Yeah, I believe a MH lamp near explosion will just refuse to strike instead of exploding. That's why the warnings on lamp boxes suggest to switch off MH lamps for an hour or so every two weeks if they are on 24/7 to reduce the risk of explosion.

Ballast kits here are around 50-70 but I usually prowl Restore for HID ballasts which sells them for around 15-20 a ballast (new/NOS).

I went to restore yesterday and there were Zero HID fixtures, So I guess it varies greatly what each restore carries

Yeah Restores vary a lot because what they have depends on what people in the area donate. As far as I know, they don't trade products with each other. I've never gotten anything HID from my local restore but one ReStore in Putnam, CT had some really old NOS MV lamps i bought and it had some interesting fixtures that I passed up on.

Hm..This is a perfect match if you want to install this advance ballast in my black tall fixture. Not only that, but I have 2 paired up ignitor plus 12mfd capacitors available for your 71A5380 (not tested yet)..both ballasts & sockets had completely rusted out (in other completely water/snow damaged fixtures).

If this is HX you can run it fine without the cap..

Correct. It'll just draw more amps. Only with constant wattage ballasts you gotta be very careful when replacing the cap, since it contributes to the lamp's regulation. Your ballast indeed looks like a HX, whose capacitor only corrects the power factor. In residential applications PF is of little importance, because only active power is billed, unlike larger commercial buildings and industries.

ahh so with HPF reactor and reactance ballasts the capacitor isn't necessary? Do you know if it would be necessary here?

@ TiCoune66 "In residential applications PF is of little importance". On a 15amp breaker I got 400w, 250w, and a 70w lamps running at once (~820 circuit watts). If they're all HPF, what do you think my current draw is at peak? About 8 amps. And if they were NPF? Wouldn't wanna try it.

Yeah but with NPF you don't go by the amp rating do you? I thought the amps consumed by NPF and LPF didn't actually "exist", as you don't get billed for them.

With NPF ballasts the amps still matter as 15A worth of NPF ballasts will still be a 15A load at the breaker, but they don't bill you for those amps since their meters can't detect the reactive power from a NPF load. A NPF load will still have "real" power and the meter can detect that.

I'm not sure but I think the newer electronic meters can detect the reactive power from a NPF load so I have a feeling they might start billing for NPF loads in the future.

Of course, that's why I said "little", and not NO importance xD If you run a bunch of NPF ballasts at once it sure is better to add caps to draw less amps LOL.

Ahh so maybe i don't need a new capacitor in my OV-15TD then. Since the cap has rusted out terminals and I don't think the rating is legible.

Yeah, with reactor ballasts, the cap is optional so you don't really need to use it. If you wanted to get a replacement cap, the ballast label also might list the cap volt and MFD ratings.

2 things

About the new LED lamps
The management in the complex admits that they screwed up the lighting refit and that the company took advantage of the complex
They are now going to put the "Proper" LED type fixtures in
The only things I like LEDS for are an indicator (EX: Power/Hard Disk LED on a computer) and Low power flashlights
for real illumination I hate them

Two
if I do get rid of the capacitor how do I modify the circuit?
Just cut the cap out and insulate the leads or short the two wires together
Yes I am idiot with ballasts so I thought I'd ask before I trip a breaker or ruin the ballast or ruin myself

Thanks

@ Vince about the cap failing open I guess this one really failed Open

how did they screw it up?

Hmm good question. looks like you'd connect the wires together but I don't know so don't trust me on that lol...

They screwed it up by putting in the wrong type of retrofit lamp without replacing the fixture
The lamp posts light up itself but nothing else
With the MH lamps the light actually reaches the ground and actually lights the property but with the LEDS all you see is a ball of light in the post but the property is dark (Except where they put the new LED flood lights)
They are now saying something about getting new fixtures (Which they should of done in the first place)

Here is a Link to an example of the type of bulb/lamp they used
If the lamp did not sit so high in the fixture it might work but the majority of the LEDS are blocked by the cover of the fixture and the glass shroud further cuts light output

LOl that "Corn Cob" thing looks like a joke! If i were to see that page alone I'd think it's some sort of early April Fool's joke but apparently they're dead serious. Yeah post top lights in general do a very poor job distributing the light (they're great glare bombs but that's not the intention lol) so combine a crappy fixture design with LEDs, which are spotty as it is, and you have a great marine beacon that you can see from two miles away but no useable light on the ground lol.

Those things are junk! Not really good heat sinking

@ Aaron A_lights yes they are! I was holding one before they put one in and the only piece of metal is the base the whole thing is plastic
with SMT LEDs galore but no heatsink

Yeah, every time I see one of those corn cob things I cringe a bit lol. Personally if you want to use LED, at least use better quality bulbs and fixtures. None of this corn cob business lol.