Quote Originally Posted by jakeyman
My question is more about the ballast, if that is what I have here..

When I bought my house I found a lot of left over crap (some of it was really crap) and a lot of really useful stuff.. One thing that stands out is this busted old pole light.. The bulb there, which I would guess is a HPS, says 1000 on the metal part in a spot, and since that is the only number on it, and its big as hell, I would image this would be a great bulb to use for a 5dx6wx7t' room..

The other part of the find, the socket/ballast?

Check out the second pic.. Is the silver part a ballast? It feels like solid lead.. that lamp must weight at least 25 lbs.


I connected a grounded replacement plug to the wires.. plugged it in, and that bulb is nothing short of blinding... But can I use it?!?

Thanks again guys and gals..
Hell yes you can use it... and if the lamp works, then yes, the silver part is a ballast. It needs one to work.

If the light has an orange-ish hue, its High Pressure Sodium, if its more white or bluish its a metal halide.

Just be careful about the heat, with the ballast attached like that...thick steel construction... no venting on the reflector...1000 watts... that thing is bound to be HOT. Probably going to need about 2 feet or more of distance at all times with that.

good luck using it!