wiring metal halide lights

Merry Christmas
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iwirehouses

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My friend has a bunch of 400 watt metal halide lights he wants to put up in his barn/shop. The problem is I don't know what they run on since the nameplate (sticker) is long gone and I don't have much experience with commercial. There is a green, a black and a yellow coming from the light. I figured this meant 120/277, but i have no idea. I'd like to hook them up to 120. What does the black and yellow signify?
 
Tear it apart and see what it says on the ballast. Most of these things use multi-tap ballasts, but there's no way to know for sure without digging into the ballast compartment.
 
I agree with Marc, pop them open and look.

It could be a multi tap or a single tap, either way the voltage could be 120, 208, 240, 277 or 480 even 600.
 
I would bet if the paper on the outside of the light is gone then the marking on the inside is as well..

What type of metal halide lights are they..are they high bays, low bays or are they wall packs or ceiling mounted..and yet getting ballast kits are like buying fluorescent ballasts, they are a dime a dozen but a significant higher costs..

If they are real old lights your buddy could be spending allot of extra cash for no benefit..bulbs are expensive and repair costs are high..Infact repair costs are so close to new I throw them out and install new..once the asbestos Shields deteriorate the new ballast will only last half the time..
 
You'll still need to insall some fluorescent or incandescents, because MHs take 2-5 minutes to really start producing light.

And don't be in the barn/shop if the power flickers off for a couple seconds.... you'll be in the dark for 10 minutes or more.....
 
Some of them have a little quartz light in them so you're not totally in the dark.
I agree with all that has been said ... but they do make nice light . good color rendition.
 
I do a lot of maintenance on MH fixtures in a couple of plants. Like others have said, open one up and check the ballast tap wires. I have never seen a working MH fixture that you couldn't read the writing on the tap wires. I just changed 6 400W MH lamps/ballasts Saturday. Ballast kits ran me $62.00 and lamps were $12.55(Philips). The quartz re-strike does give you some light while the MH cools off enough to strike but over-all MH isn't a good light source unless you are going to turn them on and leave them on. I built a new electrical shop for myself this winter. 30' x 50' w/12' sidewalls. I used a 70W compact fluorescent high bay fixture 15' AFF. 2 rows of 4 gives me 65 foot candles and only pull 4 amps for all 8. Plus they don't produce the heat of a MH. The fixture w/lamp cost less than a MH ballast kit.
 
amp them are better prices than I get..but i buy the new ballast assembly for 94 dollars and swap out the lenses..labor costs are cheaper and life expectancy is better..But I need to check with my supplier I believe he can do better on price..
 
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