overdrive=more what

duck · 06-15-2004, 01:21 PM

I been reading about this overdriving fluros.
My question is how does ie 36 watt fluro pump out more light when its rated at 36 watts reguardless of how much power you got.That like running your car on high octane fuel it should go faster but doesn't cause i have tried (lol).I asked my electrian about this i got the same answer.Unless i misunderstood the whole thing about overdriving.
I'm from australia we got 240volts 50mhz.
Thanks

**GulfCoastAquarian** · 06-15-2004, 01:45 PM

Comparing ODNO to high octane fuel isn't valid.
ODNO also does not relate to the power capacity of your wall outlet (120VAC vs 240VAC).
If you take an electronic ballast rated for a certain bulb, and splice in two power feeds instead of just one, you will indeed be pumping in twice as much power. All of this extra power does not necessarily translate into added intensity, but there is a definite increase. Generally, for 2xODNO, the increase is 50% and for 4xODNO, the increase is 100%, but will produce a lot more heat.
The heat is the wasted energy the bulb is unable to convert into visible light.

malkore · 06-15-2004, 02:27 PM

And dont' forget that OD'ing bulbs shortens their useable lifespan proportionately

Rikko · 06-15-2004, 05:36 PM

Hi duck,

Your electrician probably had the same problems with ODNO as I did. It's not a "legitimate" lighting approach - it's really more of a sneaky exploit of electronic ballast design.

You know why you can put any bulb from 1W to 54W into a 54W ballast? It's because the ballast is load sensing. In an electronic ballast this is detected and the current is "sent" based on the load detected. Most electronic ballasts allow you to hook up 2 or 4 bulbs by providing multiple outputs. If you wanted to run a 100W bulb on a 4x54W ballast, it can be done, but you would need to combine two of the 54W outputs into one bulb to get the requisite power draw (or else the ballast would either fry itself or it wouldn't be able to fire it in the first place, depending on how much excess wattage is called for).

So what happens when you combine two outputs on a bulb that can be run by a SINGLE output? Each lead that is hooked up will sense the bulb's power rating. Both of them say "ah, a 40W bulb, I need to push 40W" and now that bulb is effectively an 80W bulb. The result is that you get roughly 170% light output (for wider fluoro bulbs - IME it works like crap on T5s) and correspondingly a lot more heat output. If you can keep it chilled (or just well ventilated - fans may not even be necessary) you've basically exploited that ballast's functionality in order to get more juice through the bulb.

Try it, it works. I'm a bit dubious of the 1.7x output that has been reported, but if you run two bulbs side by side, the ODNO one certainly looks a bit brighter.

/me goes to buy a cheap light meter, too.

duck · 06-16-2004, 07:44 AM

All clear now. Thought i was missing something an i was.
Thanks i'll give it a whirl .

06-15-2004, 01:21 PM	#1
duck Planted Tank Obsessed (View User Tanks) PTrader: (0/0%) Join Date: Apr 2004 Location: Perth/Australia Posts: 304	overdrive=more what I been reading about this overdriving fluros. My question is how does ie 36 watt fluro pump out more light when its rated at 36 watts reguardless of how much power you got.That like running your car on high octane fuel it should go faster but doesn't cause i have tried (lol).I asked my electrian about this i got the same answer.Unless i misunderstood the whole thing about overdriving. I'm from australia we got 240volts 50mhz. Thanks

06-15-2004, 01:45 PM	#2
GulfCoastAquarian Planted Tank VIP (View User Tanks) PTrader: (6/100%) Join Date: Jul 2002 Location: Winston-Salem, NC Posts: 3,577	Comparing ODNO to high octane fuel isn't valid. ODNO also does not relate to the power capacity of your wall outlet (120VAC vs 240VAC). If you take an electronic ballast rated for a certain bulb, and splice in two power feeds instead of just one, you will indeed be pumping in twice as much power. All of this extra power does not necessarily translate into added intensity, but there is a definite increase. Generally, for 2xODNO, the increase is 50% and for 4xODNO, the increase is 100%, but will produce a lot more heat. The heat is the wasted energy the bulb is unable to convert into visible light. __________________ - Sam P - plantedtanker in limbo - all tanks currently in storage

06-15-2004, 02:27 PM	#3
malkore Planted Tank Guru (View User Tanks) PTrader: (0/0%) Join Date: Nov 2003 Location: Lincoln, NE Posts: 2,165	And dont' forget that OD'ing bulbs shortens their useable lifespan proportionately __________________ Malkore Filstar XP2 PIMP #3 Visit my aquarium pages - see specs on my tanks, and photos of how they've evolved

06-15-2004, 05:36 PM	#4
Rikko Algae Grower (View User Tanks) PTrader: (0/0%) Join Date: Jan 2004 Location: Vancouver, Canada Posts: 83	Hi duck, Your electrician probably had the same problems with ODNO as I did. It's not a "legitimate" lighting approach - it's really more of a sneaky exploit of electronic ballast design. You know why you can put any bulb from 1W to 54W into a 54W ballast? It's because the ballast is load sensing. In an electronic ballast this is detected and the current is "sent" based on the load detected. Most electronic ballasts allow you to hook up 2 or 4 bulbs by providing multiple outputs. If you wanted to run a 100W bulb on a 4x54W ballast, it can be done, but you would need to combine two of the 54W outputs into one bulb to get the requisite power draw (or else the ballast would either fry itself or it wouldn't be able to fire it in the first place, depending on how much excess wattage is called for). So what happens when you combine two outputs on a bulb that can be run by a SINGLE output? Each lead that is hooked up will sense the bulb's power rating. Both of them say "ah, a 40W bulb, I need to push 40W" and now that bulb is effectively an 80W bulb. The result is that you get roughly 170% light output (for wider fluoro bulbs - IME it works like crap on T5s) and correspondingly a lot more heat output. If you can keep it chilled (or just well ventilated - fans may not even be necessary) you've basically exploited that ballast's functionality in order to get more juice through the bulb. Try it, it works. I'm a bit dubious of the 1.7x output that has been reported, but if you run two bulbs side by side, the ODNO one certainly looks a bit brighter. /me goes to buy a cheap light meter, too. __________________ 77 gal fresh: South Americans + plants w/ 4xT5 NO 65 gal reef: Nothin' w/ 4xT5 NO 33 gal brackish: Gobies w/ 1xT12 NO

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06-16-2004, 07:44 AM	#5
duck Planted Tank Obsessed (View User Tanks) PTrader: (0/0%) Join Date: Apr 2004 Location: Perth/Australia Posts: 304	All clear now. Thought i was missing something an i was. Thanks i'll give it a whirl .