Getting the right ballast

16 years ago

Hey all,

Thought I'd post my question to the expert here. I'm looking to setup a grow-light system for my orchids over a 90 gallon aquarium (I'm going to be building a rack-type thing to hang the light off). I already have a bat-wing reflector from another setup, and I'm eying the following bulbs:

http://www.eere.energy.gov/buildings/appliance_standards/commercial/pdfs/hid_lamps/philips_2003d.pdf

I have access to the one that has the code MHC150/U/M/4K ALTO, a 4000K 150W bulb with a pretty nice CRI. However, being new to the entire HID light thing, I don't know what ballast to get. I tried googling the ANSI ballast code but got nothing. Any ideas what I can use?

Also, the other thing I'm wondering is that it says this light fits into a medium base...isn't that just a regular light bulb socket?? So I can just wire the ballast into one of those, and that's it?

Thanks in advance for the advice.

-Calvin

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Comments (6)

zink
16 years ago
calvin,

You can download the latest catalogs from Advance Transformer and find information on the required ballasts(M142/M102E):

For electronic ballasts, check page #4-6 in catalog:
http://www.advancetransformer.com/uploads/resources/Section_4.pdf

For magnetic ballasts, check page #5-17 in catalog:
http://www.advancetransformer.com/uploads/resources/Section_5.pdf

The Advance site is an excellent resource, with very good informational brochures.

A medium socket IS the same size as standard incandescent lamp, but you need to buy special one for an HID bulb - a ceramic-encased socket rated at 4000kV.

zink
zink
16 years ago
Calvin,

Please excuse my last recommendation. I used the figure 4000kV, which is WAY TOO HIGH. I meant to say either 4kv, or 4000v. I don't think I would want to be near a bulb that required 4 MILLION volts to initiate ionization (that's what 4000kV would be). Maybe Nikola Tesla would brave it, but not myself. That would create one large spark!

At least after the current begins to flow, the voltage drops to only a couple of hundred volts (measured open circuit).

Zink
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Follow- up.... So here's what I did on the weekend. I took down all ceiling tiles that surround each of the five fixtures in my basement. The first thing I noticed was that (due to poor jobs by previous electrical contracts that pre-date my ownership of the home) a lot of the electrical wiring was not properly fastened (i.e. stapled) to the joists above. So after spending a few hours correcting this, it made the mess above the ceiling a lot easier to look at. I then took a long good hard look at the three fixtures (that I did not change the ballasts for). There was nothing touching the fixtures at all. In fact all three fixtures were different types, probably because of the very low and varying clearance of the drop ceiling. Then it dawned on me...in early July I replaced all 18 bulbs in all five fixtures. Maybe I got a bad batch ?? They all came from the same box and they were all PHILIPS daylight bulbs. So I started swapping bulbs between fixtures trying to figure out if a particular set of bulbs was causing the problem. I found that this worked to a certain extent. Some bulbs worked well in all fixtures, some worked well in one but not another. I couldn't determine for sure which were flaky and which were not. Next step...I went to Lowe's and got a bunch of GE daylight bulbs. I put them into the fixture that had the hardest time going on. Presto, the new bulbs worked every time I turned them on. However all of the other fixtures that had the Philips bulbs all happened to start working at the same time too (probably because they were already warmed up) so I wasn't getting too excited. I decided to call it a night at that point. For the time being I decided to leave the ceiling exposed until I finally nailed the culprit down. Saturday I was away for most of the day but all lights worked fine in the morning and also when we returned in the evening. Sunday morning was fine as well. Sunday night was a different story. We came home and I turned on the main lights (2 fixtures). NONE of the bulbs went on. I had to flick the switch a few times to get one fixture to finally go on. Eventually the 2nd fixture fired up. As soon as that happened I went to the other side of the basement to turn on the fixture that had the GE bulbs in it. It fired up on the first shot and all subsequent shots. Usually if the main lights don't go on, the fixture (that currently has the GE bulbs) won't go on for sure...but it did! So the next step is to replace all bulbs with the new GE bulbs and give it a trial run for a few days. I'm not saying for sure that its the bulbs but I can't deny the proof at this point. The only thing I don't like about the GE bulbs is that they don't instantly light like the Philips bulbs do...they sort of fade-in. The package of the bulbs mentioned something about EcoLux technology. Not sure if that has anything to do with it. To be continued..... oh, and by the way (in response to davidr) That's how they sockets were wired before. There is no other way to wire them. The insulation is exposed but no bare wire is. I realized Friday night that these particular types of fixtures (the ones in the photos) are designed specifically to be installed above a drop ceiling grid. There are special brackets that allow the fixture to rest securely on the crossbars. They are not designed to be mounted with screws. I realized this when I was working on the troublesome fixture that now has the GE bulbs. In the two fixtures that I replaced the ballasts in, the brackets had been sawed off and the fixture had been screwed into pieces of wood that were secured in between the joists. Otherwise the brackets would have never cleared that copper pipe in the photo above. I will try to take more photos of the other fixtures tonight.
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xmpraedicta
Original Author
16 years ago
Thanks for the reply Zink. So for the socket, I'm assuming that I can get these special ceramic encased sockets at Home Depot? Or do they need to be specially rated? I will check around Home Depot this weekend to see if they have rated for 4kv

I am also looking at some kits from prolighting - when they say 'mounting hardware included' does that mean that hte socket is included?
zink
16 years ago
Calvin,

"I am also looking at some kits from prolighting - when they say 'mounting hardware included' does that mean that hte socket is included?"
That "hte socket" you refer to must mean a High Tension Electrical socket. Just kidding! But that would be an appropriate term for such a socket. To answer your question, I have no idea what their mounting hardware includes.

I do know that Home Depot does NOT carry the larger, high-voltage Mogul Base sockets which are used in HID fixtures, but I don't know about a Medium Base socket. They do need to be rated at some higher voltage, usually several thousand. I have gotten the larger Mogul Base sockets from local electrical supply or lighting outlets.

If you need Mogul sockets, you can look for light poles which have been knocked down by automobiles. I have extracted several Mogul sockets (and ballasts) from such tragedies. Your local utility company is likely to trash damaged fixtures anyhow, so recycle them if you can. Your tax or utility bill money paid for them.

Zink
xmpraedicta
Original Author
16 years ago
So I just got my Philips Ceramic Metal Halide ED-17 MHC/150/U/4K Bulb and I was reading another thread here and it seems that I was confused and I'm not supposed to be getting a magnetic ballast after all, but rather, a pulse-start electronic ballast. Zink - I saw your post about MH references and I'm going to check it out because I'm completely confused now....while I want to just get a ready built plug and play ballast, I'm too poor to do that so I think I need to go with the kit idea...and I've seen a good link I think from object16 that tells you how to wire the thing so that should be okay.

The bulb says 'universal' operating position..does that mean that it can't be mounted horizontally?

I will need to do some more research on what exactly I need - I never knew this was so complicated! That's a good idea about getting stuff from utility companies but I don't think I know enough about this to be able to tell them what I want. :S

As for the socket, I thought mogul sockets were bigger than medium ones...? or is a mogul socket the same as that special ceramic-encased socket you were talking about before?

Thanks for all the help - I'm good with plants and I'm good with biology but I just seem to get stupid when it comes to electronics.

-Calvin
lermer
16 years ago
(Lermer) This bulb can be powered by either magnetic (MH) or electronic ballast. Generally the electronic are better.

"universal" means it can operate horizontally or vertically.

Medium base sockets are the same size as standard light sockets, mogul base sockets are bigger base.

Getting the right ballast

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Getting the right ballast

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