Help! UV Starters heating ALOT!

[madzombieguy]

Hey guys and gals.

Just a quick question;
Do your UV light starters get extremely hot over the grill?
I was in my local exotic pet shop yesterday and they had the same ones as I have, and they were merely warm.

[exoticsandtropics]

they should get pretty warm if you put your hand there and can't hold it there then there is probably a problem with the starter.

[madzombieguy]

Is this fixable? Or do i need a new starter?

[zippy4emma]

they do get hot, just give it plenty of ventilation

[mEOw]

yes, they get hot. its one of the drawbacks of choke balasts. you can get electronic ballasts (believe exo terra make them aswell as some shop light fittings, etc) which run a lot cooler. also worth noteing that if you use the wrong length tube they overheat and it isnt unknown for fires to start because the wrong length tube was used in a starter...
Owen

[madzombieguy]

Thing is, I should have the right stuff.
I have this UV Tube



And i'm using one of these starters

[alnessman]

hi 30 watt tube c3 starter is that a 20 or 25watt that could be your problem to big a wattage for the starter ideally should be a c4

[madzombieguy]

Ah I see. It is a C3 i am using right now.
Im really rubbish at electrical stuff :S

[alnessman]

i would stop using the 30 watt tube until you get a new starter, just in case it over heats to much and catches fire

[madzombieguy]

Yeah, i'll get a new starter on Tuesday then.
Do you think i'd maybe have a chance getting a refund on the current one? I'm assuming I might have no chance as it was a user error I guess.

Might be able to sell it though, i've only had it on twice really, just to get temps right in my viv