SOX (and pretty much any Low Pressure Sodium lamps) are rather different from most discharge lamps..! There are dedicated ballasts for them, but I wouldn't recommend running them on a fluorescent ballast. I think you're in the US, am I right..? In which case one of the Fulham Workhorse ballasts might work, I've seen a few people here use them. Bear in mind that with any discharge lamp, the lamp current is key. 26W SOX-E lamps are designed for a current of 0.37A at 59V (on a dedicated SOX-E ballast, which are quite rare) but they will run successfully on normal 35W SOX gear at 0.6A (also 59V).

Don't confuse the designations of the E26 lampholder and the 26W SOX-E lamp though, it really should be quoted as 26W SOX-E rather than S26, but there we go. The lampholder is a standard B22d bayonet cap, most common here in the UK. If you can't find one, let me know, I have a few spares and could send you one for the price of the shipping.

Anyway, welcome to the site and also the wonderful world of LPS lighting, which in my (admittedly biased) opinion, is the best lighting in the world 

I'm guilty of doing that to your name, but now I know the correct way to pronounce it.

Does anybody here have a preference of which country they like to collect their lighting equipment from even if it includes your native country?

For me, even though I live in the USA, Japan is my favorite country to collect lighting equipment from because that country has a wide range of unique lamps and fixtures that cannot be found anywhere else in the world such as the wide range of mercury vapor retrofit lamps that include high pressure sodium, deluxe high pressure sodium, quartz metal halide, colored quartz metal halide, and ceramic metal halide lamps available in a wide range of wattage ratings.

Hi all,
I am new to this site and excited about it! I recently purchased three 26W Low Pressure Sodium Vapor Lamps. I'm a theater designer and am interested in using two of them in a show I have coming up in a few weeks. I am very new to the world of SOX lamps and am having trouble finding the correct Ballast for them. I was hoping to get an electronic ballast because they seem easier to find/cheaper and I don’t need an ignitor but am unsure which one to get. I know it needs to be at least 26Ws but can it be more than that? The system I’m running it on is 3 phase power, 120v, most bulbs we run on this system are 750w so I’m not really worried about getting power to it. Mostly just how to get it to actually work. I’m attaching a link to the bulbs below.

https://www.ebay.com/itm/186339138191

Also if someone knows what kind of base is required, It says it’s E26 but I’m not familiar with the bipin setup, do I need worry about the voltage since it is a different base then a typical E26?


Sorry for the long list of question
I appreciate any and all help!

Today I found two 36w tubes on the side of the road, and I decided that they will be my lab rats for homemade grooved tubes. I don't think it is possible to bend the tubes at an angle but I will try it soon.
(I will use my dead tubes fIrst then these working ones)

Too bad I don't live in the UK. I've been working for this dealership for 5 years with three 1,000 watt MH floodlights that I am trying hard to keep lit, sometimes out of my own pocket. In the process trying to prevent the GM from noticing any of those lights out and therefore telling the maintenance guy to replace them with LED.

Meant to post about it yesterday but forgot... installed my final two Metal Halide wallpacks in my garage, making it eight wallpacks total.
Recorded video of them firing up yesterday as well but debating on uploading that video since the cords protruding everywhere near the garage
door opener makes it look a bit messy... still gotta tidy everything up.

Same. Mag reg ballasts fascinate me, but HX ballasts are the best for reliability.

It depends if the lamp is designed with vacuum vs gas (and then exactly which gas) filled outer.
With vacuum (lower power, ceramic,...), it quite makes sense to use there...

My name gets butchered all of the time and I live in the States!

It's pronounced 'Max-eem' whilst most people see the 'i' and immediately assume it pronounces as 'um', so in essence I am always called 'Max-um' instead of the "proper" way. I guess this is in part due to the natural spelling / pronunciation of Maxim in the Russian language being 'Максим', the second-to-last letter being an 'e'. Anyways....