Metal Halide v LED High bay lights

[fizzy]

Finally getting around to replacing some of my warehouse lights.

Bought 4 of these

Collingwood Springbok LED High Bay Light Black 200W 29,000lm - Screwfix

Order online at Screwfix.com. Robust, dimmable, high bay light with 3 different mounting options: pot hook, chain or rigid pole (installation dependent). Can be used indoors and outdoors and built for the toughest of environments. High efficacy of 145lm/W and a low lifetime running cost. Made...

www.screwfix.com

I have to be honest I am very impressed. They aren't as bright as a decent working 400W metal halide lamp but not far off. I would say you need a quality 300W unit to be a true equivalent.
Having said that they are much easier to install and instant on is a huge bonus.
Sadly I doubt very much if they will last as long as the metal halides - some of the bulbs must be 20 years old and the fittings about 50 years
The fittings are dying now though and can't find any replacements.
Finally I have some decent light in my warehouse - makes a world of difference.

200W LED on the left and new bulb metal halide 400W on the right.

 

[Lewis_RX8]

Have the same problem with my bathroom lights old fluorescent tube been there for millennia but can't buy a replacement anymore so won't have any choice once this one packs in but LED I imagine.

 

[frank horton]

.,
can u get anything for bad knee's.......hahaha......

 

[Blobber]

If you want to keep the metal halides can you not repair the existing fittings there isnt much to go wrong?

 

[fizzy]

If you want to keep the metal halides can you not repair the existing fittings there isnt much to go wrong?

I was wondering about that.
3 big caps and a very hefty transformer. I suspect the caps dry out? They are 50 years old. Built to last.

 

[Blobber]

On fitting of that age I would only expect to see the ballast (transformer) a capacitor across the ballast supply and a 3 wire ignitor that looks like a capacitor, we used to find the most common problem was the ignitor failing or the lampholder burning out, they also run mega hot so a lot of the connections used to fail

 

[fizzy]

On fitting of that age I would only expect to see the ballast (transformer) a capacitor across the ballast supply and a 3 wire ignitor that looks like a capacitor, we used to find the most common problem was the ignitor failing or the lampholder burning out, they also run mega hot so a lot of the connections used to fail

I replaced 3 bulbs that were dim with brand new ones. All worked very well. Then the following day one of them had stopped working. Changed the bulb still doesn't work so replaced it with an LED. Why would it work fine for a day then suddenly fail. The dim bulb had worked in there for years.

 

[Blobber]

Probably the ignitor, you do find the centre terminal of the lampholder loses its springiness due to the heat and sometimes the new lamps dont have a big enough blob on the end to make contact so its always worth pulling the centre terminal of the lamholder out to be sure it makes contact, when you screw the new bulb in unscrew it again to see if it has a witness mark on the end

 

[fizzy]

Probably the ignitor, you do find the centre terminal of the lampholder loses its springiness due to the heat and sometimes the new lamps dont have a big enough blob on the end to make contact so its always worth pulling the centre terminal of the lamholder out to be sure it makes contact, when you screw the new bulb in unscrew it again to see if it has a witness mark on the end

But the bulb worked fine for the first day - was on for about 4 hours.

 

[minimutly]

Metal halide - bane of my life when I worked in the Dairy. On one minute, off the next. And they were all high up needing a mewp or something.
Let us know how long those leds last @fizzy ? I have a theory 3 years will be it....

 

[reb78]

I have some relatively cheap 100W V-Tacs in the sheds. I think quality has increased since I bought them but the originals did 2-3 years before they started to fail. A quarter of the panel at a time strangely. At £25 a pop thats not too bad I guess. Light output is excellent. I always go the other way to above in terms of colour though. 6000k is like moonlight to me and its like viewing the world in black and white. 3000k or lower is a much nicer light.

(I've said it before but if I could light the world with paraffin lamps that would be perfect for my eye!!)

 

[fizzy]

I have some relatively cheap 100W V-Tacs in the sheds. I think quality has increased since I bought them but the originals did 2-3 years before they started to fail. A quarter of the panel at a time strangely. At £25 a pop thats not too bad I guess. Light output is excellent. I always go the other way to above in terms of colour though. 6000k is like moonlight to me and its like viewing the world in black and white. 3000k or lower is a much nicer light.

(I've said it before but if I could light the world with paraffin lamps that would be perfect for my eye!!)

The ones I bought are 4000k. I hate the ultra white ones.

 

[fizzy]

Metal halide - bane of my life when I worked in the Dairy. On one minute, off the next. And they were all high up needing a mewp or something.
Let us know how long those leds last @fizzy ? I have a theory 3 years will be it....

I reckon the same. They have a 5 year guarantee we shall see.
The energy saving are at best 100W per unit. Factor in the shorter lifespan and the hassle of changing them every 3 to 5 years and I don't think the maths adds up.

 

[ukracer]

If you want to keep the metal halides can you not repair the existing fittings there isnt much to go wrong?

Do they not use more electric than LEDs though?

 

[fizzy]

Do they not use more electric than LEDs though?

Not much difference. 400w Metal Halide v 300W LED I would say.
That is a saving of around £35 a year based on 30 hours a week run time. They cost £130 so break even in around 4 years not allowing for fitting costs etc.

 

[500e]

We have had ours over 5 years now all still OK at least 10 hours a day.
Have you put a meter on both @fizzy our lecky bill would suggest a bigger saving

 

[fizzy]

We have had ours over 5 years now all still OK at least 10 hours a day.
Have you put a meter on both @fizzy our lecky bill would suggest a bigger saving

IF they last that long then yes it will be a saving.
The metal halide bulbs are 400w. Of course it is possible the fittings draw more current as they get older but comparing a 50 year old unit v a brand new one isn't very fair.
Not put a meter on one but don't have any new metal halide fittings to check.

 

[Blobber]

But the bulb worked fine for the first day - was on for about 4 hours.

They can be frustrating but they are simple things there isnt much to go wrong, get it on the bench and work through it, you can test the output of the ballast with a voltmeter, as long as you are getting an output it can then only be the ignitor, lampholder or a duff new lamp and check all the connections for heat damage, ive had a few duff lamps in the past so its not uncommon

 

[fizzy]

They can be frustrating but they are simple things there isnt much to go wrong, get it on the bench and work through it, you can test the output of the ballast with a voltmeter, as long as you are getting an output it can then only be the ignitor, lampholder or a duff new lamp and check all the connections for heat damage, ive had a few duff lamps in the past so its not uncommon

I gave up on it in the end. Stuck an LED one up there. My lathe is seeing the benefit. Almost directly above it. Hung it a bit lower than the others. Makes a lot of difference. No forklift to whack it there.
I reckon our buildings only have a few years left. Prime development land. God help me moving my stuff. Will have to buy a HIAB.

 

[fizzy]

Like daylight now.