removing ballasts from lights

[His200HerScout]

I saw some 400w MH fixtures with bulbs for sale, dirt cheap. They're 277v only (no multi-tap). The owner has several of them in use in his barn, and the rest are for sale. He said that he didn't like how they operated when on 240 volts, so he just removed the ballasts and "wired them on 110 like normal lights." He said they've lit right up for the past 4 years, even when it's freezing cold.

I've never heard of such a thing. Is that even safe?

 

[Charles (in GA)]

http://www.lrc.rpi.edu/programs/nlpip/lightingAnswers/mwmhl/requireBallast.asp

Previous and next arrows at the bottom of each page will take you to other pages with good info on them.

Somehow, I think that if this were possible, to operate the bulbs efficiently and safely, without fire or health hazards, I think someone would have already figured this out and would have been marketing much cheaper light fixtures that don't have a ballast.

Charles

 

[rockwithjason]

he is full of it.

 

[His200HerScout]

Thanks, Charles. That was a good, informative read.

From the article... "This maximizes lamp life and ensures other performance characteristics such as color and light output."

I think that might explain why several of his lights were burnt out.

 

[lametec]

The ballast keeps the bulb from self destructing.

Once the bulb lights, there's a chain reaction of sorts. Since the bulb is now heating up, it makes it easier for it to keep the flow of electrons going. If left to itself, it'll keep repeating that cycle until it overheats and either just quits explodes. The ballast keeps this cycle under control.

Running the bulb at lower than designed for voltage without the ballast might keep it from self-destructing for a while, but I'd wager that the bulb will have a shortened life.