Halide Ballast Question

[orlandobrian]

Sorry for the stupid question.... but I really dont know....

Why do I need a Ballast to run a 150w DE MH but my 150w DE Mercury Vapor Lamp I use in the garage can plug directly into my wall?

 

[sedor]

I don't know much about vapor lamps but i'm assuming it has a ballast built into it. Just like the halides in commercial factories don't have jumbo ballasts hanging beside each one of them, they have them built into the fixture.

 

[DarG]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=15554968#post15554968 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by ryandlf
I don't know much about vapor lamps but i'm assuming it has a ballast built into it. Just like the halides in commercial factories don't have jumbo ballasts hanging beside each one of them, they have them built into the fixture.

Yep, mercury vapor also requires a ballast so the ballast must be internal.

 

[DarG]

If budget is tight and you are looking for a 150 watt halide ballast check www.ballastwise.com

 

[orlandobrian]

Thanks, but I wouldnt know how to go about hooking a ballast up to that tripod light... I have a couple extra 150w DE MH bulb and a 150w DE Halogen Tripod in the Garage and I got to thinking.... hmmmmmm... then I thought. I would prob need a ballast. Then I thought "why do I need a big ballast with MH and not Halogen"? So I posted the question. Except at the time I posted it I was thinking it was a Mercury Vapor lamp. But I've seen them running before too and dont recall a ballast on them either. But I could be wrong. If there is a Ballast on this lamp, its internal and very small!

 

[DarG]

The halogen lamps (quartz halogen) that I am pretty sure you are referring to do run directly off of line voltage. The most common type sold at the local HD, Lowes or Walmart are double ended with similiar ceramic/porcelain wrapped end contacts as 150 watt and 70 watt double ended metal halide lamps common in the hobby. But these quartz halogen lamps are thinner and they are often enough confused with metal halide lamps on the forums.
Asking "why cant I use those 12 dollar Regent metal halide lamps and reflectors sold at Walmart for my tank" is a common enough question. However, they are NOT the same as Metal Halide nor Mercury Vapor. Mercury Vapor requires a ballast as does Metal Halide, High Pressure Sodium etc .


From Wikipedia ... "The mercury vapor lamp is a negative resistance device and requires auxiliary components (for example, a ballast) to prevent it from taking excessive current. The auxiliary components are substantially similar to the ballasts used with fluorescent lamps."

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mercury-vapor_lamp

 

[DarG]

BTW ... metal halide ballasts are available in electronic versions now. They are no longer necessarily large in size. The 150 watt electronic metal halide ballasts I own are about 7" x 3" X 2" and weigh a pound or so.