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Seller's pics of the soon-to-be-mine NOS GE "C" M-250R1 This is apparently a customized GE M-250R1 (though customized from the factory). It has a "C" embossed where the NEMA tag should go so I've dubbed it the "C" M-250R1 lol. I assume "C" stands for Chicago since the seller is from Illinois and GE seems to have a thing for Chicago lol. The oddest part? It's a single door Powr/Door! So this could be a M-250R1 Powr/Door light lol. It's not referenced to as a Powr/Door though. You can see the catalog # is different than a typical M-250R1 though it uses the same instructions sheet (GEH 2887) as the standard M-250R1. It's listed for 70/90W lamps and the ANSI code is S54, which is 100W HPS. Any idead guys? Should I use a 100W HPS lamp, a 70W HPS lamp? And a 90W HPS lamp? Huh? Is this a LPS/HPS fixture? Keywords: American_Streetlights

Seller's pics of the soon-to-be-mine NOS GE "C" M-250R1

This is apparently a customized GE M-250R1 (though customized from the factory). It has a "C" embossed where the NEMA tag should go so I've dubbed it the "C" M-250R1 lol. I assume "C" stands for Chicago since the seller is from Illinois and GE seems to have a thing for Chicago lol. The oddest part? It's a single door Powr/Door! So this could be a M-250R1 Powr/Door light lol. It's not referenced to as a Powr/Door though. You can see the catalog # is different than a typical M-250R1 though it uses the same instructions sheet (GEH 2887) as the standard M-250R1.

It's listed for 70/90W lamps and the ANSI code is S54, which is 100W HPS. Any idead guys? Should I use a 100W HPS lamp, a 70W HPS lamp? And a 90W HPS lamp? Huh? Is this a LPS/HPS fixture?

IMG_6234a2.JPG IMG_6232b.JPG My_C_M-250R1.png WAT_IMG_9788.JPG SL153.jpg
File information
Filename:My_C_M-250R1.png
Album name:Mike / My General Electric M-250CF (Chicago Exclusive)
Keywords:American_Streetlights
Company and Date Manufactured:General Electric | May 1981
Model Number:M-250R1 (custom design)
Wattage:well, either 70, 90, or 100 lol.
Lamp Type:HPS
Filesize:767 KiB
Date added:Sep 19, 2013
Dimensions:479 x 619 pixels
Displayed:148 times
URL:http://www.galleryoflights.org/mb/gallery/displayimage.php?pid=16335
Favorites:Add to Favorites

Comment 1 to 10 of 10
Page: 1

mercuryvaporrocks   [Sep 19, 2013 at 10:43 PM]
Lamp Type: S54 is for 100 watt high pressure sodium lamps.
streetlight98   [Sep 20, 2013 at 12:43 AM]
Yep i said that in the description but it also lists 70 and 90W under the wattage. It's a dual-wattage ballast but it's rather vague on what lamps i'm really supposed to use. GE really had some broad/confusing tags lol. I looked at one of Joe Maurath's M-250R1s. It was a 100/175W MV 240V PC receptacle wired for 120V light. Under voltage it listed 120/240 which can be confusing. They use 120X240 for dual tap ballasts though but unless you knew that they used the X for one and the / for the other you wouldn't know.


I contacted GE, hoping they can shed some light in this unique M-250R1 incarnation. The ballast is mounted to the door and it had plugs just like a powr/door but it's a M-250R1! O_O So cool! Even Joe Maurath has never seen anything like this. Shocked
TiCoune66   [Sep 20, 2013 at 01:41 AM]
Interesting specimen! It may actually take a 100W lamp but run it at either 90 or 70W depending of the connections. HPS lamps can be dimmed significantly by reducing their current while keeping the voltage stable.
streetlight98   [Sep 20, 2013 at 02:06 AM]
Thanks! Ahh so it's almost like a dimmable ballast? (but far less flexible?) It does indeed have a capacitor. I wonder why they don't allow it to operate at full power. How much dimmer would a 100W HPS lamp at 90W be? Would a 100W HPS lamp at 70W be the same brigtness as a 70W HPS lamp?

I wonder what would happen if someone were to screw in a 70W HPS with the ballast connected at the 70W level? Would the lamp operate normally or would that be bad for the lamp or ballast? I thought HID lamps had to warm up fully before they could be dimmed or is HPS an exeption to that rule?
lite_lover   [Sep 20, 2013 at 06:57 AM]
Cool fixture, nice find Mike! Cool
streetlight98   [Sep 20, 2013 at 10:30 AM]
Thanks! The only reason I could afford this was because my parents agreed to pay a good portion of it. The catch is that I don't get this until Christmas.
joe_347V   [Sep 20, 2013 at 03:47 PM]
Nice find Mike! I first thought the light was just a dual wattage light but it seems you have to change the ignitor connections to change the wattage. Normally in a dual wattage light, only the ballast tap or the capacitor tap needs to be changed.
streetlight98   [Sep 20, 2013 at 08:38 PM]
Thanks! Yeah i had originally thought it was a 70W HPS/ 90W LPS light. It shipped today and is supposed to arrive somewhere between 9/24 and 10/2.
Mercuryvapor123   [Sep 22, 2013 at 03:56 PM]
OUTSTANDING!!!! Exclamation
streetlight98   [Sep 22, 2013 at 10:01 PM]
Thanks. My parent's payed a large portion of it for me which helped me get it. I'll PM you later.

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