Hello,
It sounds to me that your ballast went out. I have been growing
African violets under flourescent lighting for many, many years and
have had the same thing happen to me on several occasions. Like you,
I was also glad that I was there each time to catch it before things
got out of hand and destructive. These shop light fixtures that you
buy in the hardware store are OK to use for growing CPs and other
plants. Occasionally, like with everything else in life, something
will go wrong, but all in all these type of fixtures are generally
save to use. If you notice anything odd, like flickering lights,
smoke, an odd smell, etc., cut the light fixture off at once. You
can replace it cheaper with another fixture than you can with having
to rebuild your house or replace your belongings.
Another thing, make sure you use 40 watt lights in a 40 watt 4 foot
fixture. Some people think that they are doing something good,
saving energy or cutting corners by using the so called energy savers
lights which are of a lower wattage. These will burn up your ballast
and cause the same thing to happen that you have explained. Always
read the labels that are sticked on to the fixture and follow them.
They are there for a reason.
Happy growing!
Tracie
****** CYBERSPACE AFRICAN VIOLET SOCIETY******
"Now your favorite plant is uniting people across the Internet."
http://www.xtalwind.net/~twhitley/index.html or
twhitley@onyx.xtalwind.net