This was the lamp in my latest find, the 1990 50W HPS 113. The light hadn't worked in like two years so I figured the ignitor was shot. Thankfully the fixture works just fine but look at the arc tube of this lamp! It literally blew up! It's a Philips Alto dated February 2006 (B6). The photocell is a 2012 navy blue Sun-Tech (this light was "red capped" and then turned back on).
That's actually sodium from the arctube. Essentially a leaked HPS lamp but instead of a small crack in the arctube seal the actual arc tube broke to bits!
At first I was afraid the ignitor shorted somehow and caused the arc tube to blow up but apparently the cause of death was internal since a close inspection of the ignitor and ballast coils proved nothing had overheated and all the wires were in good shape. So I had spliced the ends of the service wires running up the arm to the light and connected a cord to it and put in a new lamp and it lit right up! (not at first though since I had removed the photocell to keep the light from rolling on its side and forgot to put it back in before testing. So I was let down when nothing happened Then I remembered to lock in the PC and it came to life!)
LOL Yeah. First thing I did was remove all the vacant wasp nests (thankfully no active ones lol). I did that by using a screwdriver as a spear and "shish-kabobing" them all and then sliding them all off into the trash can without touching them lol. I used the screwdriver to get all the spider webs into a nice wad of cotton candy too (YUM!) and wiped them off into a paper towel. Then I had to squash probably a dozen or so live spiders with the screwdriver as well. I found a couple of big guys too that I shot with the Ortho spray bottle of bug killer. Makes the darn things curl up into a ball instantly! These spiders were quick too (weather hardened I guess lol) unlike a lot of wimpy house spiders. They guys looked like they could put up a fight if it wasn't 15 degrees out when I captured the light lol.
Anyway, after I removed the nests and tested the light I began breaking it down. Removing the reflector, slipfitter plate, terminal block, ballast, and PC socket. Killing spiders as I found them lol. Then I grabbed the bleach and paper towels and burned off the mold on the top housing (all the black spotty stuff that was on the housing) and let it sit on the light overnight. Then a couple days later I washed everything in the garage with a bucket of hot water from the kitchen sink. I got everything nice and clean but it still smelled so I hit it with the lysol and now everything's good! That's pretty much my typical process when I get a new light. Just in warmer weather it's all done outside rather than in the garage.
That's a lot of insects, heh, when I cleaned my lights, I opted for the blast everything with the pressure washer way lol. Although my lights were mostly full of stuff like dead bugs so I didn't need to break out the bug killer. I still have to clean the slimline strip I fished out the school dumpster. I already took out all the components so I just need to blast it with the hose when it gets warmer. Right now it's sitting in my garage waiting to be cleaned.
After the rough cleaning, I use the laundry tub and some hot water and soap to give the light a good clean. The refractors and reflectors get a separate cleaning with comet. BTW, did you get a chance yet to read my email?
I wish I owned a pressure/power washer! The best I have is "jet" mode with the hose nozzle and I only have that in the warmer months. This time of year it's just steel wool, a sponge, soapy water, and a whole lot of elbow grease lol.
Yeah a pressure washer, even the cheapest electric one you can find works wonders at cleaning all the stuff that accumulates in cobraheads over the years.
Aside from cleaning lights, it's also quite effective at blasting the moss that tends to grow on my patio pavers and deck.
We have some green stuff growing on the north side of our house that we need to pressure-wash off the vinyl siding lol. The side of the house doesn't get much sunlight at all except in the summer when the sun sets more northward and remains higher in the sky until it sets. In the winter I don't think that side of the house gets much direct sun at all.
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It withstood the explosion though.
Anyway, after I removed the nests and tested the light I began breaking it down. Removing the reflector, slipfitter plate, terminal block, ballast, and PC socket. Killing spiders as I found them lol. Then I grabbed the bleach and paper towels and burned off the mold on the top housing (all the black spotty stuff that was on the housing) and let it sit on the light overnight. Then a couple days later I washed everything in the garage with a bucket of hot water from the kitchen sink. I got everything nice and clean but it still smelled so I hit it with the lysol and now everything's good!
After the rough cleaning, I use the laundry tub and some hot water and soap to give the light a good clean. The refractors and reflectors get a separate cleaning with comet. BTW, did you get a chance yet to read my email?
Aside from cleaning lights, it's also quite effective at blasting the moss that tends to grow on my patio pavers and deck.