The Complete HID Lamp Guide | Spec. Sense

[@zacharykorbet9690]

Amazing video very well construct I'm into collecting the whole hid lamp kind of stuff so videos like these really help👍

[@AmreSupply]

You're welcome! We're just happy to share some good information!

[@Sparky-ww5re]

EX-39 sockets are required beginning in the 2005 National Electrical Code for open metal halide fixtures, usually a pink or reddish color and is designed to only allow an open rated metal halide lamp to operate, an enclosed rated lamp will not light if installed, but a open rated lamp will work in EX-39 and E39 sockets. This is very important from a fire and burn injury standpoint because metal halide lamps sometimes violently fail, and at full brightness can breach the other bulb showering the area with hot quartz shards of around 2,000°F and this usually happens near the end of life as thermal and chemical stress weakens the arc tube over time, and its this reason most manufacturers recommended turning the lamps off for at least 15 minutes once a week for lamps operated 24/7, since a lamp close to or at EOL will usually not start or act strangely upon starting giving warning to replace the lamp promptly, and it's safer for it to fail before it reaches full brightness. Open rated lamps have a ballistic quartz shield around the arc tube to prevent a ruptured arc tube from breaking the other envelope making them a safer alternative for businesses that still use metal halide.

[@AmreSupply]

Thank you for sharing that info.

[@randacnam7321]

One exception to the correct ballast requirement is high pressure mercury lamps on probe start metal halide ballasts. 175W and higher mercury lamps will run on the equivalent power rating probe start halide ballasts, but not reliably the other way around as halide lamps need higher open circuit potentials than mercury lamps due to the halide dose driving up the plasma resistivity. New halide lamps will run on equivalent mercury only ballasts, but the lamp will cycle after a certain proportion of its life as its operating potential rises beyond the ballast operating output potential.

[@AmreSupply]

Thank you for sharing those details on those exceptions!

[@Sparky-ww5re]

Interesting details, I always wondered that considering the metal halide lamp is so closely related to the mercury vapor lamp that multi-vapor is a trade name used by General Electric when they were introduced in the early 1960s.

[@worldwidehidcollectorusa3519]

EP39 bases are generally used on horizontal burning probe start metal halide lamps.

[@AmreSupply]

Thanks for sharing that info!

[@sounakdas9565]

Led is better and not harmful

[@AmreSupply]

Thanks for watching. There are more LED's available as the technology has improved. This often requires bypassing the ballast and updating the system.

[@ALT-9167]

it is harmful because of blue light and is an energy guzzler

[@Trunp]

Uhh how are HID lights harmful?

[@ALT-9167]

@@Trunp No i meant LED's

[@Trunp]

@@ALT-9167 Oh I get it now sorry for the misunderstanding haha

[@bobtriezenberg4255]

Can I use a LPS in a HPS ballast if I keep the wattage the same?

[@AmreSupply]

Hi Bob thank you for watching. Even if two bulbs have the same wattage its recommended to match the bulb with the ballast using the ANSI code. Without matching there will likely be reduced performance or lifespan.

[@bobtriezenberg4255]

Thank you for your reply. Here is the reason I asked. My 12 year old son has high functioning autism and kids with this get interested in very specific things. And with my boy, it is HID lights. He loves them, has researched them and knows a lot about them. I have been able to buy a metal halide and a HPS off eBay for him but he wants a LPS light very much (he wants to see its monochromatic affects at night especially.) But I simply can not find a LPS ballast anywhere. So I’m not really worried about shorter bulb life as it won’t be on more than maybe 10-15 minutes at a time. He just really is into HID lighting and loves to watch them arc and start up until full brightness. So considering all of this, if I am able to find a LPS bulb with the same base, voltage and wattage as the ballast I have for his HPS light, will it at least start it and allow it to come on ? I hope this makes sense and doesn’t sound weird. I try to support his interests as much as I can and to be honest, this has been very interesting for me too and he has taught me a lot. Thank you so much for your time. I really appreciate it.

[@AmreSupply]

Thank you for sharing and that makes sense given the circumstances. Matching for the same base, voltage and wattage it will likely light up. If you have a magnetic ballast then the LPS might flicker a little bit.

[@bobtriezenberg4255]

He has 2 actually. One I bought off eBay and is a small residential security light (looks like a halogen light fixture but is a HPS.) His other ballast is actually an old HPS streetlight. I emailed our local power company to see if they had any old LPS lights and they didn’t, but they invited him to their facility for a tour and gave him a HPS streetlight they were not using. He was so excited with that. One has an e27 base and the old streetlight has an e39 base I believe so hopefully one of them will work. Thank you so much for your time and help. It means a lot and I appreciate it very much.

[@AmreSupply]

That is nice of your local power company to give a tour and to give him an spare HPS streetlight. We're happy to have helped out. Hopefully everything works as you need. All the best to you!