hi folks, i have a fixture thats rated for a 175 watt metal halide
bulb, but i am wondering if i may place a metal halide bulb of less
wattage in it, it seems that that would be ok, as long as i didnot go
in the other direction, say installing a higher wattage bulb. it uses
a mogul base, and i have seen 70 watt and 100 and 150 watt bulbs, i
wonder if they will not harm the ballast or themselves,

thanks
jack

Absolutely not!

The ballast is designed to deliver a voltage and current for that wattage of
bulb. You can damage the bulb and/or the ballast.
John

"john private smith" wrote in message
om...
hi folks, i have a fixture thats rated for a 175 watt metal halide
bulb, but i am wondering if i may place a metal halide bulb of less
wattage in it, it seems that that would be ok, as long as i didnot go
in the other direction, say installing a higher wattage bulb. it uses
a mogul base, and i have seen 70 watt and 100 and 150 watt bulbs, i
wonder if they will not harm the ballast or themselves,

thanks
jack

On 15 Nov 2003 16:47:13 -0800, (john
private smith) wrote:

hi folks, i have a fixture thats rated for a 175 watt metal halide
bulb, but i am wondering if i may place a metal halide bulb of less
wattage in it, it seems that that would be ok, as long as i didnot go
in the other direction, say installing a higher wattage bulb. it uses
a mogul base, and i have seen 70 watt and 100 and 150 watt bulbs, i
wonder if they will not harm the ballast or themselves,

DO NOT use a lower rated metal halide lamp with your 175 watt metal
halide ballast. The ballast will try to push the rated current for a
175 watt MH lamp through the lower rated lamp and, in most cases, will
overheat the lamp and cause it to explode!

--
Vic Roberts
http://www.RobertsResearchInc.com

On Sun, 16 Nov 2003 03:44:09 GMT, Victor Roberts
wrote:

On 15 Nov 2003 16:47:13 -0800, (john
private smith) wrote:

hi folks, i have a fixture thats rated for a 175 watt metal halide
bulb, but i am wondering if i may place a metal halide bulb of less
wattage in it, it seems that that would be ok, as long as i didnot go
in the other direction, say installing a higher wattage bulb. it uses
a mogul base, and i have seen 70 watt and 100 and 150 watt bulbs, i
wonder if they will not harm the ballast or themselves,

DO NOT use a lower rated metal halide lamp with your 175 watt metal
halide ballast. The ballast will try to push the rated current for a
175 watt MH lamp through the lower rated lamp and, in most cases, will
overheat the lamp and cause it to explode!

Here is some data on the rated current and voltage of a few MH lamps.

Lamp Rated Current Nominal Voltage
175-watt MH 1.5 Amps 132 Volts
100-watt MH 1.1 Amps 100 Volts
70-watt MH 0.9 Amps 85 Volts

Pushing 1.5 Amps through a 100-watt or 70-watt MH lamp will cause
serious overheating.

--
Vic Roberts
http://www.RobertsResearchInc.com

Come on people... can you say troll?

Gotcha!!!

"Victor Roberts" wrote in message
...
On Sun, 16 Nov 2003 03:44:09 GMT, Victor Roberts
wrote:

On 15 Nov 2003 16:47:13 -0800, (john
private smith) wrote:

hi folks, i have a fixture thats rated for a 175 watt metal halide
bulb, but i am wondering if i may place a metal halide bulb of less
wattage in it, it seems that that would be ok, as long as i didnot go
in the other direction, say installing a higher wattage bulb. it uses
a mogul base, and i have seen 70 watt and 100 and 150 watt bulbs, i
wonder if they will not harm the ballast or themselves,

DO NOT use a lower rated metal halide lamp with your 175 watt metal
halide ballast. The ballast will try to push the rated current for a
175 watt MH lamp through the lower rated lamp and, in most cases, will
overheat the lamp and cause it to explode!

Here is some data on the rated current and voltage of a few MH lamps.

Lamp Rated Current Nominal Voltage
175-watt MH 1.5 Amps 132 Volts
100-watt MH 1.1 Amps 100 Volts
70-watt MH 0.9 Amps 85 Volts

Pushing 1.5 Amps through a 100-watt or 70-watt MH lamp will cause
serious overheating.

--
Vic Roberts
http://www.RobertsResearchInc.com

WOW GUYS THANKS FOR THE EDUCATION!
i can tell its a bad idea, and i understand why.
thanks for all your help, i will be replacing the bulb with the same!

BTW (by the way) what is "TROLL"?

thanks
jack

BTW (by the way) what is "TROLL"?

thanks
jack

A troll is someone who comes in to a messageboard or newsgroup with the sole
intention of causing trouble. Some trolls make a racist comment and then sit
back and watch a massive row break out amongst the regular members of the
group