Goodlighting2000
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| I’m not talking about old GE M250’s, M400’s, or older Westinghouse fixtures. I’m talking about newer GE fixtures, newer AEL models (such as the 113, 115, 125), and Cooper Lighting fixtures (OVZ, OVX, etc).
How rare is it to find these fixtures in mercury vapor?
I know finding newer MV NEMA heads and yardblasters isn’t too uncommon, but what about finding newer MV cobra heads???
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LightsoftheWest
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| It seems like the eastern side of the US held onto their MV luminaires a bit longer than the western side. Places like Texas, Florida, Alabama, the Carolinas, Tennessee, etc. seemed to prefer MV or couldn't afford to make the switch to HPS until the very end.
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LG's North American luminaire identification specialist
**If anyone wants to learn more about any company or product you've never heard of before, do please leave a comment saying so on one of my gallery pictures or by PM, and I'd be happy to give a thorough explanation.**
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Goodlighting2000
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| What do you think is the rarest cobra to find in MV?
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Molly
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| I have photographed a Crouse-Hinds OVS in 400W MV, the rarest MV fixture I've found.
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LightsoftheWest
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What do you think is the rarest cobra to find in MV?
Probably either a modern Cooper (OVD, OVY, OVH) or an AEL PowerPad (315, 325). The AEL DuraStar was rare enough on its own, but finding one in mercury would probably be futile. |
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« Last Edit: August 21, 2026, 04:33:30 PM by LightsoftheWest »
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LG's North American luminaire identification specialist
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Lightingeye60
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| Mercury vapor 113’s and mercury vapor OVZ’s seem to be common in certain cities. Some cities seemed to not like HPS.
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Emersyn
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| In a neighborhood near me, there is an FCO AEL 113 175w MV, in some areas near me there were very big installations of drop lens 400w AEL 125s mostly gone now, and in an area far from me, there is an MV FCO AEL 125 among a lot of HPS ones.
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joseph_125
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| I'd say pretty rare in my area, HPS was pretty much standard for new installs after the mid-late 70s with full conversion to HPS occurring around the early 90s. You'd be even hard pressed to find a MV luminaire with a factory NEMA tag.
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fluorescent lover 40
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| In my area, the only places aside from private property you'd find newer MV cobras with NEMA tags were series installations. Pretty much all of the MVs on public streets here were replaced or converted in the 80s, with the exception of a few cities, missouts here and there, and the large amounts of series installations we had. Starting in the mid to late 2000s up to now, a large portion of the remaining series circuits in various cities and the rest on the freeways were removed. As far as I know, I'm not aware of any of any series MV cobras with tags that still exist.
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Maxim
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| My town is still about 40% MV... I know of a local municipality with surplus/overstock that I may try to acquire once they begin the transition to LED...
I found two (albeit 240V) AEL 113s in NOS condition about an hour's drive from home not too long ago.
And there was a Cooper OVS I found in NOS condition, but unfortunately I was in Europe by the time I came across the listing, and now I can't quite seem to find it.
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Sometimes it just takes a little bit of time and a concerted effort to learn something new. Don't give up before you get where you want to go.
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Goodlighting2000
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| My town doesn't have much MV’s but has many HPS’s. There are plenty of Mercury vapor nema lamps but not cobras, shoeboxes, post tops, or anything like that.
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Goodlighting2000
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My town is still about 40% MV... I know of a local municipality with surplus/overstock that I may try to acquire once they begin the transition to LED...
I found two (albeit 240V) AEL 113s in NOS condition about an hour's drive from home not too long ago.
And there was a Cooper OVS I found in NOS condition, but unfortunately I was in Europe by the time I came across the listing, and now I can't quite seem to find it.
Philadelphia has a lot of mercury fixtures still?  Whar fixtures do you most commonly find in MV in your town? What post tops, cobras, NEMAs, floods, etc do you most commonly find in MV? |
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« Last Edit: August 26, 2026, 02:17:19 PM by Goodlighting2000 »
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