no I wouldn't think so because we have a lot of Cooper Traditionares and most have Cooper ballasts and they rarely cycles...plus I am told by linemens that the 100 watt does NOT have cycling problems...just the 150 watt and above...even worse for 250 watt. It is the reflector. I have done research on this too a long ago. Also the problem is the same with other brands of fixtures that has a design that has a metallic close to the HPS lamps, like those HELCO posttops and teardrops with metallic shield close to the lamp and they are reflectors. And they use If i remember correctly Advanced or Universional ballast and still have cycling problems only for 150 watters. This problem doesn't exist for those WITHOUT the shields but SAME BALLAST AND SETUP! I will test the ballasts I have though....Have you even tested the ballast for overdriving or are you just assuming? Never assume without tests or facts. I have done a lot of research, interviews questions before we all agreed it was the reflector issue.

The new GE M-400/A has that cycling problem.

They aren't as bad as the OVX and OVZs though....yes I saw some cycle after 3 to 5 years of service.....but not as bad.....

Some here have cylced in as little as 1 year. The state's probably using crappy lamps

There's a OVX here that failed after around a month and another one that started cycling after 5 or so months.

I wonder.. If you have a lamp cycling in one of these fixtures.. Then you take the lamp out of it and put the exact SAME lamp in let's say a GE M-400 R3.. Would the lamp not cycle anymore since the different redistribution of heat?

Nope.....its the lamp that's kinda ruined....HOWEVER if the lamp was moved into another fixture that may have a little bit higher voltage just a bit higher...then it may stop cycling for a while.....until the lamp wears out some more....LOL

So if you kept raising the voltage that the arctube recieves, the lamp would never cylce? I wonder, with that knoledge, if technoledgy could be created to come up with an igniter that increases the voltage with useage.....

No it will just work a little longer....but if you kept raising it more eventally it will damage the arc tube.....or leak out....basically...it got overdriven too LOL.....plus its not the ignitor...the ignitor only STARTS the lamp....I'm talking about the operating voltage....for 150 watt its around 55 volts in American standard HPS lamp

Tearing your lights apart again Ian

No, I JUST took the reflector off! Plus the reflectors are designed to come off so you can adjust the socket.

Actually the sockets are adjustable without taking the reflector off, they aren't really designed to come off.

If you look at the warning section for Philips HPS lamps it says:

"Do not use this lamp in a fixture which redirects a substantial portion of the energy toward the arc tube and its immediate vicinity, as this may lead to very eariy lamp failure"

I'm guessing don't use Altos in small Cooper reflectors?

@Niall not again

Okay well I looked on my OVZ instruction sheet, it didn't tell me to take the reflector off. But on the 115, the box said that you had to take the reflector off before you could adjust the socket. I can show you what it says on the 115 box.

Where did you get the OVZ any ways?

I think he got it off fleaBay.

I got it off of eBay. If you look at the forums on the for sale stuff, there is a thread Michael posted with the auction on it. But.. He mistyped "OVX" xD

And you mistyped my name.

Yes some HPS lamps....EVEN before the Alto days...did have the warning about reflected back light! It was a known thing....plus because Philips put that warning in...they are not responsible for flaws due to using junk fixtures!

That would be a good thing. They just need to put it back on the current packages.