Metal Halide Arc bulbs for home? Crazy?

[Ignoramus4324]

Thanks Dean.

So, you would say that to have MH lighting, I need a

- Ballast/relay system.

- A proper fixture (different from rregular fixtures)

- The bulbs themselves

Is that correct?

i

[Ignoramus4324]

Thanks, that's great. I am looking to buy them at about $4 apiece, NOS. I will check out prices of fixtures and other items. Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated!

i

[CJT]

No, the worst case is they will break your door down in the middle of the night, guns drawn. Welcome to Bush's America.

[Michael Shaffer]

Might want to ask in sci.engr.lighting

Here's a picture of my 1500 MH yard light. It turns night into day.

[dean]

$4 each? Good luck with that!

Cheapest bet would be a cheap fuxture from HD, you can butcher the thing if you have to, or just use it as it is.

[Ignoramus4324]

Hm, a "fuxture" sounds like some sexy bedroom toy. :)

Seriously, thank you very much, I am going to read up on that. I suppose that these fixtures provide adequate fire protection.

i scratcing his fuxture

[dean]

Michael - nice! I have the same bulb, but on a fixture I made. It does indeed turn night into day!

Moths love it though. Thing gets covered in fried insects after a few days!

[Michael Shaffer]

Yea, before I got the fixture the bulb was getting coated in moth guts. It did light up the trees a lot better though.

[dean]

That one has a glass plate then? I can't see it (its too clean!)

[Michael Shaffer]

Yup, I think it's plastic, not sure though.

[zxcvbob]

I have a very similar lamp that I've experimented with in my basement. I don't recall the exact lamp number.

The 3000k coated lamps are much more pleasant light to look at than similar 4200k lamps with the clear envelope, and they don't fade the furniture as much. But my fixture has trouble starting this lamp -- the old wornout clear lamp still starts just fine.

Bob

[Ignoramus4324]

The "furniture" in my garage would not display any sign of fading, due to heavy coat of dust. :)

Now, do you actually like the light produced by your MH lighting system? Is it pleasant? Do you also use a 400W bulb and, if so, how large is your area? How tall is the ceiling etc

i

[spamTHISbrp]

Ig, I agree 100%, just thought you'd like to know *why* the other poster was suggesting you'd get a knock on the door (or why someone might be taking out the hinges with a few well-placed shotgun blasts...)

Dave

[Ignoramus4324]

Yes, I definitely appreciate your thought. It is helpful.

I also learned that these lights are used for fishtanks.

I would love to have a flood of something similar to sunlight in my garage. That would be most excellent, if it can be done safely and economically.

i

[Joseph Meehan]

Ignoramus4324 wrote: ..

I would suggest fluorescent lights, the 8 foot jobs (maybe one of them that use two pair or four foot lamps) get the high efficiency ones and make sure they are rated for cold temperatures (unless you live in a very warm area.)

[Joseph Meehan]

I would just laugh if they showed up at my home and invite them in. I figure if they are there the bad guys are going to be somewhere else. Besides I think most of the already know me from seeing me running. I live in a small town.

[Joseph Meehan]

CJT wrote: ...

Sad, but there is some truth to that.

[Ignoramus4324]

Thanks. That's also a possibility.

I already installed four 4' 2 bulb fixtures (total of 8 fluorescent bulbs) and the result leaves some room for improvement. It is just not bright enough.

I suppose I could install, say, 2 more 8 foot fixtures for the total of four 8 ft bulbs. There are some high efficiency ones, the last time I checked, HD was out of them.

i

[Michael Daly]

Glass _can_ be a UV filter if it's coated with the appropriate material. Some plastics are UV absorbant but even they need special treatment to make them highly UV absorbant. Polycarbonate, for example, will block UV, but if you want PC that is rated for eye protection against UV, you look for UV400 polycarbonate.

How are you going to get this single bulb to distribute the light evenly in a garage?

Mike

[Ignoramus4324]

My first thought was to direct the light at the ceiling. (which is white drywall).

i