UHP mercury lamp cold start.

I got this ultra high pressure Hg lamp from an LCD rear projection TV. Quite an intriguing television it was. The lamp is a 120/132 watt Philips. I have a small squirrel cage fan blowing into the lamp. It might look like i am only using the suction to pull air across the outside, but air is blowing right across the bulb inside the reflector.
I am using a MOT with 40v input. I should use a limiting capacitor or something, but the current is low enough due to the small 40v transformer i am using. I'd love to sell this, but there probably aren't a whole lot of people that want to buy one :-P

[@triggerhappy77707]

@MkeFishguy I didn't use a ballast, per se. I used a step down transformer powering a step up transformer. The open circuit voltage was about 1kv, so it would start up easily. When the gasses in the bulb broke down the current increased so the voltage dropped, and the current was limited by both the magnetic shunts in the step-down transformer and step up transformer, as well as winding resistances.

[@douro20]

These lamps have a very strong UVC output. They can blind you instantly and permanently.

[@flaplaya]

I just found a pps g 40 lamp on the side of the road with power supply. I tried lighting it off with a 70 watt electronic HID ballast, flickered and then the ballast went into protect...
The power supply has a DC input but I can't find anything on proper voltage. The stiffening capacitor is rated 47uF/ 450VDC. Any thoughts triggerhappy. Btw, interesting idea to feed the primary of your MOT with 40 volts. Guesing 1kV is the lamps happy place.

[@triggerhappy77707]

To be honest I actually know very little on the subject of these mercury lamps, or any type of discharge lamps haha. I know a good deal about electronics as a whole, I've just not done any real research. And actually i didnt even know the nominal voltage for this lamp. I used this setup of a MOT because i needed the high voltage to initiate the arc, which after igniting uses much lower voltage and much higher current. Using this step down transformer with a MOT worked great for this test, as it will allow the MOT to supply the voltage needed to strike the arc, but the step down transformer is shunted to the point that it will limit the current to the MOT, allowing the voltage at the lamp to drop to a decent level

[@thedogememesproductions6354]

My desk is even messier but with wires