Quote:
Originally Posted by ColeMan
Overdriven fluorescents are truly impressive; one thing to remember, however, is that overdriven lamps produce much, much more heat than standard fluorescent bulbs. For this reason, it will be necessary to include in the aforementioned list of materials to purchase a fan, perhaps one like this http://www.drsfostersmith.com/produc...68&pcatid=3868 (this one's nice because it has a temp. probe so the fan doesn't run unless it's needed, even though with ODT5 it will probably be on all the time)! Failure to adequately cool your bulbs may lead to premature ballast failure and decreased bulb life. Otherwise, it's a great option. |
wont hurt the ballast at all but bulb life would be noticably decreased. at 3 dollars a bulb.. this is no big worry.
my lfs sells fans like that that are about 25 dollars although they arent temp sensitive.
at 2x overdriven the added heat doesnt bother much and the bulbs can still last almost as long. i have been running mine this way for months without problems. when i get more ballasts and go 4x overdrive i will probably buy one of these fans to give some airflow in the canopy, timered with the lights. otherwise i think too much heat may build up under there.