I bought a ballast off of ebay for about 10 bucks. It is used but it is in good shape. It is 250w. The questions that I have is that this ballast did not come with any schematics so I am not sure about how to set it up. there are four wires that come out of it they are labled com(there are two of these and I think that these should to a switch), also a wire labled 277v (I figure this is a input and it needs 277volts), and the last one is labled cap (I guess that goes to the capacitor). If anyone could tell me if I got this right that would be great. also where does the wireing go from here I think that the capacitor then goes to the light. Thanks a lot for any help.
Ok if anyone is wondering, I sent an e-mail to the guy that I bought the ballast from. The connectors are; The 277v is the input, the two com cables goto the negative from the wall and the negitive on the bulb respectivy, and the Cap does goto the capacitor then the light.
277 volts not impossible
This seems to be used for quite a bit of outdoor lighting, like street lights. Maybe it is a transformer option for industrial or municiple customers who need to light some parking lots or streets.
Seriously though, Meico:
MH ballasts also come as "quad" voltage input types. Then you get transformer taps for using it with 120 volts or 240 volts. I don't think a 277 volt ballast will be worth anything to you. I don't think it will run a MH lamp if you connect it to 240 volts. The lamps tend to be pretty particular about getting the right power.
This seems to be used for quite a bit of outdoor lighting, like street lights. Maybe it is a transformer option for industrial or municiple customers who need to light some parking lots or streets.
Seriously though, Meico:
MH ballasts also come as "quad" voltage input types. Then you get transformer taps for using it with 120 volts or 240 volts. I don't think a 277 volt ballast will be worth anything to you. I don't think it will run a MH lamp if you connect it to 240 volts. The lamps tend to be pretty particular about getting the right power.
ooooh, I did not think of that..... wait the guy I got it from was here in america. I guess ill try it anyway. I knew that it was too good to be true. Ok I might be back on the market for a ballast now, any sugestions so I dont do this again.
ballast suggestions
Just find one to match your lamp that can run on 120 VAC 60 Hz. You can't just buy a "250 Watt MH ballast". It has to be the right type of 250 Watt MH ballast.
There are magnetic and electronic ballasts. Another parameter is probe start versus pulse start. Look up the specs for your lamp, starting at the website where you bought it or the lamp manufacturer's website. You will find something like "ANSI M80 ballast" listed in the specs.
Then you can look locally or online at somplace like goodmart, prolighting, elights, businesslights, for a ballast with that ANSI type. Magnetic are the cheapest. You can use a tri- or quad-voltage one, as long as one of the voltages is 120 or 125 volts.
Make sure you get a complete kit with mounting rails, a capacitor, and an ignitor, if you get a magnetic ballast.
Just find one to match your lamp that can run on 120 VAC 60 Hz. You can't just buy a "250 Watt MH ballast". It has to be the right type of 250 Watt MH ballast.
There are magnetic and electronic ballasts. Another parameter is probe start versus pulse start. Look up the specs for your lamp, starting at the website where you bought it or the lamp manufacturer's website. You will find something like "ANSI M80 ballast" listed in the specs.
Then you can look locally or online at somplace like goodmart, prolighting, elights, businesslights, for a ballast with that ANSI type. Magnetic are the cheapest. You can use a tri- or quad-voltage one, as long as one of the voltages is 120 or 125 volts.
Make sure you get a complete kit with mounting rails, a capacitor, and an ignitor, if you get a magnetic ballast.
Ballasts...
Guy - any idea if the Metal Halide ballasts used for commercial lighting will work with short arc lamps? I want to drive a HMI 1200W/GS lamp (1200 watt metal halide short arc). Ballast options seem limited. I've found 1500 watt ballasts used for metal halide lights (magnetic ballasts). The price seems right on them, about $100. Just not sure if the two will jive? The 1200 watt short arc lamps are about $130 each and last 750 hours. My goal is really high output projector. In terms of light output versus bulb cost, that is a bargain.
Backyard drive-in, etc.
Guy - any idea if the Metal Halide ballasts used for commercial lighting will work with short arc lamps? I want to drive a HMI 1200W/GS lamp (1200 watt metal halide short arc). Ballast options seem limited. I've found 1500 watt ballasts used for metal halide lights (magnetic ballasts). The price seems right on them, about $100. Just not sure if the two will jive? The 1200 watt short arc lamps are about $130 each and last 750 hours. My goal is really high output projector. In terms of light output versus bulb cost, that is a bargain.
Backyard drive-in, etc.
no
Metal Halide lamps are very particular. I think you have to read the lamp's spec sheet and find a ballast of exactly the right type to drive it. This is not like running a piece of electronic equipment with a higher-current power supply than it needs. (Which is fine.) Since these ballasts limit the power of the lamp arc, running a 1200 Watt lamp with a 1500 Watt ballast may be a good way to see a MH lamp explode.
Or if it not the right ballast type, then the lamp may not start at all. The electronic ballasts can be more versatile, in that they can sense what the lamp is doing and adjust the average voltage, peak voltage, and half-cycle duration to start and run MH lamps closer to spec. If the lamp spec sheet says you have to use an electronic ballast, then you have to.
Metal Halide lamps are very particular. I think you have to read the lamp's spec sheet and find a ballast of exactly the right type to drive it. This is not like running a piece of electronic equipment with a higher-current power supply than it needs. (Which is fine.) Since these ballasts limit the power of the lamp arc, running a 1200 Watt lamp with a 1500 Watt ballast may be a good way to see a MH lamp explode.
Or if it not the right ballast type, then the lamp may not start at all. The electronic ballasts can be more versatile, in that they can sense what the lamp is doing and adjust the average voltage, peak voltage, and half-cycle duration to start and run MH lamps closer to spec. If the lamp spec sheet says you have to use an electronic ballast, then you have to.
Ah. Much thanks. I did notice the bulb voltage I believe is 100vac, not 110, not 120, not 115. So I shall investigate farther.
The stage/studio light world seems to use them, perhaps I can find the proper ballast from that world.
Club lights tend to use MSR-1200 and such.
The stage/studio light world seems to use them, perhaps I can find the proper ballast from that world.
Club lights tend to use MSR-1200 and such.
100 VAC
I don't think there are any MH lamps that actually run directly off 120 VAC power mains.
The ballast is connected to the power main (be it 120, 240, 277, or 440 volts). It creates the voltage the lamp needs to run correctly. This is why you can use the very same MH lamp in the US (120 VAC) and most of the rest of the world (240 VAC): You just use a different ballast or a different input tap on a multi-voltage ballast.
I don't think there are any MH lamps that actually run directly off 120 VAC power mains.
The ballast is connected to the power main (be it 120, 240, 277, or 440 volts). It creates the voltage the lamp needs to run correctly. This is why you can use the very same MH lamp in the US (120 VAC) and most of the rest of the world (240 VAC): You just use a different ballast or a different input tap on a multi-voltage ballast.
Right...
That is why I wasn't sure if the magnetic ballast from a warehouse type metal halide fixture would drive the smaller short arcs. I was just thinking it should be initial firing pulse, then power to keep the arc. But evidentially there is more to it than that.
I emailed warner power to get a quote on this:
http://www.warnerpower.com/pdf/HMIMSR1200_1.pdf
It looks physically small. How much can it possibly cost...
My biggest worry is the LCD will turn black.
With a cold mirror to dump the IR, and alot of air movement across the LCD... think it will still absorb too much heat?
That is why I wasn't sure if the magnetic ballast from a warehouse type metal halide fixture would drive the smaller short arcs. I was just thinking it should be initial firing pulse, then power to keep the arc. But evidentially there is more to it than that.
I emailed warner power to get a quote on this:
http://www.warnerpower.com/pdf/HMIMSR1200_1.pdf
It looks physically small. How much can it possibly cost...
My biggest worry is the LCD will turn black.
With a cold mirror to dump the IR, and alot of air movement across the LCD... think it will still absorb too much heat?
excess heat
The cold mirror specs I have read usually claim they pass over 90% of the IR. With a 1200 Watt lamp, I guess it gets pretty important just how much over 90% is passed! Even if it was just 90%, it would be like running your LCD with an unfiltered 120 Watt lamp. Plenty of DIY projectors have been built with 150 Watt lamps and minimal heat control.
I think if you control the hot air well, you won't need additional filtering to remove heat. Just make sure you get a lot of air flow over the lamp surface, and that all of that air gets dumped outside the projector.
If you build it, and then find that it does overheat the LCD, you could add a sheet of Rosco Thermasheid film just before your condensor fresnel. Or maybe a piece of diyProjectorCompany's IR filter glass. Neither one would change the optics distances.
And I bet that Warner electronic ballast is incredibly expensive!
The cold mirror specs I have read usually claim they pass over 90% of the IR. With a 1200 Watt lamp, I guess it gets pretty important just how much over 90% is passed! Even if it was just 90%, it would be like running your LCD with an unfiltered 120 Watt lamp. Plenty of DIY projectors have been built with 150 Watt lamps and minimal heat control.
I think if you control the hot air well, you won't need additional filtering to remove heat. Just make sure you get a lot of air flow over the lamp surface, and that all of that air gets dumped outside the projector.
If you build it, and then find that it does overheat the LCD, you could add a sheet of Rosco Thermasheid film just before your condensor fresnel. Or maybe a piece of diyProjectorCompany's IR filter glass. Neither one would change the optics distances.
And I bet that Warner electronic ballast is incredibly expensive!
The heat doesn't just disappear when it hits the mirror, some gets absorbed by the mirror, the rest hits your box.
A 1200w heater in a box is going to require some cooling, regardless of if there are heat-sensitive things inside, just to prevent being a fire hazard.
And I recommend trying for a hot mirror instead of a cold mirror, much easier to fit the beam needed for a short FL fresnel.
A 1200w heater in a box is going to require some cooling, regardless of if there are heat-sensitive things inside, just to prevent being a fire hazard.
And I recommend trying for a hot mirror instead of a cold mirror, much easier to fit the beam needed for a short FL fresnel.
hot versus cold mirrors
Hot mirrors are easy to add as a retrofit, since you just stick one right across the light beam and the IR gets reflected back. But if you look at where exactly that IR goes, it ends up scattered all over the light engine compartment. That's just the consequence of the angles of incidence.
Or you can use a 45 degree hot mirror placement to direct the IR to one specific target, like an air-cooled heat sink. That would make it a lot easier to get that heat outside the box. But if you can fit a 45 degree hot mirror, then you could fit a 45 degree angle cold mirror instead. Then the IR passes through the mirror to that heat sink I mentioned, and the visible light gets reflected toward the fresnels. Picking one over the other may be decided by the desired projector size or the expense of available dichroic mirrors.
Any of these can redirect over 90% of the IR before it gets to the fresnels. Then it is just a matter of how hard it will be to keep the light engine area of the projector cool. And I agree with Squalish: 1200 Watts is enough to heat Your room in the winter!
Hot mirrors are easy to add as a retrofit, since you just stick one right across the light beam and the IR gets reflected back. But if you look at where exactly that IR goes, it ends up scattered all over the light engine compartment. That's just the consequence of the angles of incidence.
Or you can use a 45 degree hot mirror placement to direct the IR to one specific target, like an air-cooled heat sink. That would make it a lot easier to get that heat outside the box. But if you can fit a 45 degree hot mirror, then you could fit a 45 degree angle cold mirror instead. Then the IR passes through the mirror to that heat sink I mentioned, and the visible light gets reflected toward the fresnels. Picking one over the other may be decided by the desired projector size or the expense of available dichroic mirrors.
Any of these can redirect over 90% of the IR before it gets to the fresnels. Then it is just a matter of how hard it will be to keep the light engine area of the projector cool. And I agree with Squalish: 1200 Watts is enough to heat Your room in the winter!
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