High Pressure Sodium Ballasts and Metal Halide Lamps

Does this assume that the lamps will fit the above fittings?

1) Does a metal halide bulb can be used in a high pressure sodium ballast (what are the side effects)? No

There a special MH bulbs that are made to work in a SV ballast. So do a search.

2)What is the purpose of the ballast in the lighting system of metal halide bulb and high pressure sodium lights? Ask Google

3) For 240V,400W of a light system how do we determine the thickness of wire needed to be used? This question shows that you need some one with experience helping you.

War Eagle,

Why do you even bother to respond if all you are going to do is give snotty answers. If you have nothing to contribute, keep quiet.

I did not think it was snooty at all.

I answered his first question which was no and then directed him to search for the replacement bulbs since I did not recall the mfg.

Rather than answer the 2ND question he can get the answer from Wikipedia rather than my taking time to type the same information.

The third answer was a suggestion that he was over his head and needed some assistance in his project.

nothing snooty in that to me.

Wareagle

As noted by others, use Google to find the info you're after.

Having said that, a ballast is just a special kind of transformer/capacitor combination that provides the proper voltage, current and power factor to the high-intensity discharge (HID) lamp. In addition, due to lamp requirements, the HPS ballast also needs to provide a series of high voltage pulses to trigger the initial 'strike' of that lamp.

As to wire gauges, there are tables available via Google or your local National Electrical Code.

Grae

an arc lamp of any kind has a nearly infinite resistance with no current flow. When there is current flow, it can have a low resistance and draw a large current. A ballast is a coil of fine wire on an iron core that has a large inductive reactance that shifts the phase and limits the current to the design amount. A ballast for a 40 watt bulb will not work on an 8 watt bulb. The bulb will draw 5 times it's rated current, and have a bright, but short life. It will also get hot.

Halogen lamps are filament lamps that use the fact that a tungsten halide is volatile, so it boils off the filament slowly. It also decomposes in high heat, so a thinned portion of the filament that is hotter gets a little tungsten plated on it, to reinforce it. This negative feedback makes them last a lot longer and they can also be run hotter = more efficient.

I found dif. web sites that have spec. on these HD's

Here's some info. http://www.replacementlightbulbs.com/index.html

http://www.ge.com/ru/ru/docs/514140_HID.pdf Most of these Bulbs cost around $25.00 - $200.00 don't get burn!

As a general rule of thumb, Low pressure sodium bulbs are not interchangeable with Metal Halide bulbs. The ballasts are tuned to specific bulb types and specific wattages

Low pressure Sodium bulbs have a higher lumen output and longer life, they also give off less glare. thats and the longer life is why they are used on Street lighting a lot.

Metal halide give off a whiter light which is perceived as brighter and so it gets used in a lot of security lights.

Written on any give ballast it shows you your amperage (most manufacturers are different) your wire size is based on your amperage. or when in doubt P=EI

In principle one must use metal halide ballasts for the corresponding metal halide lamp.

In practice we have used sodium vapour ballasts for metal halide lamps without problems for years. But the converse is not true.

As explained by others the ballast only limits the current through the lamp by maintaining a constant voltage across the lamp. It acts as a reactor whose impedance depends on the current through it.

Thickness of wire depends on the current through the circuit. For a 400W lamp, a 1.5mm cable will be enough.

I have a ballast with the following specs...

power requirements 120 volts, 490 watts, and states "fixture type lamp 430W high pressure sodium PL93R, and the date, I suspect it was made, is 1998. It is a P.L. Systems ballast.

I also have a bulb, it is a metal halide 1000W. My question is can I use the two together and if not why.

I am just learning.

Thanks

An arc in a sodium lamp is a very low resistance path = thousands of watts will flow. A ballast is an inductive current limiter whose inductive reactance limits the current. Each ballast is made for a certain wattage bulb, and will not support a parallel bulb.