GE Lighing NEMA Head C61G005B
175w MV (10-71)

Fixture's Information.

My first free HID light fixture. I got this from a very nice guy at an utility place. He shall remain nameless here to protect his privacy. The fixture was made in Octover 1971. Next month it will be 37 years old. It takes 175w Mercury Vapor lamps.

It have a 240V ballast and I don't have a readily available 240V receptacle. The only place I can get that is at the dryer and the range receptacle. I am not allowed to wire a 240V receptacle in my room or anywhere else in the house. My instructor at the local college have a transformer that can either step up 120V to 240V or 480V depending how the jumper wires are set on the terminals. I will ask him if I could have it. It's a 2000w transformer. Sounds like a lot but it just step-up or down the voltage. The VA (Volt-Amps) is for the load. The 2000VA on the transformer is the highest it can handle before overheating.

Fixture's Size.

That's me holding it. It weight about 9.2 pounds. It measures about 18" tall, 14" deep, and 12" wide.

ID Tags.

Here are the tags that came with the fixture. The top one was on the housing. The lighter one was on the terminal block on the ballast. They are made of aluminium foil. I replaced them back where they belongs with a double sided tape.

Lamp Included.

The lamp included is a Sylvania. The lamp is crooked cuz the ballast assembly is loose in the housing because I took it apart for cleaning. I set it in there for this shot before I had to pull it out for another pic later in the page. I fixed it.

The reflector/refractor is made by Lexa-Lite. Its acrylic which got a few cracks around it but still holding itself together. Gotta figure out how to glue it up.

Slip-fitter.

Here is the slip-fitter for installing on an arm up to 2.25" Diameter pipe. It's missing a part called U-Bolt which I will get one at a auto parts since they use them for the exhaust pipes in your car.

Lamp Holder.

Lamp holder was made by Pass & Seymour. It was dirty with black soot (from a truck or bus' exhaust) that didn't come off with normal washing after taking it apart leaving the ceramic part (yes it can be taken apart with screws). What I used left the lamp holder shiny, white, and smelling minty. Yes I used toothpaste and a finger nail brush (bigger and faster) to scrub it.  The soot come off. See the pic in "Ballast in place with new wires" for the pic after cleaning it up.

Ballast Area.

Here is the ballast area. See the thing where the three wires are going into? That's the photocell receptacle. The two bolts on the sides of the receptacle is what holds the ballast in place.

What's that hole on the right side of the fitter? That's the chain hole. It had a chain which was attached to the reflector/refractor. It dangles from the chain while you replaced the ballast or wired power to the ballast.

Ballast & Bracket.

It a 240V ballast so it's really simple. One single winding around the core and two connection. It's connects in series with the lamp.

I can't use it since I need 240V from a receptacle for it or the step-up transformer.

Ballast With New Wires.

Here you see the ballast in its housing where it's ready to regulate the current going into the lamp. Can't do that yet since I need 240V in order to power it up.

I replaced all the wires and added one new wire to the fixture. The old wires has hardened after years of use. The new wires should give this thing a couple decades of duty. The new wire I added is the grounding wire (the green one) which the fixture never had before.

Photo Cell.

Here is the Photo Cell that came with the light. It's not original, the original one was replaced at some point in it's 35~37 years of duty. It's DTL DE124-1.5-1810 AR7074 (11/24/07) from China.

Specification.

Brand: GE Lighting
Model: C61G005B
Lamp used: 175w Mercury Vapor
Weight: 9.2 Pounds
Country of Origin: USA
Voltage: 240V
Date Assembled: October 1971
Size: 18" Tall, 12" Wide, and 14" Deep.