DIY: How to get a 175w MH ballast and Mogul socket for under $50!..pic heavy

[cannarella]

Electronic ballasts are coming along but they are more expensive. My company is not using them much b/c when there is a voltage drop they lose the arc where a magnetic just keeps on going. When you look at it MH are actually more efficient then most other lighting methods. I know BeanAnimal posted some report a while ago about the efficiencies of different light sources. You can do an experiment by measuring the current going into the ballast of each when firing the same lamp. I think magnetic ballasts are going to be around for a while. It is tried and true and it works well.

 

[wooden_reefer]

I think the price of e ballast has dropped quite a bit.

I can't vouch for the cheap one I just bought, though. Not yet.

Time, just a couple more years, will tell.

 

[wooden_reefer]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=11057712#post11057712 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by cannarella
My company is not using them much b/c when there is a voltage drop they lose the arc where a magnetic just keeps on going.

What causes the voltage to drop?

Is there too much load in one circuit?

 

[cannarella]

When I said voltage drop I was referring to the power company.

 

[PaulErik]

I do more product specifying and design for various lighting industries.

The voltage drop tolerance will vary greatly by ballast design. Generally some magnetic ballasts can tolerate a greater voltage drop before extinguishing the lamps arc. Electronic ballasts are however better at regulating lamp wattage over a wider range of voltage.

You can not add a capacitor to a mercury vapor HX ballast so it can start metal halide lamps. Metal halide lamps are not compatible with peaking capacitors. HX (High Reactance Autotransformer) is a type of ballast circuit and the only place you can add a capacitor is across the input power. This will only correct the power factor if a properly calculated capacitor is added. Adding a capacitor to the output side will cause more resistance, lowering the lamps operating current.

CWA (Constant Wattage Autotransformer) circuit type metal halide ballasts are designed to work together with a capacitor. The capacitor in a metal halide CWA ballast is only used for lamp regulation and power factor correction. The OCV is peaked to start the lamp.

 

[cannarella]

Spec Lithonia fixtures...

I like having a job... hehehe

 

[H20ENG]

Can, I have a building FULL of em

PaulErik,
Thanks, I've never heard ballast explnation before. So an M57 is not always an M57? Or is that simply a size or wattage code?

 

[PaulErik]

No a M57 ballast is always a M57 ballast. M57 is the ANSI standard for probe start 175-watt metal halide lamps and ballasts. The ANSI standards assure electrical compatibility between products. Ballasts and lamps are always made to a standard and should be matched by ANSI codes or another standard.

The ANSI standard lists the electrical properties and some physical/size data (for light bulbs). When matching lamps and ballasts you should match standards and not wattage.

 

[H20ENG]

Ok, so the OP is calling it an M57 when it is NOT an M57. Thanks

 

[PaulErik]

Yes that is correct. The ballast he has is a H39 ballast which is only designed for mercury vapor 175-watt lamps.

 

[H20ENG]

Sorry, I missed the last few posts on page one

PaulErik,
I just checked your site- great stuff. Thanks for the info about the LPS lamps. We have a bunch of 90 watt LPS lamps at work for an exhibit (art museum) and the light is so sickly yellow that people are calling it "zombie vision". Wondering why they are used so much in tunnels, etc. higher contrast?

 

[PaulErik]

LPS lamps are pretty much monochromatic. They are good for contrast. The general idea is that they are good for foggy and rainy condensations but no strong evidence shows this. Due to the monochromatic light the lighting industry is preferring other (fuller spectrum) lighting these days. Current studies have shown the human eye performs better with whiter/bluer light due to scotopic vision (low light levels). Metal halide lighting sales keep increasing in the roadway and security lighting applications for this reason.

 

[H20ENG]

We also have some nice Philips 35w halide pinspot lamps. I'd like to find some good high color temp lamps for them to convert to reef use.

We have a bunch of $16 each T2 flourescents that are complete garbage. The ends burn and lose the gas- about once a week

Hear that Cannarella? Tell your guys to stay away from T2s for now

 

[cannarella]

I work in IT, I have no clue what we make. I love the look of MH for parking lights and road lighting. I can't stand MV and the orangey look. Oh yea, we don't make lamps, just fixtures.

 

[Atarax]

I have a question PaulErik, keep in mind i know nothing about all this voltage, wattage, amps and ohms stuff. There is an electrical supply company just down the street. Graybar, and i was wondering if there was an inexpensive balast they sell that can run a MH bulb properly.
dunno if u know of them or not but here is the link.
http://graybar.com/

 

[spleify]

Nothing like hijacking this poor guys thread.

 

[Young Frankenstein]

1. The capacitor is in all magnetic ballasts for MH bulbs to limit current since they have a natural property to draw more current than they need to work. Without the capacitor the lamp will go on and probably overheat, start a fire, of just burn out.
2. The light bulb in the photo is a mercury vapor and not a MH, I can tell this by looking at the filament.
3. All this is great information and you can use the same procedure as kindly stated in this thread, just make shure you have a MH light fixture
4. Try to recycle, we take fixtures out all the time in this trade, you can find them in ebay or from local suppliers for a fraction of the original cost or sometimes free

 

[spleify]

Any update's and pics on the reflector yet?

 

[kysard1]

I thought the capacitor just helped with the power factor, I know HPS lamps will run without a cap.

 

[cannarella]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=11062211#post11062211 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by 0 Agios
1. The capacitor is in all magnetic ballasts for MH bulbs to limit current since they have a natural property to draw more current than they need to work. Without the capacitor the lamp will go on and probably overheat, start a fire, of just burn out.

I thought that is what the ballast was for. I thought the capacitor was for the initial strike. One of my electrical engineers at work told me once you could hook up a MH lamp to a regular 120v source and it would draw more and more power until it burns out or trips the circuit.