I got this great big Philips 2000W lamp yesterday and I don't yet have a ballast to burn it on. I was wondering if I could check if the lamp works by burning it for a few moments on my 1000W ballast - just to see if the lamp works. I understand it will not burn for 2000W and I am not planning of burning it on the 1000W ballast regularly, it's just to test the lamp.
Is it safe to try this?

Also, is the burning position important for this kind of lamp? Can I burn it vertically? For testing, but also for burning more frequently when I have a 2000w ballast?

Thanks a bunch

This Philips HPI-T 2000W is for 230-240V choke. So you can run it with two 1000W MV chokes in parallel + an 750V parallel ignitor or a HV ignitor. This lamp should be burned horizontally.
Using one 1000W it will be underdriven.

Hiya,
For testing to see if the lamp works, you might like to invest in one of these testers, it will work for all discharge lamps. 

Hiya,
For testing to see if the lamp works, you might like to invest in one of these testers, it will work for all discharge lamps. 

I'll look into that, but for now I'd just like to know if it's safe to test the lamp for a few seconds on my 1000w ballast

You can quite safely run this lamp even for extended time periods on your 1000W ballast.  It won't run up fully and will appear quite greenish, but will not be damaged at all by this.

That's useful to know, James. We don't have a 2000W lamp but if we get one at least we know we can test it.

You can quite safely run this lamp even for extended time periods on your 1000W ballast.  It won't run up fully and will appear quite greenish, but will not be damaged at all by this.

Thanks so much!!

You can quite safely run this lamp even for extended time periods on your 1000W ballast.  It won't run up fully and will appear quite greenish, but will not be damaged at all by this.

I have just one more question. Should this 2000W lamp be burned horizontally? And would it be safe to burn it vertically for a few minutes? Thanks a bunch

By burning vertically, there would be color separation in the arctube.

By burning vertically, there would be color separation in the arctube.

could it damage the lamp if I tried vertical for a minute or so, just for testing if it works?

could it damage the lamp if I tried vertical for a minute or so, just for testing if it works?

I doubt it, but if you're in any way unsure, as you obviously are, see if you can find out the manufacturer's specifications, try the Philips website. Very often if a lamp has a specific burning position, it will be indicated on the etch. However this is not guaranteed by any means, so try and look up the specification if you can.

James didn't mention burning position, and if anyone would know it would be him, so I think you're safe. But leave it running for as long as you can, too many frequent switching cycles will shorten lamp life.

I doubt it, but if you're in any way unsure, as you obviously are, see if you can find out the manufacturer's specifications, try the Philips website. Very often if a lamp has a specific burning position, it will be indicated on the etch. However this is not guaranteed by any means, so try and look up the specification if you can.

James didn't mention burning position, and if anyone would know it would be him, so I think you're safe. But leave it running for as long as you can, too many frequent switching cycles will shorten lamp life.

well, I went for it and it works I burned it vertical for about 30 seconds and it works
Thanks so much everyone!!
I did find something about burning position on the philips website and it said P20 or horizontal, and I have no idea what P means, is that like a 20 degree angle?