Worth rebuilding?

JTknives

JTknives

Joined
Jun 11, 2006
Messages
8,651
I was able to snag this rather good size metal halide high bay light befor it was tossed in the scrap bin. The light stopped working and was replaced with an led. I cracked it open once I got it home and quickly discovered the issue. The inside wiring and transformer where fried. It was the lighting we use in the main boiler house on the 3rd floor where it's VERY hot. The wire sheathing would just crumble when I touched it.

After seeing this issue I just about pitched it out the door but Then thought "I wonder what a transformer costs for this". I found one from 1000bulbs for like $33 bucks. Thy also have bulbs for around $10-$12.

If you have been fallowing my shop build you know I'm going all LED so this light was what I was trying to get away from. I wanted light efficiency but then it dawned on me that I had come across a lot of talk about how harsh light is at knife shows especially blade. I am currently working towards a gole of advancing upwards in the ranks of the ABS. Lots of reading has revealed how the light at blade can make tiny flaws pop.

So is it worth the effort to rebuild the guts and mount this in the shop to use as a "master" light over the finish bench. Would just use it when inspecting blades as I finish them? Thanks guys for any advice.

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There's a lot of people out there that like lamps with that industrial look.
If you rebuild it so it takes normal bulbs (led?) and normal power there will be people paying good money for that lamp.
Sell the lamp and buy new shop lamps
 
hard to say. you might buy the transformer then discover those silver can capacitors are bad. buying the replacement parts/shipping and the time invested fixing it might be in the range of diminishing returns. what is the wattage of the bulb ? home depot sells 150w halides for $99.
 
these lamps are being phased out by LEDs because they are very inefficient. you can feel the heat directly underneath them even though they were 10 feet above. We ran them 24/7 after finding out turning them on and off reduced bulb and ballast life by 50%.
 
If your ceiling is not very high, you probably need a min 14-16' even more is better, they will not spread very far. They will be more like a spot, also as said, they are not very efficient and they are hot. If you can afford led's they are the smart way to go.
Hope that helps.
 
I would put it up above the trusses so the bell would be at least 10ft off the shop floor. It's a 400 watt light, well at least It has a 400 watt bulb in it right now. You know at first I thought metal halide was super inefficient compared to LED. I did the math and was a little suprized. A 400w MH fixture actually pulls around 458W but puts out 40,000 lumens. That's 40,000/458=87lumans per watt. Led is more efficient at 100-112 lumens per watt. 40,000/112=357watts. So this MH would us 100Watts more power then and equal strength LED. So not to bad considering the cost of LED. Cost me about $1000 just for the led shop lighting. Oh and the new ballest comes with replacement capacitors as well.
 
Maybe just stick it above the belt grinder lol. Flip it on and the nabors will think I'm getting abducted.
 
To sum it up in three letters. LED.
A high bay light fixture is generally expected to be 25 foot above the lighting area.
You can rebuild for about $33 for a replacement ballast complete with "transformer" and capacitor. A new bulb for about $13. Sadly based on experience from being a commercial electrician you can expect it to last about 6 months. It will get dimmer every day from the day you repair it. It will put out a incredible amount of heat and from the first time you turn it on, or if it looses power you can expect it to come back to full light in about 15 minutes. DID I MENTION LED?
Now they make conversion kits so it can be converted to LED! BUT simply buying a new fixture is usually cheaper. Did I mention you said HIGH bay? It would be like installing a bright spot light at the height I think you will be installing in your new knife building shop. ONE last time did I mention I recommend LED lights for your shop? lol
 
To sum it up in three letters. LED.
A high bay light fixture is generally expected to be 25 foot above the lighting area.
You can rebuild for about $33 for a replacement ballast complete with "transformer" ballast and a "steel metal canister" capacitor. A new bulb for about $13. Sadly based on experience from being a commercial electrician you can expect it to last about 6 months. It will get dimmer every day from the day you repair it. It will put out a incredible amount of heat and from the first time you turn it on, or if it looses power you can expect it to come back to full light in about 15 minutes. DID I MENTION LED?
Now they make conversion kits so it can be converted to LED! BUT simply buying a new fixture is usually cheaper. Did I mention you said HIGH bay? It would be like installing a bright spot light at the height I think you will be installing in your new knife building shop. ONE last time did I mention I recommend LED lights for your shop?
 
LOL, thank you. The shop lighting is LED, 12 8ft fixtures for a total of 48 4ft bulbs@2200 lumens each. I just did not know if this was worth messing with, hate to see things tossed.
 
I would put it over a grinder, and install a 15 watt LED flood lamp in it. Just gut the old stuff out and put in a socket. It will have a steam-punk look, and provide good light while grinding.
 
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