motor starter for use as a lighting contactor/relay

[craff]

We have a client who installed a AB fusible switch motor starter/contactor, complete package with heater, overloads and adjustable trip. However, the tenant installed this to power and protect (8) 1000watt metal halide on a roof. Voltage is 480V3PH. There's no apparent tripping but the 480V photocell that open/closes the contactor is the second unit we have replaced in less than a year. coil voltage is also 480V. seems like this setup is more trouble than it's worth. I do have photos but havent figured out how to upload them.

 

[petersonra]

We have a client who installed a AB fusible switch motor starter/contactor, complete package with heater, overloads and adjustable trip. However, the tenant installed this to power and protect (8) 1000watt metal halide on a roof. Voltage is 480V3PH. There's no apparent tripping but the 480V photocell that open/closes the contactor is the second unit we have replaced in less than a year. coil voltage is also 480V. seems like this setup is more trouble than it's worth. I do have photos but havent figured out how to upload them.

I don't see how this arrangment could harm the photoeye. I'd be inclined to just use the contactor and take the overloads/heaters out of the circuit.

 

[hillbilly1]

A company that I used to work for had a buyer that bought motor starters instead of lighting contactors. By the time I arrived at the job site, they had been already installed and wired. They were controlling 100 amp panels, even though they were sized for a motor with a FLA of 100 amps, and the overloads were sized for that motor, they burned out quickly. And we ended up replacing them with the proper lighting contactors.

 

[poeboy]

Lighting contactors got their name because they like to do a specific job. A motor starter is nearly identical, but the demands of a motor are much higher than lighting. I'm saying it might not be an ideal install, but it should not harm the lights, starter, or anything provided the wiring is fused properly at the source.

I also can not see a reason to be going through photo cells so quickly, unless someone is pointing them at the sun itself, or if the control circuit is improperly wired. Maybe you just got 2 not so good photo cells???? what is the rated load (Voltage AND current) for the photocells, and how much current is going through the coil in the starter??