Parker VH (Jan 8, 2010)

Thanks Patriot,
That's a great resource.


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## nodoubt (Jan 9, 2010)

Patriot said:


> A few members asked me to create this thread while back and then recently several have inquired about HID warm up times in the past few days. I decided this would be a good pointer thread or would querry if someone ran a search. All HID's will be different of course but hopefully this will be helpful for general purposes. I'll add more when ever possible.
> 
> 
> 
> ...


would love to see how the stanley stacks up in this test.....any ideas of if and when ?? great job on the tests btw....down to the nuts and bolts.... man id love to have that night reaper....


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## Patriot (Jan 10, 2010)

nodoubt said:


> would love to see how the stanley stacks up in this test.....any ideas of if and when ??




As soon as I can get one. I'm checking my Walmart once every couple weeks or so but they haven't had any. Hopefully the day will be on the shelves one of these days...


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## get-lit (Jan 10, 2010)

Very well done! I think though that the most sginificant time it the time for the light to reach practical use, maybe the point at which it stops flickering and reaches close to the running color. which is really all most people are concerned about.


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## Patriot (Jan 10, 2010)

get-lit said:


> Very well done! I think though that the most sginificant time it the time for the light to reach practical use, maybe the point at which it reaches half output. which is really all most people are concerned about.




Yeah, excellent observation/suggestion Get-lit. I'll probably be modifying my data later to show the time to some standard parameter. Perhaps I'll use your suggestion of "1/2 output" and just make that the official warm-up time. The nice thing about the video is that it's all analog and real time. When someone sees the Boxer at the one minute mark still warming up it places real perspective on this whole HID business. Likewise when they stop to take a swig of their Heineken and miss the Polarion warm-up altogether, it helps to show how greatly various lights can differ.


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## CajunJosh (Jan 10, 2010)

I would time them all to the same lux reading since you are using one in all the videos. It would be fair to compare them all to the same lux level regardless of their top output. 

Assuming that most people could decently light up the average sized back yard with 700 lumens I would say it would be fair to do a comparison with them all reaching the same lumen output.


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## get-lit (Jan 10, 2010)

I changed my post to reflect practical use as post flicker and color change because that seems to be the point at which the lights become usable from a practical standpoint, just from watching the videos - 50% output seemed pretty irelevant in comparison. I also think that a set output level wouldn't be as practical either because different lights have a little different purpose. Again, it just seems to me from watching, the light became practical once flickering and color change stopped, as if it were some natural occurence point for the lights in general.


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## get-lit (Jan 10, 2010)

The bathroom lights vary by like 80 lux from test to test from, as you said, where you are standing. Did you stand in the same place with the same clothes for during the tests?

It really reveals how helpful the boost phase is, and in the case of the Costco, that it's kind of important for the boost phase to match the lamp warmup. The Costco could have used more boost initially and much less toward the end where the boost made the light 42% brighter than when stabilized.


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## get-lit (Jan 10, 2010)

Edit: Actually on second thought after looking again, 50% output does seem to be a good mark for usability, and then the point at which the lights are color stabilized seems to be when they are pleasantly usable...

Jil Lite EZNite 10W HID
50% at 0:10
Color Stabilized at 0:17

AE Light PL24/S 24W HID
50% at 0:15
Color Stabilized at 0:25

Wolf Eyes Boxer 24W HID 
50% at 0:17
Color Stabilized at 0:22

Microfire Warrior K3500 35W HID
50% at 0:14
Color Stabilized at 0:15

Costco / Harbor Freight 35W HID 
50% at 0:07
Color Stabilized at 0:20

Power on Board 35W HID
50% at 0:05
Color Stabilized at 1:15

Polarion PH50 Helios 50W HID
50% at 0:03
Color Stabilized at 0:17

Polarion Night Reaper (CSWL) 50+W HID
50% at 0:03
Color Stabilized at 0:15


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## get-lit (Jan 10, 2010)

CajunJosh said:


> I would time them all to the same lux reading since you are using one in all the videos. It would be fair to compare them all to the same lux level regardless of their top output.
> 
> Assuming that most people could decently light up the average sized back yard with 700 lumens I would say it would be fair to do a comparison with them all reaching the same lumen output.


 
They vary so much that a set lux reading can't be determined. For instance, in the world of HID some lights can't reach 100 lux while others haven't even begun to warm up. It you set the bar at 100 lux, while some can't reach it, for other 10,000 lux lights, 100 lux is not even close to usable for it's intended purpose.

This may be the most helpful testing I've come across.


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## Patriot (Jan 11, 2010)

get-lit said:


> The bathroom lights vary by like 80 lux from test to test from, as you said, where you are standing. Did you stand in the same place with the same clothes for during the tests?






Thanks for the new figures below Get-lit. I'll go back through them tonight and then start working on a master graph or chart.

Even though the bathroom lights varied, I did stand in the same place with the same clothes throughout the tests. Sometimes the CFL lights weren't all the way warmed up either.


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## get-lit (Jan 11, 2010)

Oh ya, I have CFL everywhere here and they do vary quite a bit due to how they are feeling at the moment.


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## Cosmo7809 (Jan 11, 2010)

Those were really fun to watch. Thanks! 


Now I want an polarion even more.


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## DM51 (Jan 11, 2010)

This is very useful indeed - it will answer the questions frequently asked here about HID warm-up times. I'm adding it to the Spotlights & HID "Threads of Interest" sticky.


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## liteitup (Jan 18, 2010)

I havnt done any videos yet as i dont have an OFFICIAL light meter, just using my htc touch pro 2 phone light sensor to do comparisons between a few ballasts. If anything it is consistent.

these are not warm up times rather just light output (mtoolbox app for those who have a windows smartphone)

ceiling bounce test in a dark room:

Stanley 4300k 148 "lumens" stable

All following watts are INPUT watts, take off ~20% for bulb watts.

china 35w 8k bulb 99 stable
china 35w 8k overdriven to 55 watt 141 stable

china 55w with 8k(ex stanley bulb) bulb 199 stable
china 55w with 4300k 208 stable

man those china 35 watt ballasts are a huge waste of money, even with the heat turned up...

just wanted to throw this out there as there are a lot of people with a stanley that have been doing spotlight mods with the china/ebay ballasts after they get the stanley (hid addiction 101). just some food for thought. The 55 watt china ballasts are input rated but for the price they make some serious light... when i tested my stanley it would draw 44 watts * .8 = ~35 watts to the bulb... The cheap china ballasts atleast put out 44 watts to the bulb. 20% more power on the china 55w yields approx 29% more light. I forget the lumens per watt rule, does this fall in line?


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## Jay611j (Feb 2, 2010)

nodoubt said:


> would love to see how the stanley stacks up in this test.....any ideas of if and when ?? great job on the tests btw....down to the nuts and bolts.... man id love to have that night reaper....


 I agree, I'm very curious on how it performs. Hope you have some luck soon on finding that darn Stanley HID! :candle:


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## andromeda.73 (Feb 2, 2010)

Tank's Patriot, your tests are very interesting! :wave:


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## Parker VH (Feb 10, 2010)

After seeing Patriot's great demos, I had to play around a little with this as well. I went out and bought a light meter and did some informal Lux tests using a ceiling bounce test.
I made sure all lights were placed in the same spot and the same heighth off of my bathroom vanity top.
The lights were all run for two minutes as they all seemed to be stable by then.
First off was my 55W converted Power on Board using a 5000K bulb.
Lux was 553

Second was a Lips Mule 35/80W HID.
35W Lux was 202
80W Lux was 800

Third was a Polarion PH40
Lux was 514

I was really surprised how much the Polarion Lux dropped off as I'm sure I saw it hit over 790 Lux briefly right after turning it on.

Not a scientific test by any means but just wanted to play around with my new meter.


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## HIDSGT (Mar 7, 2010)

Great comparison. Thanx for taking the time. Now we need to see the Patrol version and how it compares.:twothumbs


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## XeRay (Mar 7, 2010)

Parker VH said:


> I was really surprised how much the Polarion Lux dropped off as I'm sure I saw it hit over 790 Lux briefly right after turning it on.
> 
> Not a scientific test by any means but just wanted to play around with my new meter.


 
That's because they overdrive to the extreme to get maximum possible instant lumens and accelerated full output. They drop back the overpower to a more reasonable level, thus the visible reduction.


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## Patriot (Mar 8, 2010)

Parker VH said:


> I was really surprised how much the Polarion Lux dropped off as I'm sure I saw it hit over 790 Lux briefly right after turning it on.






"Roger that" with regards to what Xeray stated.

It's not that the Polarion "dropped off" it's just that it reverted to its specified stated wattage after the warm up cycle was complete.

The lux figure of 790 that your PH40 attained was actually similar to what a 60+W HID would output, but we know that it's only a 40W light. 

Hopefully you've been having continued enjoyment from you new light meter. 
:thumbsup:


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