I have already done this type of installation with a lamp mercury vapor 125w, which I put in series with 260w incandescent lamps because 260W / 230V = 1.15A and that's what it takes to make it work properly the lamp.
Good job! finding the right lamp to run a HID took a bit of trial and error from my findings, even after working out the calcs, mine were Metal halides, maybe Mercurys are a bit more forgiving?
Talking of resistive ballasts, we had an old fluro in our kitchen, it had what looked like a long coiled heating element in a tube, a bit like the bar fire heaters.
I had to have a look to see what a sharks egg looked like as I'd not seen on before.. Wow.. very close indeed shape wise. Well I guess every day's a school day :) Thanks Steve
You're welcome, I'm known for making strange references, the trip to the sea life centre in Brum as a child really got stuck in my mind evidently... x]
In theory yes, there are HID lamps that have integrated ballasts in the form of a linear halogen lamp inside, but not entirety sure of their actual wattage in relation to the halogen ballast. Generally speaking, try to match the wattage of the two as closely as you can, so a normal 400w HID lamp would probably pair with a normal 500W halogen lamp as a ballast. You just need to add an igniter in there then to strike the arc in the HID lamp to begin with.
You need to divide the wattage of the lamp you want to ballast by 1,5. so you would need a 1000w halogen tube for example. At least it is like that for high pressure mercury vapour lamps.
You need to divide arc lamp wattage by 1,5. So 700w divided by 1,5 is 466.66 so you can use a 450w to maximal 500w incandescent lamp. But i would meter the input just in case. i would keep it under 1200w. have fun.
Which gets hotter? The metal halide or the incandescent?
I have already done this type of installation with a lamp mercury vapor 125w, which I put in series with 260w incandescent lamps because 260W / 230V = 1.15A and that's what it takes to make it work properly the lamp.
Good job! finding the right lamp to run a HID took a bit of trial and error from my findings, even after working out the calcs, mine were Metal halides, maybe Mercurys are a bit more forgiving?
Talking of resistive ballasts, we had an old fluro in our kitchen, it had what looked like a long coiled heating element in a tube, a bit like the bar fire heaters.
I believe those were designed to prevent the buzzing for places like lecture theatres
***** Was actually designed for kitchens, made it slimline because the ballast was in a 1/2" square metal tube that supported the fluro tube
***** Would be interesting to see if you still had one, although I get the feeling it went in the skip years ago... x[
Yeah, i think i was in late teens or early 20's when that got removed, and i stripped it down to see how it worked
I had to have a look to see what a sharks egg looked like as I'd not seen on before.. Wow.. very close indeed shape wise.
Well I guess every day's a school day :)
Thanks Steve
You're welcome, I'm known for making strange references, the trip to the sea life centre in Brum as a child really got stuck in my mind evidently... x]
+Steve Lane How would I do this on 120 volts with resistors? How many ohms?
Zach Z resisters rated for 500 watts are huge and expensive (10 inches long and $100).
Use an ohms law calculator.
So for a 250w halide on 120v would I need a 250w bulb as a ballast or do I need more
In theory yes, there are HID lamps that have integrated ballasts in the form of a linear halogen lamp inside, but not entirety sure of their actual wattage in relation to the halogen ballast.
Generally speaking, try to match the wattage of the two as closely as you can, so a normal 400w HID lamp would probably pair with a normal 500W halogen lamp as a ballast.
You just need to add an igniter in there then to strike the arc in the HID lamp to begin with.
@@SteveLane if I have a probe start I would just need about 300/350watts asa ballast
So if I had a 1500 watt MH bulb I could run it in series with a 1500 watt heating element or Incan bulbs?
Tim Gomes I will revisit this video to find out if it's as simple as that, I get a feeling it is not however.
You need to divide the wattage of the lamp you want to ballast by 1,5. so you would need a 1000w halogen tube for example. At least it is like that for high pressure mercury vapour lamps.
thanks 4 that info the dimensions of a 200W is 80 * 160mm & the dimensions of a 300W is 95 * 180mm
Séamó Mac S that sounds about right, the higher the wattage, the larger the lamp. actual sizes tend to vary with the manufacturer or year of the lamp.
:) That is great! thanks for sharing! i would like to do the same with a 700 w mercury vapor... any guess??
You need to divide arc lamp wattage by 1,5. So 700w divided by 1,5 is 466.66 so you can use a 450w to maximal 500w incandescent lamp. But i would meter the input just in case. i would keep it under 1200w. have fun.
so the tungsten light bulbs r 150W & 500W?
Séamó Mac S Just a 200W and a 300W lamp in parallel to make 500W total.
what are the wattages in the tungsten light bulbs?
Séamó Mac S 500W total
That's not a metal halide, it's a mercury Vapor
forget the glasses. give me a face sheild!