Mercury Vapour Ballast - Is it damaged?

[Foresty Forest]

Just got my moth trap out after several years of not using it. It has a 125W Mercury Vapour bulb, which require a ballast. But the ballast may have been damaged? Can't remember if I was still using it or not? You can see from the photos that I'd housed it in a Tupperware box - it's used outside. And it appears to have melted the box. It could be just that heat has made the box brittle over many uses? I just can't remember? Any ideas?

I could just stick the bulb in and try it, but they're quite expensive and if I need a new ballast, a bust bulb adds to the cost. Could I test the ballast with an ordinary household lamp?

Thanks

 

[333rocky333]

Ballasts run at very high temp, so likely just melted the plastic, they are virtually bullet proof and i have seen working ones far worse state than that.

Mercury lamps do not use igniters, so YES you can test it with a normal lamp,
If the lamp lights it's very highly likely that a new mercury lamp won't fail.

All the ballast is doing is limiting the current by being in series with the Mercury lamp to about 1 amp, without doing that a mercury lamp would blow as a mercury lamp would be like a short circuit,across direct mains, whereas a normal bulb across direct mains has higher resistance.

Failing that you could just measure 230 volt between terminal 3 and Neutral.

 

[Foresty Forest]

It's on and working.