can anyone help ID this light ballast i ran across?

[Anonymous]

I ran across a ballast complete with a huge socket and a 2 foot dome reflector-no bulb for comercial/industrial indoor lighting.the specs on the ballast are;
250 watts
lamp type-M58
277volts
1.12 amps
h.p.f. 60 hertz
it also says its approved for damp or moist places.
it is a complete unit mounted on a large square flat pannel(ceiling).
is lamp type M58 metal halide?any other info?
thanks
surfinbill



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surfinbill

 

[Anonymous]

Hi,

M58 is an ANSI code for 250W Metal Halide bulbs. The 277volts? i think there are more than one voltage rating, it usually have 120, 277,.....

 

[Anonymous]

That sounds like a 250w MH ballast to me. W/ multitap ballasts, you can connect them to a variety of voltage, simply by removing one of the leads, say from the 277v tap, and connecting it to the 110v tap. Hence the name multitap.

HTH
James Wiseman

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Reefs.org Channel Operator

 

[Anonymous]

thanks
im no electrician,are you sure this thing is not mercury vapor? It's brand new and i will mostlikely trade it off to one of the LFS.
any idea what this is worth? its brand new-not hot!
the reflector dome is huge-2 feet with a polished finish.would be great in a comercial tank.


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surfinbill


[This message has been edited by surfinbill (edited 02 November 1999).]

 

[Anonymous]

M58 is the ansi ballast code for 250W metal halides.

S** is for sodium and H** for mercury vapour ballasts typically.

Lamp shapes are classified as BT**, ED**, ET**, etc.

So you are pretty safe that this fixture has a metal halide ballast. Don't mean to confuse the issue though many ballasts can be used for both MH or MV lamps.

Do make sure it has a multi-tap ballast as not all ballasts are. Some commercial buildings convert to a higher voltage to reduce wire size and increase certain efficiencies, etc...even though the supply line is 120v.