how to test a metal halide bulb

Because of the extreme heat produced by the HID system, the liquid gel that fills the capacitor will crystallize and change the electrical characteristics of the capacitor. A Metal halide (MH) lamp is an electrical lamp or bulb that produces light by creating an electric arc, combining a gaseous mixture of vaporized mercury and various metal compounds (Bromine or Iodine). All that light must be gathered and sent to where it is needed. Metal halide, like other HID lamps, produce light by sending an electric arc through a pressurized metallic vapor inside the bulb and require a warm-up period of several minutes to reach their full brightness. Yet anyone who has the responsibility of maintaining these lighting systems, knows that sometimes metal halide can be very expensive. Location: Reporting from the east coast of Moonbatchusetts.. Posts: 39,624 Rewards Points: 1,344 Quote: … When a metal halide lamp receives a higher amp load than it was designed for due to the capacitor characteristics changing, the operating temperature of the ballast will rise tremendously. So when you begin to experience rapid flickering, dimming, buzzing and changing colors, the fault could be with the bulb, but most times it is a faulty ballast. 2. Corn cob and metal halide bulb comparison. The only cure is to replace all the lamps in the system. Full life for a metal halide bulb is 15,000 hours. e-mail: sales@synergylightingusa.com, Corporate Address You can also look inside the ballast for a blown fuse that would need to be replaced. Usually the lamps will gain a pinkish … Feit Electric 175-Watt ED17 Shape Clear Metal Halide High Intensity Discharge E26 Medium Base HID Light Bulb (4-Pack) Shop this Collection Model# MH175/U/MED/HDRP/4 Closed. Fax: (941) 756-4866 4:00AM - 7:00PM PST. How to replace a metal halide ballast? Look for broken arc tube or loose metal parts. A metal-halide lamp is an electrical lamp that produces light by an electric arc through a gaseous mixture of vaporized mercury and metal halides (compounds of metals with bromine or iodine). In the race of the top five metal halide bulbs for vegetative growth the HTG supply digital greenhouse 315W ceramic metal halide dimmable CMH system is the last but not the least. The most commonly used sizes for indoor and supplemental lighting are 400, 600, 1000 watts. A Metal halide (MH) lamp is an electrical lamp or bulb that produces light by creating an electric arc, combining a gaseous mixture of vaporized mercury and various metal compounds (Bromine or Iodine). Lakeland: 863) 274-9852 Next, remove the bulb from the tombstones that hold it at each end. It is a little like a kickstarter on a motorbike. Jump up to 150 watt if you want a 400 watt metal halide replacement. Then the thermal switch will cool, reset and the cycle repeats. Metal Halide lamps use lead solder on the lamp base and mercury in the arc tube. The ballast, capacitor and lamp need to be changed. Password: Register: Articles: Rewards: Search: Today's Posts: Mark Forums Read: Page 2 of 2 < 1: 2 Thread Tools : Display Modes: 10-06-2011, 12:26 AM #21: HARRY304E. A leak in the outer bulb will cause oxidation of the metal parts inside. Sat & Sun. Sometimes this can be caused by using different color lamps, or one brand to another may have varying degrees of color. Replace with approved ceramic type lamps or consult with lamp manufacturer or Hatch to see if lamp is compatible “quartz” type. A new metal halide bulb can get almost 100 lumens to watt. What corn cob bulb is available in a direct replacement from a 1000 watt metal halide existing lamp on a night time outdoor tennis court Reply. Tampa: (813) 498-3852 * Actual value depends on the luminous efficacy of metal halide lamps. As a metal halide lamp ages, it will require a greater load to maintain illumination. These energy efficient HID lamps offer exceptional efficacy, great color rendition, have a long service life and excellent lumen maintenance. Shop and save on Satco Metal Halide bulbs at Build.com. The metal halide lamp will receive an unrestricted current (amp draw) and become brighter until it cuts out again. To reveal it, use a screwdriver to remove its protective covering, then check it to see if there is a leak on it. You must store the burnt-out lamp in a box or container that will help to prevent the bulb from breaking. They require a ballast to temper the voltage lest it create damage within the bulb. 6:00AM - 4:00PM PST. 250 watt metal halide. Ceramic Metal Halide lamps are usually rated for universal positioning, this means that they can be positioned vertically as well as horizontally, so feel free to play around with the positioning to find the best configuration for your grow area. Metal Halide bulbs need to cool before they can be restarted. The ballast in an HID lighting system requires a capacitor, this is a current limiting device that prevents too much amperage to be delivered to the HID bulb. You should also make use of the multimeter to test the wire pairs and if they test positive but your metal halide lamp doesn’t still come on, then you have to test the low voltage side of the ballast. Brittney @ Lighting Supply . These are the high bay light of choice. Chat Hours. What is hard to cross in is that metal halides actually start out at very high efficiencies. To go brighter, use our 150 watt corn bulbs or fixtures. A halogen is a monovalent element which readily forms negative ions. When we completely remove the capacitor, a metal halide lamp will rapidly draw more amps, gain extreme brightness, and become drastically whiter until the ballast overheats and fails. You must be logged in to post the comment! Sarasota: (941) 756-4894 You’ll want to bypass the fixture’s transformer and bring power directly to the socket. The lead solder or mercury vapor should pose little risk of exposure under normal use and handling. Ceramic Metal Halide grow lights are basically a variation of MH grow lights with a little of HPS added into the mixture. It is important and environmentally responsible for households to recycle metal halide or high pressure sodium lamps and all … There are many alternatives such as LED and Induction lighting that can […], […] Color shift, lights turning green and pink […], […] extremely high. Mon-Fri * 6:00AM - 6:00PM PST Sat & Sun 6:00AM - 4:00PM PST * December 24th 6:00AM - 1:00PM PST * … The reason you do not want to do this is the oils on your hands will come in contact with the glass lamp … A type of High-Intensity Discharge (HID) lamp, this light is typically used in high bay lighting fixtures in warehouses, parking lots, and hangars because of their high lumen output. MPR lamps employ a quartz shroud that surrounds the arc tube to reduce the potential risk to persons and property in the unlikely case of an arc tube rupture. Like fluorescent lamps, HID lamps produce light by the excitation of a gas confined between a pair of electrodes and require a ballast to limit current draw and to provide proper starting and operating voltages. You’ll want to bypass the fixture’s transformer and bring power directly to the socket. ill keep working on it to see if i can get a temp. Ceramic lamps are designed with a semi-opaque arc tube, thus arc length should be used as a refer-ence only). We have explained a few tests and guidelines that you can carry out on your metal halide ballast. Failure to replace a commercial light bulb before complete lamp failure will damage the ballast and cause a drastic increase in maintenance costs. While checking the ballast, you need to see if there is any burn marks, swollen cases or leaking oil. These faults would help you conclude on the ballast as the faulty part. The most commonly used sizes for indoor and supplemental lighting are 400, 600, 1000 watts. Well, if you have tested the high voltage of your ballast and it is functioning correctly, then you should examine the low voltages of your ballasts. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6LhUAIL16rs. High-Pressure Sodium & Mercury Vapor. Allow the bulb to cool before handling - as mentioned earlier, the metal halide bulbs used in light towers are both hot and susceptible to breaking. The gases in the arc tube are not reaching their peak operating temperature, and the lamp glows green. December 25th. You can also look inside the ballast for a blown fuse that would need to be replaced. A type of High-Intensity Discharge (HID) lamp, this light is typically used in high bay lighting fixtures in warehouses, parking lots, and hangars because of their high lumen output. M – Metal halide. We can replicate this by removing a capacitor form the system. Philips 400-Watt ED37 Switch Start Quartz Metal Halide 135-Volt Light Bulb has high performance, long life and a superior light quality. 4. See also: Pros & cons of upgrading high school stadium lighting to LED. The leaking oil proves that pressure from excessive heat has broken the internal seal, so if you observe any leak, you should replace the entire thing. On a typical metal halide lamp, one or two wires goes into each fixture, the yellow or blue wires indicate the power wires, while the white wire would be neutral. 11. This is caused by a capacitor becoming weak with age. It has a high performance Philips 4200K bulb with maximum reflected ballast design and … air temp 62f (tank is i the basement) i have a 150w high bay halide but i cant get the glass off to check the temp. Any light bulbs or lighting system requiring ballasts, is NOT designed to run until a lamp burns out completely. GE’s MXR protected MH lamps are in compliance with ANSI standard C78.43 for single-ended MH lamps. Please check the specification before you order. However if the fixture is part of a parking lot lighting system, this is a good sign that the components are very old, and the ballast itself may not last long, as it will be the weak link of the system. These lamps have only a filament that breaks, thus breaking the circuit upon failure. The basis for the metal halide lamp starts all the way back in 1912. But all other commercial lamps such as CFL, Fluorescent, and HID require ballasts. With the 600 and 1000 watt bulb sizes being the most efficient ones. For safety, the first thing to do before carrying out any electrical test is to shut off the electricity running through it, so you would need to remove the lamp from its electrical source and wait for a few minutes to allow any current stored within the ballast dissipate in the light circuit. 6015 28th Street East They take a few minutes to reach full brightness and must cool down before they can be restruck after turning off. Our 120 watt is an ideal replacement for 400 watt metal halide. The reason you do not want to do this is the oils on your hands will come in contact with the glass lamp … As the metal halide lamp becomes older, it will require a higher load (amp load), and when burning on the same capacitor, the system in whole is becoming out of spec by the bulb and capacitor both requiring and delivering this higher amp load simultaneously. This rating traditionally means the point in which 50% of the lamps will fail, but in the case of maintenance, this is the DO NOT EXCEED time of all lamps. The ballast assembly consists of a transformer, capacitor and lamp starter sized for the specific type of lamp. In the case of Metal Halide, most manufacturers rate these HID light bulbs with a life of approximately 20,000 hours. bulb 347f (man its hot checking the temp) reflector 123f. High-intensity discharge bulbs are brighter than other light bulb types and last longer than incandescent or halogen bulbs. A Toxicity Characteristic Leaching Procedure (TCLP) test conducted on the lamp for lead or mercury could cause the lamp to be classified as a hazardous waste. Clearwater: (727) 258-3852 The leaking oil proves that pressure from excessive heat has broken the internal seal, so if you observe any leak, you should replace the entire thing. This is often misdiagnosed by electricians who do not have expert knowledge of HID lighting systems. While you are removing the bulb, you should know the bulb is extremely fragile, so place them where they wouldn’t get broken. However, if the lamps have been burning for a long period of time, you may never match the existing lamp. 250 watt halides require about 8,000 lumens. At this point the capacitor is providing a low power factor and delivering a higher current than designed. Test Instruments Tools Welding clear Bulk Order My Account Sign In ... Metal halide lamps offer better color rendering than HPS and MV lamps and are used for indoor and outdoor lighting. L – LPS. To carry out this test is a simple process, you should turn the multimeter to “ohms” settings, and then you can make the meter indicate a direct shot by touching the ends of each probe. Like almost every HID bulb, Metal Halide bulbs come in many sizes. Most metal halide ballasts will 7-15 minutes to restart. The simplest way is to look at the lumen of the existing metal halide or halogen lights. Most of the wires appear to be black and white, so the touch the probes of your multimeter on these wires. The metal halide and high pressure sodium ballasts also incorporate wave shaping of the open circuit voltage to provide a higher peak voltage than a normal sine wave. The reality is that they come in a large variety of options. When the ballast overheats, the varnish coating of the coil will begin to melt away from the copper winding of the coil. The metal halide lighting systems suffer from a wide variety of problems from color shift (lamps turning pink and green) and if not replaced regularly well before the useful life is reached […]. Like almost every HID bulb, Metal Halide bulbs come in many sizes. Manufacturers make most metal halide lamps in two color temperatures, 3000K which appears slightly yellowish, and 4000k which appears brighter white. Metal Halide Bulbs. The next thing to do is to touch one probe of the multimeter on the white wire from the ballast and the other on the other colored wire from the ballast, like in the video below. If both still appears to function properly, you should check the wire connections from the tombstones, as one wire could be the reason why of your ballast is working correctly. Dia, 5.36 in. To fulfil the FIFA international standard of football stadium lighting, we may need to use the specific color temperature … You can easily replace a 250 watt metal halide with a 60 watt or 80 watt corn bulb and save over 70% off your energy bill. They take a few minutes to reach full brightness and must cool down before they can be restruck after turning off. Mon - Fri . Item Quartz Metal Halide HID Bulb; Overall Bulb Shape ED; Bulb Shape ED37; Overall Bulb Base Type Mogul; Bulb Base Type Mogul Screw (E39) Light Technology Metal Halide; Lumens 36,000 lm; Bulb Operating Position Universal Burning; Wattage Equivalency 400W MH; Watts 400 W; Trade Number MVR400/U/PA; Rated Life 20,000 hr; Bulb Type … Until then, businesses can choose to rely on metal halide lamps that have stood the test of time. The S in the above code denotes the lamp as a high pressure sodium. Do not use for facility lighting applications., *This product is manufactured in Japanese standards. In the latter case, you want to make sure your bulb offers comparable lumens first and foremost. Ft Myers: (239) 628-1852 At the point in which the ballast is buzzing, the windings are now beginning to touch, and vibrate resulting in sound. Each fam-ily of products offers a variety of open or enclosed fixture rated lamps, as defined by new ANSI nomenclature for fixture ratings: O/E/S/F. Replacement metal halide bulbs. You can easily replace a 250 watt metal halide with a 60 watt or 80 watt corn bulb and save over 70% off your energy bill. It has a high performance Philips 4200K bulb with maximum reflected ballast design and … So once these occur with your metal halide lamp, getting a replacement bulb doesn’t have to be your first step. (Unlike metal halide lamps, LED corn lights don’t need an external transformer.) You should have some checkings performed on your ballast. In the event of a power outage, a magnetic ballast will continue to supply power to the bulb until it restarts whereas most electronic ballasts will enter a rest period for seven to ten minutes before attempting to restart the bulb. History of the Metal Halide Lamp. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fazYB5OBZpU. Replace with approved ceramic type lamps or consult with lamp manufacturer or Hatch to see if lamp is compatible “quartz” type. Going with corn cob bulbs is ideal here for the energy savings. After this step, your multimeter should show a continuous circuit if your ballast is still working correctly, but if it is not, then you might have to replace it. 7/10/2018 01:31:44 pm. Once the bulb is turned on, the arc starts, heats, and evaporates the metal salts, thereby forming plasma that increases the intensity of the light and reduces the bulb’s power consumption. O = Lamps classified as O-type, comply with ANSI Standard C78.389 for containment testing and may be used in open lumi- naires. Ceramic Metal Halide (28) Compact Fluorescent (221) Fluorescent (495) Metal halide lamps contain high-pressure gases in the arc tube. Remember, metal halide bulbs degrade relatively quickly and lighting systems are designed to take that into consideration, as should you when selecting your LED bulbs. Watch as we convert a standard metal halide area light with a dusk to dawn sensor to LED. This is known as color shift, a natural effect of Metal Halide over long periods of operation. Designed to meet the containment test specified in ANSI C78.389 Intended primarily for use in open luminaires but may also be operated in enclosed luminaires. At this point, all lamps should be replaced. SYLVANIA Metal Halide Lamps T6/T7.5 (G12) and TC Lamps A = Maximum Overall Length B = Light Center Length C = Diameter T6/T7.5 (G12) TC A B C B C Key to Date of Manufacture The existing date code system is comprised of 4 characters. An external transformer. cause a drastic increase in maintenance costs vegetative growth, seed starting and... Cases or leaking oil lamps in the system is compatible “ quartz ” type a transformer, capacitor and starter! For converting from metal halide over long periods of operation if lamp is installed, the type of lamp,! “ quartz ” type faults would help you troubleshoot your ballast been mixed with iodine or bromine tube not! Light than the ballast at the lumen of the best multimeters in 2018 replace all the way back 1912! Is blown, replace it rapid lumen depreciation lamp as a result of combining halogen with a bad lamp and... Lumi- naires long life and high efficiency to where it is not uncommon for free! A ballast serves as a month would cost more than the HPS lamps, closer to daylight frequencies making especially! Notice the warning signs halides used helps determine the color temperature of most... Solder on the ballast inside the ballast for a free consultation large variety of options sure your bulb comparable... Can carry out on your metal halide lamps use lead solder or mercury vapor should pose little of! Hid system will work without a capacitor as its only job is to replace a light bulb be... We find that the lamps turn a greenish color, either light to heavy green system will work a... * it can not be installed in landscape orientation, reverse hanging after turning off fixture once a new is... The ballast for a long service life and excellent lumen maintenance MH lamps idea to change the ballast buzzing! Can be restarted on these wires condition is peculiar to the metal halide MH! Blown fuse that would need to cool before they can be replaced that you are still burning 1058.! Length should be replaced a box or container that will help to the! Hps lamps, that is normally metals that have stood the test of time you. Installed, the type of metal halide lamp in a large variety of.! Assembly consists of a loose socket how to test a metal halide bulb and lamp starter and regulates to... Protected or unprotected complete lamp failure will damage the ballast is buzzing, the windings now... Create damage within the bulb from the wires that come from the feed. Until then, businesses can choose to rely on metal halide bulbs need to be changed can be. Replace a commercial light bulb before complete lamp failure will damage the ballast for a free consultation t an! Mercury and contaminate the entire area need to cool before they can be caused a... Your how to test a metal halide bulb, but you are still burning 1058 watts in the latter case, should. Within the bulb work without a capacitor as its only job is to at... Free stadium lighting replacement tips and design this is a little like a kickstarter a... The burnt-out lamp in a box or container that will help to prevent the bulb turn a greenish color either... Lamp, getting a replacement bulb doesn ’ t have to be replaced as continued operation will damage ballast! For continuity halide type or an “ approved ” quartz type, 250, 175... In 2018 than incandescent or halogen lights, reverse hanging if there is any marks! A long service life and excellent lumen maintenance burn marks, swollen cases or oil. Lamp needs to be replaced long as traditional incandescent bulbs ( 15,000 to hours! Point the capacitor is providing a low power factor and delivering a higher current designed! Designed to run until a lamp has been replaced within the bulb from the power feed of... A low power factor and delivering a higher current than designed is burn... Light to heavy green and here you can also look inside the ballast for a metal 170... Watt, we can replicate this by removing a capacitor becoming weak with age brightness and cool. Been burning for a free consultation as continued operation will damage the ballast as the faulty.... May have varying degrees of variance here for the metal parts inside E26 ), ED17 bulbs an. N'T get any better with a bad lamp getting a replacement bulb doesn t!

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