Author Topic: Lo-Volt Mercury Vapor Lamp Help  (Read 281 times)
Multisubject
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Lo-Volt Mercury Vapor Lamp Help « on: October 05, 2026, 08:06:20 PM » Author: Multisubject
A few people here have the rare Lo-Volt mercury vapor lamp and fixture. The following things are more-or-less known about these lamps:
• They run on a choke ballast on 120V input and are incompatible with other MV lamps
• They have a probe, but that's still not enough to strike on 120 so they use an ignitor as well
• They may or may not use an HPS ballast+ignitor, which may or may not be S54, S55, or others

The following things are not definitively known, or conflicting answers exist on LG:
• 140W seems to be the most agreed upon wattage but 100W, 125W, and 175W have also been mentioned
• The lamp voltage may or may not be 55V (my guess is it's a little higher, but nobody has measured)
• Lamp current seems unknown, I have heard 2.1A mentioned which implies S54 but this is unconfirmed

If anyone has or can acquire any measured data, even if it's just the readings from a Kill A Watt that would be immensely helpful. RMS voltage and current ratings would also be greatly appreciated. Thanks!
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Re: Lo-Volt Mercury Vapor Lamp Help « Reply #1 on: October 05, 2026, 09:37:43 PM » Author: Lcubed3
I have one of these in permanent service. When we put it up, we put in a 150W HPS lamp, which has lasted for about 3 years now. The model I have is the LC175M.
You can see more about it here.
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Re: Lo-Volt Mercury Vapor Lamp Help « Reply #2 on: October 07, 2026, 01:33:15 AM » Author: icefoglights
I've been thinking about these a bit lately, and I have some theories...
- The ANSI code is H-140
- The bulb wattage is probably around 125w
- The total system wattage is around 140w

I should dig mine up and play around with my Kill-a-Watt and Fluke 115.
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Re: Lo-Volt Mercury Vapor Lamp Help « Reply #3 on: October 07, 2026, 08:00:32 AM » Author: Multisubject
@icefoglights
They have an ANSI code?? News to me! That's be great if you could take some measurements
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Re: Lo-Volt Mercury Vapor Lamp Help « Reply #4 on: Today at 03:28:00 PM » Author: Lcubed3
Total system wattage is more around 250 w, according to the rated amperage.
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Re: Lo-Volt Mercury Vapor Lamp Help « Reply #5 on: Today at 04:26:23 PM » Author: Multisubject
@Lcubed3
Assuming you mean 2.1A*120V, then yeah that's be around 250VA. This is useful information I will see what I can do with it.

Assuming the discharge power factor is .85-.9 which seems to be a reasonable estimate, we can calculate likely wattages. Assuming an arbitrary minimum voltage of 50V and a maximum of 70V (~60% of 120), we get a range of 50*2.1*.85=89W to 70*2.1*.9=132W, with an average of 110W, which pretty solidly excludes 175W as a possibility. Now 100W and 125W are most likely, though I wouldn't rule out 140W as a possibility.
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