Discovery about Magnetic Ballast maintanence

[wooglin]

I recently discovered that somewhat regular maintanence is required on Magnetic Halide Ballasts. I am going to post two pictures that show the before and after shots. What needs to be replaced around 3-5 years on a magnetic ballast is the capacitor. They cost about 35-40 dollars, and you wont believe the difference. Just look at the pictures.

Before - Capacitors on both sides are degraded, one is burning yellow, the other side is just not as bright as it should be.

After - Capacitors on both sides have been replaced. Look at the top where the hood show, and how little of the reflectors, etc you can see compared to the top picture.

The part is very easy to replace, and the pictures dont do the increase in output justice. I use 10k XM bulbs.

 

[crumbletop]

Cool to know. Also, as always -- your tank is looking great!

 

[rcmike]

Interesting. I had never heard that before. I know they can go bad sometimes but I didn't know the performance degraded over time. Mine are really in need of replacement then.

 

[rsteagall]

wooglin, that is a very nice find! Thanks for the info and demonstration via pictures.

 

[wooglin]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=11369658#post11369658 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by rcmike
Interesting. I had never heard that before. I know they can go bad sometimes but I didn't know the performance degraded over time. Mine are really in need of replacement then.

I thought the same thing, when the lady and HamiltonTechnology told me that was what it was I was about ready to call bu11, but she explained that while they are what initially ignite the bulb this ignition has to be at the proper voltage, etc; other wise the bulb does not burn correctly.

 

[NeveSSL]

Whats the value on these capacitors? Do you know?

Should be a voltage and a number followed by "uf".

Brandon

 

[wooglin]

15uf 400vac

Model number 005-1185-MF

 

[NeveSSL]

Oh, ok... cool. You can probably get those for about $5 to $10 each from a supplier, FWIW.

Do they have the leads coming out of one end or two?

Brandon

 

[foggy54]

Keep in mind the values Wooglin posted are for the 250 watt m/h I believe. The value for 175 watts are different.

 

[rcmike]

Yep, they are different for different wattages. Also make sure you discharge the capacitor before messing with it. They store a lot of charge and can discharge very quickly, giving you a bad shock.

 

[wooglin]

The units I recieved are "protected", which from what Hamilton says means you dont have to handle them with the care that you would an "un-protected" unit. The word protected is stamped on the end of the metal can. Oddly when I replaced the old ones, the round plastic one was lableled "un-protected", and the metal one was "protected". Of course I handled all of them carefully.

Brandon there are four sets of leads in groups of two. It did not matter how they were plugged in as long as you used a plug from from each of the sets of two. I will add a picture of the inside of my ballast.

 

[H@rry]

I think the "protected" refers to the discharge resistor across the poles to keep you from knocking your **** up in your watch pocket (like the one on the left in your picture has). I just changed one of mine. When my wife gets home I'm gonna ask her if she can tell which one I changed. I think I do but since I already know I'm not sure if it's just wishful thinking. Then I'll switch the cables and see if it looks any different.

 

[cee]

The value quoted is for a M58 ballast only. M80s and others have different values. All the caps should have an internal discharge resistor, assuming they're ballast rated and have a UL rating, but its a good idea to short them out before handling. They won't kill you but will pack a punch!

You can also play with changing the values to get more PAR, but I probably shouldn't go into that discussion since there are many things you have to monitor and you'll violate the UL component listing.

 

[H@rry]

We looked at it and then switched the cables and looked at it again. We both agreed that we can't see any difference.

 

[wooglin]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=11377118#post11377118 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by H@rry
We looked at it and then switched the cables and looked at it again. We both agreed that we can't see any difference.

Are your bulbs new? Just curious because by XM10k's were new, that was part of what prompted me to investigate. I thought replacing the bulb would solve the yellow side.

Also are you running XM bulbs? It may not be as much of an issue on all bulbs. I seems like I saw a post or message that said Sanjay had mentioned that XM bulbs required a Capacitor in good condition.

 

[H@rry]

My bulbs are XM 10K. They were installed in August.

The old guy at the electronics store said that capacitors don't really wear out. You may have a catastrophic failure where it shorts out. He said those types are used in electric motor starting also so that might be what he was thinking about. It might be hard to tell if it was "worn" as long as it started the motor every time. I thought for $23 I'd give it a try. I did find them on the web for $18.??.

 

[wooglin]

I think there is more on the inside of the silver case than just a cap, but I really am unsure. You can tell from my photo that one side was yellow, and the other side was dim. All I did was replace the silver thing on both sides. Well one side had a plastic one and the other side silver. According to Hamilton they should last 5-6 years and the square ballast part should last 15.

I guess it goes without saying that mileage will vary as to result.

;-)

 

[H@rry]

I wonder why one was a metal can and the other was plastic? Did it come that way new?

To be honest, I can't see the difference between the before and after pictures on the right side. I wonder if the improvement was replacing the plastic one with the metal can. You did replace both with metal cans, didn't you?

 

[wooglin]

Look at the top of the picture where the reflectors are in the hood. That is where you can tell a difference in the picture. You will notice that you cant see much of the refelector at all in the second picture, but in the first you can see almost all of the reflectors on both sides.

The difference in person is dramatic.

It did come from the factory with two different brand capacitor units. I am not sure why that was. As it turned out the yellow side was ran by the metal one, and the other side the plastic.

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=11378319#post11378319 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by H@rry
I wonder why one was a metal can and the other was plastic? Did it come that way new?

To be honest, I can't see the difference between the before and after pictures on the right side. I wonder if the improvement was replacing the plastic one with the metal can. You did replace both with metal cans, didn't you?