Can I bypass the old baluster in my Rab outdoor light?

louvfx · Apr 3, 2021

HI,
I have a 20 year old rab outdoor light which died today. It seems to be the baluster that failed. The entire compartment is in great shape, so I wanted to remove the old baluster and special 175 watt bulb that was used.

I wanted to remove all parts except for the socket and wire it up as a typical light socket, and add an outdoor 100 watt bulb.

Just wanted to know if this is ok AND why the hell do they put a baluster in there anyway?

BTW, this is the type of light I have.

Thanks!
Lou

pc1966 · Apr 3, 2021

A photo of inside might be more useful!

But realistically get an LED lamp, or a complete LED flood-lamp, as far less power or trouble than filament or fluorescent. Also more energy-efficient.

louvfx · Apr 3, 2021

pc1966 said:
A photo of inside might be more useful!

But realistically get an LED lamp, or a complete LED flood-lamp, as far less power or trouble than filament or fluorescent. Also more energy-efficient.

Sorry about that, Ok here's the inside wired now for just a reg bulb. The other pic is the old baluster I removed.
Also to answer your question, I did replace the old light with a new LED lamp. I didn't want to throw out the old lamp, if I can just remove the baluster. I was hoping to use this lamp as an extra in my yard.

I just wanted to know if this setup is doable, if needed.
Thanks again,
Lou

pc1966 · Apr 4, 2021

That looks fine, no reason for any issues with a LED lamp in that enclosure.

As to why the original parts - the inductor (rusty thing) serves to limit the current in a discharge lamp, and the capacitory (white plastic covered thing) serves partly to keep interference down, but mostly to correct the power factor of the lamp+inductor so overall the lamp is close to a resistive load and places less current demands on the supply system (i.e. more efficient from the power supply company's point of view).

brianmoooore · Apr 4, 2021

Are you sure the original discharge lamp was 175W? It's light output would have depended on what type of discharge lamp it was, but it would have been much greater than a 100W incandescent lamp, or most readily available LEDs, although Megaman possibly have something suitable.
Apart from that, your idea is fine, and something I've done on a few occasions myself.