ECN Forum Forums General Topics of the Trade General Discussion Area metal halide fixtures

First thing please recheck your first link it came bad to me.,,

Now the second thing it really kinda bother me a bit now with the photocell you have i dont know if you did read the ratings on that photocell it is not a full 15 amp load it will not handle ballst load very well.

each 400 w MH [ common one ] wired on 240 volts useally draw about 2 amp each and multi par 4 end up 8 that will be right on the limit but IMO for parking lot luminaires if you want to have one photocell to handle all the luminaires the best way is use the photocell with the contractor so it will able handle the HID surge and the load so the Photocell will last much longer.

but there is other photoeye that can take more heveier load but let me get that link and paste it later ok

Merci, Marc

I thought a "u" designated bulb could be placed in any position? as in universal??

here's that m400 link again

http://dafnwebpd.sylvania.com/idmweb/doccontent.dll?LibraryName=ecomcspd^dafnctpd&SystemType=2&LogonId=d56b37842d30484290d637e878cfd6c7&DocId=003683544&Page=1

This is just off the wall but has anyone checked the voltage to the fixtures when they are on, but at like 2 am?
It sounds nuts but I have had problems with the utility supply hitting as high as 253V in the middle of the night at my own home. During the day the supply was an ideal 240-242V, unless it was hot out and everyone was running their A/C then the voltage would be around 230-235V) . I never had problems with any lighting or appliances in the house because nothing is ever on during the times the voltage was hitting 250V+, but when I notified the utility they were pretty quick to change out the transformer in front of the house.
Could something similar to this be happening at the church? Just a thought...

A.D

It's still not working ... not sure why .. I found it on the Sylvania website in their magnetic ballast catalog .. page 49

Good thought, A.D. .. The power company can put a meter on their incoming line to monitor voltages and currents so it is definitely worth a call to them to see if they can do it if we suspect that could be the problem

janderscu: I checked mine out with a Fluke multi-meter I have that records min and max values over "elapsed time"..
I used to start mine at midnight and now my elapsed time that the value was high or low was the time that it occured. ( just makes the math easy LOL).

A.D

Check the ballast to make sure it is wired to the correct tap.... applying 240V to a 277V ballast can cause some hard starting, short starter/ballast life or short bulb life issues.