Ballast disconnects

[iwire]

Material only, 84 cents a pop, and yes we actually install well over 60,000 ballasts in our lighting division. We are a nationwide company that self performs most of our work.

I am missing something, it is still just .85 cents or so per ballast, tell your PM to stop being such a cheap bastard. Many areas are on the 2011 NEC, ask the PM how much it would cost to go back and put them in after the fact if forced to?

 

[norcal]

What am I missing here?

$60K worth of disconnects? HUH? What sort of disconnect are you using?

The code requirement can be met using a little plastic gizmo, that costs about $0.85. http://www.aikencolon.com/ideal-30-382j-powerplug-luminaire-lighting-ballast-disconnect# . That's quite a bit less than the cost of a single light bulb.

Or, for that matter, the cost of the ballast.

Let me put it in perspective .... I'm at a massive industrial complex today, and I think they have, perhaps, 5000 fixtures in the entire complex. I find it hard to believe anything smaller than the Pentagon, or Chicago's Merchandise Mart, would have 30,000- 60,000 fixtures.

If you have that many fixtures, $60K is pocket change.

OTOH, if you've been hard-wiring $18 HVAC disconnects to every fixture, you've misunderstood the requirement.

If your paying $18 for a A/C disco, your paying too much. LOL! I was annoyed w/ ballast disconnects when they 1st came out, I like em now.

 

[kwired]

I am missing something, it is still just .85 cents or so per ballast, tell your PM to stop being such a cheap bastard. Many areas are on the 2011 NEC, ask the PM how much it would cost to go back and put them in after the fact if forced to?

And if they save a couple lives someday because somebody wouldn't shut the circuit off when servicing luminaires it was well worth it.

I believe the main reason for those being introduced in the NEC is because people are occasionally being electrocuted when servicing luminaires, even though 70E doesn't really allow to work on them live.

 

[readydave8]

I would think that some of the 60k will be recouped on future ballast changeouts, should make ballast changes quicker or safer or both. So its an investment.

 

[hillbilly1]

I would think that some of the 60k will be recouped on future ballast changeouts, should make ballast changes quicker or safer or both. So its an investment.

Yeah, but profit is a right now thing, and lighting is a very tight market, especially if your competition is using "undocumented" workers. The newer contracts have it in it, but until the old ones expire, we're stuck with it. Changes in the code can make a profitable job not so profitable.

 

[hillbilly1]

I am missing something, it is still just .85 cents or so per ballast, tell your PM to stop being such a cheap bastard. Many areas are on the 2011 NEC, ask the PM how much it would cost to go back and put them in after the fact if forced to?

At the volume we install, the savings is not chump change, the boss could buy 1/2 of a new Mercedes with the savings alone.:lol: Since ballast changes in most areas are normal maintenance, they are not required to be permitted or inspected, so enforcement would be rather hard to do, but right now we are installing them, don't know about the competition or the mom and pop shops.

 

[renosteinke]

Going off on a tangent about pricing ...

I note that I estimated the Ideal connectors within a penny of what the OP now says he's paying.

As for the $18 HVAC disco ... I was also including the cost of the additional connectors, etc., necessary to add one to the line. Or, for that matter, the cost of adding a simple metal box, cover, and switch. I was also being generous; I can't speak for others, but I exclusively use the Square D QO200TR disconnect, and I replace the switch within with a properly sized breaker; that's not the cheapest way to do it, but I really like the results.

 

[kwired]

Going off on a tangent about pricing ...

I note that I estimated the Ideal connectors within a penny of what the OP now says he's paying.

As for the $18 HVAC disco ... I was also including the cost of the additional connectors, etc., necessary to add one to the line. Or, for that matter, the cost of adding a simple metal box, cover, and switch. I was also being generous; I can't speak for others, but I exclusively use the Square D QO200TR disconnect, and I replace the switch within with a properly sized breaker; that's not the cheapest way to do it, but I really like the results.

Why? If you have properly sized breaker back at the panel all you need at the unit is a switch.