So yesterday, May 29, 2017, Ameren came and for some reason removed the last operating GE 201SA 250w Mercury NEMA.  He didn't change it, he removed the whole assembly.  Apparently the people who were paying for it moved away.  I asked if I could have it and he told me he had to turn it in as proof of job completed.  So now all of the 250w NEMAs left in my town are either ITT or Cooper.  This fixture had been there since the mid-late 1980s and many people had moved in and out of that house.  The light worked perfectly.  I was very sad to see it go.

So yesterday, May 29, 2017, Ameren came and for some reason removed the last operating GE 201SA 250w Mercury NEMA.  He didn't change it, he removed the whole assembly.  Apparently the people who were paying for it moved away.  I asked if I could have it and he told me he had to turn it in as proof of job completed.  So now all of the 250w NEMAs left in my town are either ITT or Cooper.  This fixture had been there since the mid-late 1980s and many people had moved in and out of that house.  The light worked perfectly.  I was very sad to see it go.

Sorry about your loss.  Would be nice if, instead of having to keep it as proof, they could just take a picture that they removed it or something. Was this the one that had a 175w lamp? I actually have never seen a 250w NEMA before. The highest I have seen is 175w.

I seen some places where electricians "had to keep something as proof", but later i found it dumped right there at the work site or nearby. Several lanterns in my collection (including ones not in the gallery) i obtained like that

This is the 250watt MV that had the 175watt lamp (had the 25 Nema tag though)  he said if it was up to him, he'd have given it to me.

Then showing it at the depot and then taking it away is not enough of a proof that it was taken down ? Do they have to keep it there ?

Not sure.  It probably ended up in the dumpster in the yard.  So any chance I had of getting a 2nd GE 250w MV NEMA is now gone.  All I have is my one.  There are still quite a few 250w NEMAs around here, but none are GE.  Not all hope is lost yet.

And it cant be retrieved from there ?

Might be too late by now.  I dunno where they dump them.  I sent an email, waiting to hear back from Ameren to find out.

Might be too late by now.  I dunno where they dump them.  I sent an email, waiting to hear back from Ameren to find out.

If you score another one, that would be great. If you get one that is already pretty much identical to your other 250w mercury vapor 201SA, would you be interested in trading or selling for it?

Next time give him a junky nema in exchange.
As i save it for this reason. I always get broken
Or two nema at scrap yard very cheap.

My utilty will take down a working one on pole
Change over put up leds.

I will keep my eye open for 250 watt GE nema for ya
At scrap yard.

As Funkybulb said, I'll get a Piece of 💩 NEMA and keep it in my car so that next time I catch him replacing one (250 watt MV NEMA)(won't be a GE), I will let you know.  Solanaceae also wants one, so If I get another one, I'll let everyone on here know and whoever wants it the most can bid on it.  I would start the bidding at $2.00.  Whoever has the highest bid within 72 hours wins.  I gotta be fair because he has wanted one for a while, and it's hard to score one of those.  175w MV would be easier, but still pretty common.  The 250w MV NEMA is pretty rare (GE is the rarest).  I'll keep everyone posted

Another proposition.  If anyone wants to send me a junked MV NEMA that is a POS then that person would be moved to the top of my list.  Whoever sends me the first NEMA can PM me and I will then ask Bill to trade the 250w NEMA.  We have 2 that are in real good shape.  One is a Cooper, the other is ITT/T&B/AEL.  The NEMA tags aren't faded on either of them.

The 2 photos are of my GE 250w 201SA NEMA.  It was used for less than 5 years judging by the condition of the ballast, and label on the socket.  I got it from a former neighbor of mine.

In my town, I have counted 3 250W NEMAs that are still operating.  There is at least 1 more that does not work.  Maybe 2.  I still need to do a count, so I may go for a drive this afternoon and see what I can find.  Then I will check it out tonight.  If it is ridiculously dim, I'll call it in and wait by it for him to replace it, but I need something to trade him.

It would be pretty cool to find a 250w HPS ballast and hook it up into one of my 100w HPS NEMAs and put a Yellow or Gold 25 NEMA tag, but it would have to be one that doesn't require a capacitor.  Amazingly enough, my GE 250w MV NEMA doesn't have/require a Capacitor, but if you had a Cobra head, it sure would have at least one..  I would have one of the rarest NEMAs in the world then 😂

Install the ballast remotely, then the capacitor wont be a problem

In order to see the type of area that still uses MV in 2017, I searched for Saline County, Illinois. I realized that this county is smack in the middle of the August 17th total solar eclipse path.

Just a bit north and east of Nashville, the greatest duration of totality will occur with nearly 3 minutes of totality. Lucky and cool.

Mind if some LG members show up on the 16th, pitch a tent somewhere?

In order to see the type of area that still uses MV in 2017, I searched for Saline County, Illinois. I realized that this county is smack in the middle of the August 17th total solar eclipse path.

Just a bit north and east of Nashville, the greatest duration of totality will occur with nearly 3 minutes of totality. Lucky and cool.

Mind if some LG members show up on the 16th, pitch a tent somewhere?

A lot of people will be doing just that.  I'll just be standing downtown with my solar glasses.  We got plenty of places one could park.