Metal Halide Low Bay Lights

[Short Circuit]

Hi Guys
Today i went to look at a job with a view to giving a price for a PIR. It is a farly large factory with some office areas and a factory area. In the factory there are quite a few - around 50, low bay lights - similar to this. For some reason none had the galss covers fitted. I have always been under the impression that the Metal Halide fitting have to have the glass in. The premises has previously been used by a delivery company who were constantly using fork lifts and the land lord suspected that they took them out in case they were caught by the fork lift! Although this is a possible scenario, and given that the lights are around 8 - 9 mtrs high - i suspect that to be unlikely! Of course firstly i need to verify that they are in fact metal halide, but in the mean time i have 2 questions

Does any know if its right that the metal halide lights have to have the glass cover over, and where the legislation for that is so i can show the client, and secondly if they are, can the lamps simply be changed for something else like sodium ones? rather than the expense of changing all the lights.

Thanks in advance

Short Circuit

 

[mattmoo1974]

Id guess they removed the glass because it gets dirty very quickly and couldnt be arsed cleaning them so they removed them.
But as i say a guess, Sodium is more of a orange light as well Mate so id leave as is.

 

[philipb]

Hi there,Some off the early metal halide fittings did not have glass covers,but the newer ones
do,you can still buy the lamps but as said a different lamp will be yellow and not as bright.I
have seen the lamps explode and red hot glass rains down.be carefull if you change the lamps, there are cheeper ones about but they dont last as long.

 

[Short Circuit]

Yeah, thanks guys, they are a white light which made me think they were the metal halide ones as opposed to the sodium. Didnt realise the older ones didnt have covers - maybe's they can just be left like that??

 

[nickblake]

As has been mentioned early fitting didnt tend to have the glass cover now they do you can get a metal halide lamp very much like the son type light these dont tend to shatter but still do , one thing with the fittings is see if they have a slot for the glass if so you could suggest they get glass fitted could be expensive mind

 

[telectrix]

could get glass cut at the local glass suppliers. it's only 4mm window glass. all depends on whther the fittings have the slot for it.

 

[Electro-tech]

AS ^^^^^. The Safety glass is around £7-00 each.

 

[aptsys]

it's only 4mm window glass.

Tempered glass must be used for fittings that require glass in front of the lamp.

 

[telectrix]

of course. wasn't thinking straight this am.

 

[Knobhead]

Metal Halides are a nightmare, tempered glass in front every time.

 

[Short Circuit]

thanks guys. Looks like i need to book the cherry picker for a bit longer to make sure they are MH ones. Apparently you can get a sodium one that does a white light, fingers crossed they are those ones.
Not to easy to see if they do have a slot for the glass, but to be fair they do look exactly like all the other MH ones i have doen recently with the single screw at one end where the glass slides out!
7 quid each for the glass will be better than 60 to replace them!

thanks again