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MV ballast stuffed into the yardblaster head This is the 175w Magnetek MV ballast (multi-tap) stuffed in the yardblaster head. It was a PITA to get it up in there. Had to remove a lot of the unused wires. Also had to enlarge the hole in the refractor for the mogul socket to fit. I put a coated merc in it, but it looks weird (too green). Think the bulb might be defective. Keywords: Misc_Fixtures

MV ballast stuffed into the yardblaster head

This is the 175w Magnetek MV ballast (multi-tap) stuffed in the yardblaster head. It was a PITA to get it up in there. Had to remove a lot of the unused wires. Also had to enlarge the hole in the refractor for the mogul socket to fit. I put a coated merc in it, but it looks weird (too green). Think the bulb might be defective.

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File information
Filename:web5.jpg
Album name:gramirez2012 / HPS to MV yardblaster conversion
Keywords:Misc_Fixtures
Company and Date Manufactured:GE
Model Number:M250R2
Wattage:175 or 250
Lamp Type:Mercury Vapor
Filesize:109 KiB
Date added:Apr 07, 2011
Dimensions:768 x 1024 pixels
Displayed:164 times
URL:http://www.galleryoflights.org/mb/gallery/displayimage.php?pid=5956
Favorites:Add to Favorites

Comment 1 to 20 of 23
Page: 1 - 2

GullWhiz   [Apr 08, 2011 at 12:05 AM]
How old is the coated lamp? It could be the capacitor...Most NEMA heads don't have a compactor and have a much more similar ballast, are you sure you weren't using a coated MH lamp?
gramirez2012   [Apr 08, 2011 at 03:05 AM]
Don't know how old, I bought it on eBay from a distributor. The box says it's a Merc, not a MH. I think it might be the capacitor, like you said.
gmercury2000   [Apr 08, 2011 at 03:35 AM]
Can you post a pic of the lamp, I've found most of the time what the cap's go bad the lamp will burn dim with more of a bluish tint rather than greeninsh
gramirez2012   [Apr 08, 2011 at 03:37 AM]
YES! when first turned on, the lamp has a VERY dim bluish tint to it! Can a CWA be run without the cap?
gmercury2000   [Apr 08, 2011 at 03:39 AM]
Yea and when the cap's are going bad they will stay dim and bluish depending on how bad the cap is. Is the ballast new or used? I've seen them bad to the point where the lamp will just stay pink like at first start up and just glow pink
gramirez2012   [Apr 08, 2011 at 03:41 AM]
New-Old stock. Never used, but date on the box is from 1993.
gmercury2000   [Apr 08, 2011 at 03:43 AM]
Did you check to make sure you have proper voltage? Even with the ballast from 93 that shouldnt effect anything, unless maybe you got a bad cap! Also could be a defective lamp
gramirez2012   [Apr 08, 2011 at 03:45 AM]
Definitely have the proper input voltage. I haven't measured the voltage at the socket. Wonder what the shelf-life is for those caps? I have a known-good lamp that seemed to exhibit weird behavior as well.
gmercury2000   [Apr 08, 2011 at 03:48 AM]
I've personally never heard of a cap having a shelf life but not saying they cant. I was looking at the other pic you have of the cap installed. It looks like it's possibly making contact with other terminals on the ballast. Double check and make sure it's not. Just an idea! I dont know if that would affect operation or not
gramirez2012   [Apr 08, 2011 at 03:51 AM]
Hmm I hadn't thought of that. I'm going to disconnect the cap and see what happens.
gmercury2000   [Apr 08, 2011 at 03:53 AM]
Well the cap is in line with the lamp so if you disconnect it the lamp will not light. I mean the casing of the cap contacting the other voltage taps on the ballast
gramirez2012   [Apr 08, 2011 at 03:56 AM]
I meant connect the lamp to the ballast without the cap in between. I think there is also the possibility that the cap casing is coming in contact with the other leads on the ballast
gmercury2000   [Apr 08, 2011 at 03:57 AM]
Ah ok I know what you mean, yea and see if the lamp comes to full brightness! I do that in the field sometimes to see if the cap is bad.
GullWhiz   [Apr 08, 2011 at 04:55 AM]
For the lamp....look inside see what arc tube looks like...if it has white paint on the ends of the arc tube...its a MH..but no white paint..its MV Wink
gramirez2012   [Apr 08, 2011 at 02:17 PM]
Can't tell - It's a coated lamp.
GullWhiz   [Apr 08, 2011 at 02:56 PM]
the neck area is clear look inside the neck area....you'll be able to see from the neck...all HID lamps I have seen always have clear necks
gramirez2012   [Apr 08, 2011 at 03:45 PM]
UPDATE: It ran for several hours and still looked dim. I turned it off, and when I took out the bulb, it was insanely hot (felt like it was burning through my glove). I put in a known good, clear bulb and it showed the same startup symptoms: Dim blue light, and I could see the arc tube this time. Warming up very slowly. I took a volt meter to the socket and measured 220v (the meter doesn't have 240 for some reason). It seems like the lamps are being underpowered.
A_lights   [Aug 23, 2011 at 03:06 AM]
the problem is the extreme heat from the lamp and ballast!this is killing the capacitor
CWA ballasts in streetlights always have the capacitor away from the lamp and ballast
streetlight98   [Sep 29, 2011 at 11:32 PM]
Yeah. Don't use ballasts with capacitors in a NEMA head. It won't work as long. You would be better off mountign the ballast inside the shed that this is mounted on and run the wires through the shed or mount the ballast in a remote housing so the heat from the lamp doesn't harm it.
joe_347V   [Sep 30, 2011 at 12:09 AM]
The Toronto MH gumballs have plastic caps stuffed into the head, that can't be good for it. Shocked

Comment 1 to 20 of 23
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