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Lamps => Modern => Topic started by: CFLMan9000 on April 18, 2025, 08:36:09 AM

Title: i want to buy a small hid fixtures for indoor use, any suggestions?
Post by: CFLMan9000 on April 18, 2025, 08:36:09 AM
So i was thinking on making a hid fixture :wndr: (like the ballast, lamp socket on a piece of wood) preferably i think i should buy a mh lamp, but what wattage should it be? I dont need that much light and weird bulky ballasts
Title: Re: i want to buy a small hid fixtures for indoor use, any suggestions?
Post by: CFLMan9000 on April 18, 2025, 09:11:48 AM
I think i could buy a self ballasted one, but its more hard to find here on physical stores
Title: Re: i want to buy a small hid fixtures for indoor use, any suggestions?
Post by: NeXe Lights on April 18, 2025, 10:14:01 AM
I suggest you get a low wattage MH bulb with a warm CCT. One like this Philips bulb https://www.lightbulbs.com/product/philips-418798 It's not super bright but you would want to use it in larger room. Here is a ballast for it https://www.ebay.com/itm/226359066231 this bulb will last a long time but you NEED to be careful, MH bulbs have a tendency to explode towards the end of their lifespan, if the arc tube is not protected, which it isnt for this bulb, there is a pretty good chance the glass envelope shatters, which will send incredibly hot metal halides all over the place. I would highly suggest, for the reason of safety that you get some sort of clear glass enclosure to go over the bulb to prevent the risk of burns from a explosion, and I'd also recommend putting a metal piece on the side of wood where the bulb is located, to prevent a fire from starting if molten metal halide salts spray onto the wood from an explosion.

Also welcome to LG!
Title: Re: i want to buy a small hid fixtures for indoor use, any suggestions?
Post by: CFLMan9000 on April 18, 2025, 10:19:07 AM
Nice!, but i prefer more of these screw in e27 MH bulbs, i think i should get a 70w mh one, but its ballast may be rare here that isnt these bulky metal outdoor ballasts
Title: Re: i want to buy a small hid fixtures for indoor use, any suggestions?
Post by: NeXe Lights on April 18, 2025, 10:34:33 AM
Do you live in the US or Europe? I guess I should have asked that initially.
Title: Re: i want to buy a small hid fixtures for indoor use, any suggestions?
Post by: CFLMan9000 on April 18, 2025, 10:41:46 AM
Latin america. I once seen one of these mh lamps you described, but here its better a regular mh in terms of support and replacement without online stores
Title: Re: i want to buy a small hid fixtures for indoor use, any suggestions?
Post by: dor123 on April 18, 2025, 11:21:16 AM
I've a tracklight for 70W double ended R7s MH lamps with a Philips electronic ballast, that I bought long time ago at Machsanei Teura lighting shop.
You can try to find one in the web. Lival and Baro, are good manufacturers of tracklights.
Title: Re: i want to buy a small hid fixtures for indoor use, any suggestions?
Post by: Multisubject on April 18, 2025, 12:39:35 PM
If you just want a bare HID bulb, I would recommend getting a coated MV lamp. Having a clear MH bulb (I would think) would hurt your eyes to look at. However, MV ballasts are also almost unobtainable. So, I would get a coated MV lamp with the appropriate wattage substitute MH ballast. Maybe a 100w MV lamp powered by a 70w MH ballast. MV lamps also don't explode as much as MH lamps. If you are interested in this, let me know and I can describe it in further detail. All readily accessible components. Hope this helps!
 :mvc:
Title: Re: i want to buy a small hid fixtures for indoor use, any suggestions?
Post by: CFLMan9000 on April 18, 2025, 12:43:21 PM
Wait, clear MV lamps emit UVC? I thought they only produced if their glass was made for that, ive seen clear MV greenish lights yet they didnt burn my eyes
Title: Re: i want to buy a small hid fixtures for indoor use, any suggestions?
Post by: NeXe Lights on April 18, 2025, 12:45:05 PM
Don't worry. Clear MV will not emit UVC unless the glass is designed to do that or the glass breaks.
Title: Re: i want to buy a small hid fixtures for indoor use, any suggestions?
Post by: Multisubject on April 18, 2025, 01:52:03 PM
Wait, clear MV lamps emit UVC? I thought they only produced if their glass was made for that, ive seen clear MV greenish lights yet they didnt burn my eyes
They don't emit UVC, it is just the arc tube is super-super bright and unpleasant to look at, even at just a glance. It wouldn't be a  great indoor light source unless it is diffused in some way, just so it creates less harsh shadows and is easier on the eyes.
Title: Re: i want to buy a small hid fixtures for indoor use, any suggestions?
Post by: dor123 on April 18, 2025, 10:22:22 PM
If you just want a bare HID bulb, I would recommend getting a coated MV lamp. Having a clear MH bulb (I would think) would hurt your eyes to look at. However, MV ballasts are also almost unobtainable. So, I would get a coated MV lamp with the appropriate wattage substitute MH ballast. Maybe a 100w MV lamp powered by a 70w MH ballast. MV lamps also don't explode as much as MH lamps. If you are interested in this, let me know and I can describe it in further detail. All readily accessible components. Hope this helps!
 :mvc:
MV ballasts are very easy to find outside the US, as they can also run some pulse-start MH lamps with an additional superimposed ignitor like Philips HPI-T, Osram HQI-BT 400W/D, etc...
Title: Re: i want to buy a small hid fixtures for indoor use, any suggestions?
Post by: RRK on April 19, 2025, 04:24:54 AM
So i was thinking on making a hid fixture :wndr: (like the ballast, lamp socket on a piece of wood) preferably i think i should buy a mh lamp, but what wattage should it be? I dont need that much light and weird bulky ballasts

Small MH lamps in 35 and 70W are home friendly. Small electronic ballasts for them are too. Surplus shop track light can do useful purpose at home. For E26/E27 runned unattended better choose protected kinds. Uncoated protected lamps also show cool looking glasswork inside.

Mercury lamps in 50 and 80W are small and cute, though 125W ones are not too intimidating. Personally I like a soothing pinkish color of fresh coated deluxe mercury lamps, though some prefer uncoated ones for weird color and interestingly looking internals.

Small European specification 100V HPS lamps in 70W are cross-compatible to 70W MH electronic ballasts.

Some like to run small LPS lamps at home.

However from my experience larger HID lamps in 250W+ espectially exotic ones like colored metal halides are *much* more interesting visually to handle and run, because of larger burners and longer arcs! 
Title: Re: i want to buy a small hid fixtures for indoor use, any suggestions?
Post by: Laurens on April 19, 2025, 08:37:36 AM
Coincidentally one of the local thrift shops here has just gotten a whole bunch of 70w chinese MH track lights for 5 euro a pop. Didn't buy any. The lamps themselves are chinese no name, date stamped 2009.

If i get any MH i'm going for 35w. 70w is just too bright for me - i have some Philips CDO already and it's B R I G H T for living room use.
Title: Re: i want to buy a small hid fixtures for indoor use, any suggestions?
Post by: RRK on April 20, 2025, 01:55:57 AM
@Laurens - For small MH floodlights, point them to the ceiling with no direct view. That way, you will get nice low-glare lighting, 70W and even 150W is OK. The best room light ever I had was with 150W Philips 830 color CMH on electronic ballast in a downlighter can pointing up.


Title: Re: i want to buy a small hid fixtures for indoor use, any suggestions?
Post by: RRK on April 21, 2025, 04:57:47 AM
They don't emit UVC, it is just the arc tube is super-super bright and unpleasant to look at, even at just a glance. It wouldn't be a  great indoor light source unless it is diffused in some way, just so it creates less harsh shadows and is easier on the eyes.

Actually, some very old RX7s/G12/FC2 MH lamps in clear *tubular quartz* do emit some hard UV. The way to tell is to shine some blacklight on the lamp envelope. If it fluoresces bright blue, it is doped, and is UV-block/UV safe.

Lamps with E26-E27 bases are all UV safe anyway.
Title: Re: i want to buy a small hid fixtures for indoor use, any suggestions?
Post by: dor123 on April 21, 2025, 05:21:46 AM
FC2 is for 250-400W double ended MH and HPS lamps.
And I've five 70W R7s MH lamps, two in 10000K, one in 7500K and two 14000K. They glowing bright cyan at 365nm UV, but produces lots of UVA based on the fact that they heats me and causing me to sweat if I uses them during the summer.
Title: Re: i want to buy a small hid fixtures for indoor use, any suggestions?
Post by: RRK on April 21, 2025, 06:33:30 AM
Sure every person is different, but feeling hot or sweaty is usually not a measure of UVA exposure. Energy densities are not even near to feel direct thermal effect. UVA causes many phosphors to fluoresce, but so does violet and blue light, and the effect hard to tell from UVA.

Title: Re: i want to buy a small hid fixtures for indoor use, any suggestions?
Post by: RRK on April 21, 2025, 06:40:08 AM
Also, UVA light is relatively harmless, and it is UVB and UVC which is considered health risks. Especially the light around 260-270nm which is the most mutagenic. It is sure UVC band, and fortunately these wavelengths are not emitted much by most HID lamps even not UV-blocked.

Title: Re: i want to buy a small hid fixtures for indoor use, any suggestions?
Post by: dor123 on April 21, 2025, 06:47:54 AM
When I pointing my 365nm LED flashlight to sensitive areas in my skin, I feeling heat. Also: When I use my 160W SBMV lamps in my room at my father home, during the summer, I feels hot and sweat, because of the 365nm mercury line.
Title: Re: i want to buy a small hid fixtures for indoor use, any suggestions?
Post by: RRK on April 21, 2025, 06:56:13 AM
OK, flashlight focuses a lot of energy, may be in a range of 0.5-1W to a rather small area around 1cm^2, so it is obvious to feel some thermal effect. SBMV sure emits LOTS of infrared ofcourse, it is natural to feel strong heat around! And pretty sure not because of 365nm line ;) strange you don't get it...
Title: Re: i want to buy a small hid fixtures for indoor use, any suggestions?
Post by: dor123 on April 21, 2025, 07:45:11 AM
I don't feeling this heat with my 395nm LED flashlight, and not even with my Maglite 2D LED.
Title: Re: i want to buy a small hid fixtures for indoor use, any suggestions?
Post by: WorldwideHIDCollectorUSA on April 21, 2025, 11:09:12 PM
Latin america. I once seen one of these mh lamps you described, but here its better a regular mh in terms of support and replacement without online stores

Which specific Latin American country are you from? As far as I understand, some Latin American countries seem to use North American specification lighting equipment and others seem to use European specification lighting equipment possibly because some Latin American countries use the 110-127V 60Hz electrical standard, 220-240V 60Hz electrical standard, and others use the 220-240V 50Hz electrical standard. Additionally, depending on the country you are from, MercadoLibre might be a good place to look for HID lamps and ballasts, but in other Latin American countries, HID lamps and ballasts seem to be almost impossible to find in MercadoLibre.
Title: Re: i want to buy a small hid fixtures for indoor use, any suggestions?
Post by: WorldwideHIDCollectorUSA on April 21, 2025, 11:11:22 PM
If you just want a bare HID bulb, I would recommend getting a coated MV lamp. Having a clear MH bulb (I would think) would hurt your eyes to look at. However, MV ballasts are also almost unobtainable. So, I would get a coated MV lamp with the appropriate wattage substitute MH ballast. Maybe a 100w MV lamp powered by a 70w MH ballast. MV lamps also don't explode as much as MH lamps. If you are interested in this, let me know and I can describe it in further detail. All readily accessible components. Hope this helps!
 :mvc:

However, as I understand in some countries, mercury vapor ballasts are sometimes easier to find there such as in Japan and some European countries. Additionally, I have also seen a good number of mercury vapor ballasts still being readily available in some Latin American countries too.