I see a blue sky this time! Something I wish to have seen when I was there. I am thinking about getting a display arm to hang up, but considering I plan to move out soon... I dunno if I could. Right now my OVX outside is already getting loaded with bugs, dead bugs. I need to figure out a way to prevent them from getting into the refractor...
@ Ian: LOL Yeah you came on a bad week. RI weather is bipolar and changes all the time lol. A few days after you dropped by we had a few days of 95-degree scoarching heat and then it went back into the low 60s for a couple days. The past several days have been in the upper 70s, which by itself would be comfortable, but we've had >80% humidity all those days so it's been unbearable. Today there's only 36% humidity and it's very comfortable (and breezy) but the nasty muggy southern New England air will be back for the weekend...
As for the bugs getting into the refractor, sounds like you've got a bad seal between the reflector and refractor. A couple of my lights have that as well. Close the door without the refractor in place and see where the gap is. Normally the gap is on the "house side". For the OVX, the reflector rests on the socket so adjusting the socket or the gasket around the socket might help. There's also a screw holding the reflector toward the front/center. You might be able to pull the "house side" (or whichever side the gap is) down by bending the reflector where the screw goes through it. I had to adjust a couple of my lights' reflectors too. My NOS M-400 split door had over a 1/2" gap between the reflector and glass!
@ Darren: Thanks! I really love the R37. Just wish there wasn't a massive gap around the slipfitter for bugs to get in lol. I modified an old 1960s metal bird guard from a GE M-400/M-250R to use with this for 1-1/4" pipes (works perfectly) but GE didn't use a birdguard for 2" pipes. If I were to install the R37 on a 2" arm, I think there will still be a sizable gap around where the arm enters. I'll have to fabricate a separate birdguard for 2" pipes lol.
Nice install Mike! My R47 had a plastic birdguard for 2" arms but I don't think it was that effective since I found a bird's nest inside mine when I first got it. I wonder if it fits the R37 though... A metal one would probably be a lot better though.
My neighbours also have HID lights in their yards (One has a 70w HPS mini bucket, the other a 70w HPS tallpack) so I can't say I'm the only one with a HID on my street. I can say I'm the only one with a gumball and a MV light though.
Ah OK. Yeah for the GE M-250R2 the bird guard is used for 1-1/4" or 2". For 2" you simply punch out the smaller section. For Cooper lights I believe you removed the (metal) guard entirely. I think the newer GEs have a metal bird guard too. I think my 2016 M-250R2 does. With AEL, they don't even use a birdguard. It's cast right into the housing. For 2" pipe you knock out the two flanges with a hammer. Only thing is, you can't go back to 1-1/4" if you wanted, since there's an irreparable hole (unless you made a custom one).
Ahh, my R47 was originally installed on a 2" arm so I wonder if the original bird guard had a small 1-1/4" section that was removed. Kinda makes sense so they don't have to keep two kinds of bird guards. I wonder if the older GEs came with bird guards, my Crimefighter didn't come with one.
I guess the cast in AEL bird guards sorta made sense since most places don't reuse fixtures and 1-1/4" aren't really that common anymore or at least in my area lol. I suppose to make a custom bird guard you'll need some sheet aluminium, some tin snips and a 1-1/4" hole saw (or a steady hand with the snips).
Yeah the probably used a bird guard similar to GE's (I mean practically everything else about the R37 screams GE lol. That's probably why I'm go fond of the R37, being a GE street light guy).
Yep, the older GEs did comes with bird guards. The 60s M-400 and M-250R came with an aluminum bird guard (which is what I used for this light). The M-400A and M-250A were the first to start using plastic bird guards when they were introduced in 1966. I think the single door ones remained metal until they were replaced by the M-250R1 and M-400 split door, which used plastic bird guards. For the M-250R1, it was sectional for 1-1/4" or 2". For the M-400 split door, it was a plastic flap that attached to the hinge of the door and did a half-a$$ job of filling the hole around the slipfitter. Not sure about the early M-250A bird guard since mine was on a 2" arm (tapered) and didn't come with the guard (must not have been used with 2" (...) My M-250R's bird guard is tucked behind the UF cable above the outlet on the deck in this shot. I didn't want to misplace the bird guard so I stuck it there while the light was installed lol.
1-1/4" arms are everywhere here. NGrid doesn't use them for new installations but quite a few of the arms for lower wattage HPS are 1-1/4". I think Tony's utility uses 1-1/4" steel (or maybe they use 2" now; either way I know Eversource is all galvanized steel whereas NGrid is all aluminum). I prefer aluminum since it doesn't show its age and is much lighter than steel. The only time I'd prefer steel is with 1000W cobraheads or flood lights. My 2ft flood light arm weighs around the same as my 10ft aluminum truss arm. Quite a significant difference!
Hmm, I wonder what does the M-250R bird guard look like. My Crimefighter didn't come with one and from what you said it sounded like the M-250Rs were supposed to come with one. Maybe I'll make a reproduction bird guard.
90% of the arms here are 2" and pretty much all new installs are 2" aluminium tapered elliptical. I think the only 1-1/4" arms here are the few 1950s braced S arms and double guys still in service. We used steel tapered elliptical arms here a bit in the 70s but everything since the late 70s was pretty much all aluminium. The MTO truss arms have always been galvanized steel though, even the new ones they installed briefly from 2010-2013.
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As for the bugs getting into the refractor, sounds like you've got a bad seal between the reflector and refractor. A couple of my lights have that as well. Close the door without the refractor in place and see where the gap is. Normally the gap is on the "house side". For the OVX, the reflector rests on the socket so adjusting the socket or the gasket around the socket might help. There's also a screw holding the reflector toward the front/center. You might be able to pull the "house side" (or whichever side the gap is) down by bending the reflector where the screw goes through it. I had to adjust a couple of my lights' reflectors too. My NOS M-400 split door had over a 1/2" gap between the reflector and glass!
@ Darren: Thanks! I really love the R37. Just wish there wasn't a massive gap around the slipfitter for bugs to get in lol. I modified an old 1960s metal bird guard from a GE M-400/M-250R to use with this for 1-1/4" pipes (works perfectly) but GE didn't use a birdguard for 2" pipes. If I were to install the R37 on a 2" arm, I think there will still be a sizable gap around where the arm enters. I'll have to fabricate a separate birdguard for 2" pipes lol.
My neighbours also have HID lights in their yards (One has a 70w HPS mini bucket, the other a 70w HPS tallpack) so I can't say I'm the only one with a HID on my street.
I guess the cast in AEL bird guards sorta made sense since most places don't reuse fixtures and 1-1/4" aren't really that common anymore or at least in my area lol. I suppose to make a custom bird guard you'll need some sheet aluminium, some tin snips and a 1-1/4" hole saw (or a steady hand with the snips).
Yep, the older GEs did comes with bird guards. The 60s M-400 and M-250R came with an aluminum bird guard (which is what I used for this light). The M-400A and M-250A were the first to start using plastic bird guards when they were introduced in 1966. I think the single door ones remained metal until they were replaced by the M-250R1 and M-400 split door, which used plastic bird guards. For the M-250R1, it was sectional for 1-1/4" or 2". For the M-400 split door, it was a plastic flap that attached to the hinge of the door and did a half-a$$ job of filling the hole around the slipfitter. Not sure about the early M-250A bird guard since mine was on a 2" arm (tapered) and didn't come with the guard (must not have been used with 2" (...) My M-250R's bird guard is tucked behind the UF cable above the outlet on the deck in this shot. I didn't want to misplace the bird guard so I stuck it there while the light was installed lol.
1-1/4" arms are everywhere here. NGrid doesn't use them for new installations but quite a few of the arms for lower wattage HPS are 1-1/4". I think Tony's utility uses 1-1/4" steel (or maybe they use 2" now; either way I know Eversource is all galvanized steel whereas NGrid is all aluminum). I prefer aluminum since it doesn't show its age and is much lighter than steel. The only time I'd prefer steel is with 1000W cobraheads or flood lights. My 2ft flood light arm weighs around the same as my 10ft aluminum truss arm. Quite a significant difference!
90% of the arms here are 2" and pretty much all new installs are 2" aluminium tapered elliptical. I think the only 1-1/4" arms here are the few 1950s braced S arms and double guys still in service. We used steel tapered elliptical arms here a bit in the 70s but everything since the late 70s was pretty much all aluminium. The MTO truss arms have always been galvanized steel though, even the new ones they installed briefly from 2010-2013.