Any $ saving suggestions?

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frogneck77

Senior Member
Location
Shelton,CT
Hello all,
I just got (9) 1000w mh fixtures in the mail today and realized the ballasts only go to 277V.Unfortunatly the existing circuitry is 3 phase 480V w/ no neutral .I know it was a stupid mistake not to check before ordering but now Im trying to find any way to save money to fix the problem. These lights need to be installed on Tuesday and rewiring any part of the circuit is not an option. Anybody have any ideas to help other than buying 9 new ballasts at $120 each. Any help would be appreciated.
Bill
 
electricalperson

electricalperson

Senior Member
Location
massachusetts
can you go to the main breaker that feeds the 480 3 phase circuit and change one of the conductors to a grounded conductor? gray tape can be used to identify the circuit?

might be a violation if it falls under 200.6 thats the cheapest way without changing ballasts.

you would end up with a MWBC just make sure the 2 ungrounded conductors are not on the same phase


can you explain what you mean by existing circuitry? is the main service a 480v delta or the circuits feeding existing lights?
 
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frogneck77

Senior Member
Location
Shelton,CT
To make a long story short, rewiring the circuit(s) to make 1 leg a grounded conductor would entail rewiring @25 poles- most of which have #2 AL conductors bugged and taped in very tight handholes.
 
J

JWCELECTRIC

Senior Member
Location
Massachusetts
See what is involved to pull a neutral from source to 480v, 3 phase panel, or as Larry said return them for the correct ones and tell the owner they were backordered and for a small fee you can get them overnight if it is a rush job. Then you can make more money
 
C

charlietuna

Senior Member
I have never got a 1000 watt MH fixture "in the mail"--your postman must hate you? But if you had ordered them from a local supplier - you might swap out the ballasts for multi-tap 480-277-240 volt ballasts and let them send the original ballasts back to the manufacturer(if necessary). Since they came "in the mail" you are probably stuck with what you have-which means your about to buy 480 volt multi-tap ballast to swap out on your fixtures. Only good part is you might use these 277 volt ballasts in the future since they are so much more common than a 480 volt unit.
 
jrannis

jrannis

Senior Member
Location
Fort Lauderdale/ Miami
frogneck77 said:
Hello all,
I just got (9) 1000w mh fixtures in the mail today and realized the ballasts only go to 277V.Unfortunatly the existing circuitry is 3 phase 480V w/ no neutral .I know it was a stupid mistake not to check before ordering but now Im trying to find any way to save money to fix the problem. These lights need to be installed on Tuesday and rewiring any part of the circuit is not an option. Anybody have any ideas to help other than buying 9 new ballasts at $120 each. Any help would be appreciated.
Bill
Click to expand...

The right thing and really the only thing to do is to have the proper ballasts shipped. If you are looking here for permission to create a neutral off of a ground, I don't think you are going to get it.
Tell the person that you just plain screwed up and will need to have the ballasts changed. It happens all of the time. Sometimes by the hundreds sometimes by the thousands.
 
C

charlietuna

Senior Member
The post office is gonna love you!!:D The cost of re-shipping would far exceed the cost of the ballast(now your considering double shipping costs). You just change them out and your company will have to maintain the warentee period, if a ballast fails, bring it back to the supply house--your out the labor, thats all. Buying direct and not thru a local supply house saves a few bucks, but it's things like this that you need to consider before making the purchase. I have bought direct and saved money, but i always consider the headaches involved. It was on large purchases and when my supplier couldn't get good pricing, like retrofitting 200+ parking lot fixtures,etc.. I wouldn't say anything to the customer, because if he has a problem at all, he's gonna blame it on you ! This is just a little learning experience and be thankful it's only nine fixtures...
 
J

jm1470

Senior Member
I would check the fixture and make sure the 480 volt ballast are going to fit, Sometimes they are a little bit bigger then the 277 volt ones.
 
F

frogneck77

Senior Member
Location
Shelton,CT
Thanks to everyone for the advice-next time Ill get the fixtures from a local supplier and be more conscientious of the voltage. Anyone want to buy (9) 1000w mh 4 tap ballasts?
 
weressl

weressl

Esteemed Member
Location
Texas by the Gulf, geat crab, great shrimp
frogneck77 said:
Hello all,
I just got (9) 1000w mh fixtures in the mail today and realized the ballasts only go to 277V.Unfortunatly the existing circuitry is 3 phase 480V w/ no neutral .I know it was a stupid mistake not to check before ordering but now Im trying to find any way to save money to fix the problem. These lights need to be installed on Tuesday and rewiring any part of the circuit is not an option. Anybody have any ideas to help other than buying 9 new ballasts at $120 each. Any help would be appreciated.
Bill
Click to expand...

I would wye connect the ballasts in groups of 3 and fuse the leads individually. I would place a label and diagram into each fixture with the circuit identification and explanation that this fixture is part of a three-phase circuit.

R,D&H:grin:

I can just hear the masses groaning.....
 
don_resqcapt19

don_resqcapt19

Moderator
Staff member
Location
Illinois
Occupation
retired electrician
weressl said:
I would wye connect the ballasts in groups of 3 and fuse the leads individually. I would place a label and diagram into each fixture with the circuit identification and explanation that this fixture is part of a three-phase circuit.

R,D&H:grin:

I can just hear the masses groaning.....
Click to expand...
I think that your signature quote says everything that needs to be said about this idea.:D
 
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