Cheap lighting alert!

[skylsdale]

Hey guys, Home Depot finally opened its doors in my area! Man, I missed that place...

Anyway, I was checking out the lighting section today for various nano applications, and sitting on the shelf was an outdoor MH fixture...NOT mercury vapor. It was similar looking to the Regent fixtures, but it weighed an absolute TON...I assume because the ballast must be inside the canopy, etc. Anyway, the type of the box was going on and on about how MH lighting was the wave of the future and that it outcompeted MV and all that. It contained a 175W bulb...although I didn't open the box to see if it had the kelvin rating. I asked an employee if they carried spare bulbs for it, and he said they should in the bulb section...but I never found any, so I can't give you a price or much info on the bulbs. However, to buy the entire unit was $84.95. It would be insanely heavy to mount over a tank, but I think the ballast could easily be gutted out and the bulb retro'd or maybe even left in the fixture. I don't remember the brand, but the box was blue with white font.

Just thought I would pass it on for those interested in trying.

 

[UnderGrad]

If you're looking for cheap MH setups and don't care about saving electricity with a more expensive electronic ballast... check this place out. http://www.aquaticlight.com
I ordered from this guy about 15 months ago... so I don't know if the prices are still the same. But everything worked great for me. However, it might be slightly cheaper to buy from Home Depot because of the shipping charges. HTH.

Arlan

 

[skylsdale]

OK, just got back from HD with more details on the fixture. It is put out by a company called "The Designers Edge" and the model #L-1810. The company is out of Bellevue, WA...so this might be a regional thing. You can see the fixture in this link...scroll down the page and it's on the bottom right: http://www.designersedge.com/HID_security1.html It is labeled "heavy duty floodlight."

Anyway, the HD sku is 674-820. It's in a white and purple box. It uses Phillips MH bulbs, which the store also had in stock (175W-400W). I couldn't find a kelvin rating, but the best I could tell from Phillips website is that they are 4000K. Bulb prices ranged from $28-33...and these were actual halide bulbs, NOT high pressure sodium or mercury vapor (those were actually on either side of the halides).

I contacted Designers Edge about the specific ballast being housed in the unit, as I couldn't find out unless I took the thing apart. I should hear back from them within 24 hours. The bulb socket said "starting pulse rating 4KV" so I don't know if that says anything about the ballast being used..

 

[Anonymous]

The L-1810 looks like a 175W MH setup.. - Any idea if HD offers the L-1764? - That appears to be a 400W MH...

 

[skylsdale]

I think you will need to check your own local store...or possibly the website. As I said, this company is out of Washington state, so it may be that HD's within the area get products from them.

The L-1810 was the only fixure I could see...and it still didn't have it's own place on the shelf (just placed in an empty row of some other fixture).