PFO metal halide ballast died

[megn25]

i have a pfo fixture with 2 250 watt metal halides in it, well sunday a ballast decided to burn up, i called all of the electrical supply houses in northwest ohio and they said that the advance 71a5880, which is the ballast number, is a discontinued ballast with no replacement. i know its an m(80) ballast now but wasnt sure if it can be replaced with maybe an m(138) ballast? please help on this topic!! oh btw its 2 hqi bulbs not mogule base bulbs. Thanks!

 

[acrylic51]

Did you check Custom Aquatics? They might have something to help you out....Honestly why not just replace it with IceCap ballasts?

 

[megn25]

was looking for a ballast that would fit into my ballast case but i guess an icecap will probably be my route i take if no one can help with this, i just know ive done this before with my mogule base lamps.

 

[acrylic51]

They carry bare bone parts and might have what you need... I'd check the Internet alittle more and get what youu need.

 

[scsinet]

Here's the short answer... you're SOL.
 
Your research and what you are told is exactly correct. Advance was the ONLY manufacturer to produce the M80 (250w HQI Magnetic) ballast in the US, and they discontinued it. Unfortunately, that is the type of ballast that one manufacturer used extensively, PFO.
 
What really sucks about this is that these ballasts produced FAR more light output - especially from Radium lamps - than standard magnetics. They outperformed even their electronic counterparts from Icecap, CoralVUE, etc. When I built my last lighting system, I searched high and low for these ballasts. In short, they don't exist anymore. When they were discontinued, folks bought them up like crazy and those that were willing to sell their stockpiles knew what they had and charged and arm and a leg for them.
 
Your choices are to use an electronic ballast as Acrylic said, or to use a magnetic. If your fixture uses DE lamps, electronic ballasts that can drive HQI such as Icecap are the way to go. If your lamps are single-ended, you can replace your ballast with a pulse start, 250w magnetic ballast, ANSI code M138.
 
The M138 should fit into your enclosure.
 
In either case, you may notice decreased light output with the replaced ballast. There isn't much you can do about that, other than to replace every ballast so they all match. I wish I had a better answer for you, but I doubt you'll ever find those ballasts, and if you do, I wish you'd tell me where.
 
 
... by the way, are you sure it's not just the capacitor that died? They are the most common component to fail, and are easily replaced.

 

[acrylic51]

That's kinda what I was or should have asked...has the failed part actually been determined?

 

[megn25]

how do i determine that? i was just assuming it was the ballast?

 

[acrylic51]

SCSInet or Jchase70 would be the experts here to chime in!!!

 

[2quills]

Do you have a multi meter with the ability to check capacitance?

 

[megn25]

i do not but i can get one, how do i do it?

 

[2quills]

I'm probably not the best person to tell you how to trouble shoot your particular lighting set up. My experience is mostly with checking run start capacitors for regulating current for electric motors. But the ones for your lights I do believe work in the very same way. What they do is let constant and controled amount of electrical current pass through them. The way I check a capacitor is to set my meter to test for capacitance, then I take the two Leads (one is black and one is red) and hold the black one to the common side of the capacitor and the red one to the other side (making sure that I disconnect the capacitor first to check it). A capacitor should say somewhere on it or have a number to tell you it's rating. The number will probably have the letters UF after the number. Once you connect the leads to the capacitor it should take a couple of seconds and tell you the numerical value of UF or possibly MF. For instance...if you have a capacitor rated and 10-UF and your meter is reading less than 7-UF then your capacitor is on it's way out. If you have a 10-UF and your meter reads around 5-UF or less then you can be sure it's bad.
 
Perhaps someone else can chime in and explain how to trouble shoot your lights a little better. I'd check voltage coming in from the outlet, then check the capacitor...if that's not it then I check power coming out of the ballast. If that's not it then I'd look at the starter...if there is one.
 
I should probably mention that the cheapest meters that I've ever looked into that have the ability to check for capacitance were all over $100+.

 

[scsinet]

First of all, I should have asked that you have swapped lamps around to ensure that the lamp is not your problem, correct?
 
Assuming you have...
 
The way described to check a capacitor is the 100% best way to do it. However, you should be aware of a caveat. Halide capacitors are usually oval aluminum or cylindrical plastic. The aluminum halide capacitors usually have a resistor mounted across their contacts that can significantly alter the reading, so you need to be sure you bend back the little "clip" on the terminal that is holding the resistor in place and disconnect one side of the resistor before measuring.
 
There are another two ways of accomplishing this.
 
The first method is really easy... if you have more than one ballast, just gank the capacitor from one of the working ballasts and substitute it into the circuit. If the "bad" ballast now works, you have a bad cap on your hands. If not, try doing the same with the ignitor module. If the ignitor proves bad, you might be able to find a replacement easy enough.
 
The second method is one that I do not recommend folks that are not comfortable and familiar working with electricity to do, so only undertake this if you have no other option and are 100% comfortable working with electricity. In halides, the capacitors do not provide current regulation, they perform a task called power factor correction. If the lamp refuses to ignite at all, you can determine if the cap is at fault by bypassing it and powering up the system. If the cap is cylindrical plastic, simply take the wire nuts off the connections and connect the two leads leading to the capacitor together with a wire nut. If it's a oval cap, you should be able to pull one of the terminals loose with a needle nose and stick it onto the other terminal, effectively bridging the capacitor. Plug in the lighting system and turn it on, but ONLY for a few seconds, just long enough to see if the lamp ignites. If it does, shut off power IMMEDIATELY and, replace your capacitor. I must stress not to leave the lighting system running for more than a few secons like this, as the ballast and the systems internal wiring will overheat quickly when run like this.

 

[megn25]

well i looked at it one more time tonight, and said lets take the switch out of play, well by golly that what it was but thanks for your guys help!!!

 

[scsinet]

Glad you got it fixed.
 
You've got some very rare and much-desired ballasts there. If you ever want to sell your system, make sure you sell it someone who knows what the M80 ballasts are because you'll get more money.

 

[megn25]

thanks so much! i found an electrical supply house in toledo oh that has them in stock, its called gross electric if anyone needs them, theyre pricey tho