bumping...
smaller bulb in larger ballast question...
i have a ballast for a 96w CF bulb and i have a 65w CF bulb lying around. i was wondering if it would overdrive the bulb and kill it much much sooner if i used it. i have two different 96w ballasts. one from AH supply, the workhorse i believe is the name? and one of the advantage (i think is the name) from lowes.
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Don't do it.
CF's get VERY hot and overdriving them would be dangerous.
CF's get VERY hot and overdriving them would be dangerous.
Is it fine to "under-drive" it? Such as a 65 W in a 55 W ballast?
Is it fine to "under-drive" it? Such as a 65 W in a 55 W ballast?
It's not very good for the ballast.
Tommy <9))>>{
I play with fixtures just for the fun of it. But, you to be careful.
Most importantly, you need a decent ballast. I don't trust magnetic ballasts at all for this. I use relatively inexpensive WorkHorse ballasts that automatically adjust to the tube. Many ballasts only work well for a particular tube and burn out when you try to use them for something else.
I don't really care much for Power Compact lamps since the re-strike wastes light and the curve tubes wreck reflector efficiency. They also tend to run hot, so as said earlier, overdriving them would make them really hot.
It doesn't make sense to under-drive a tube. That tends to accelerate the growth of the dark bands on the end of the tubes. That's what happens on fluorescent camp light with run down batteries.
The main reason to overdrive tubes is buy ultra cheap T8 tubes, get extra light out of them at the expense of tube life, then swap them out after a few months with a fresh set of ultra cheap tubes again. Overdriving for other purposes doesn't make much sense to me.
Most importantly, you need a decent ballast. I don't trust magnetic ballasts at all for this. I use relatively inexpensive WorkHorse ballasts that automatically adjust to the tube. Many ballasts only work well for a particular tube and burn out when you try to use them for something else.
I don't really care much for Power Compact lamps since the re-strike wastes light and the curve tubes wreck reflector efficiency. They also tend to run hot, so as said earlier, overdriving them would make them really hot.
It doesn't make sense to under-drive a tube. That tends to accelerate the growth of the dark bands on the end of the tubes. That's what happens on fluorescent camp light with run down batteries.
The main reason to overdrive tubes is buy ultra cheap T8 tubes, get extra light out of them at the expense of tube life, then swap them out after a few months with a fresh set of ultra cheap tubes again. Overdriving for other purposes doesn't make much sense to me.
It is my understanding that 55w bulbs and 65w bulbs are one in the same, ballast determines wattage. I wouldn't worry about putting a 65w bulb in a 55w fixture or vise versa.
I kinda doubt that.It is my understanding that 55w bulbs and 65w bulbs are one in the same, ballast determines wattage. I wouldn't worry about putting a 65w bulb in a 55w fixture or vise versa.
Tubes are designed for a particular drive current. This is the case for all linear tubes I've seen. The wattage is stamped on the outside of the tube. T12, T10, T8, T5, T5HO, and T6HO behave this way. Think it's the same for power compact. Tubes are described by length, shape, connector pins and wattage when you buy them.
Some ballasts do only match up with a particular tube wattage. I have two ceiling lights that take 4 foot U shaped tubes. They are rated for 40 watt tubes. One fixture accepts the more efficient 32 watt tubes, the other won't light them. Both work with 40 watt tubes with no issues. I'm going to replace the @#$%*ing ballast on the fussy one. This would not be an issue if the fixture had a good electronic ballast in it.
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