Hot flouro ballast

I

Ian

Guest
Had a flouro turn itself off the other evening.
Would not restart. New tube and starter a week or so earlier.
Felt the ballast. It was hot.
Left it off for for a couple of hours and it worked ok, and
hasn't stopped.
Question, how hot is the ballast likely to get. 32 watt .

Thanks ...Ian
 
"Ian"
Had a flouro turn itself off the other evening.
Click to expand...
** Bad contacts on the tube socket.


Would not restart. New tube and starter a week or so earlier.
Felt the ballast. It was hot.
Click to expand...
** They do get hot.


Left it off for for a couple of hours and it worked ok, and
hasn't stopped.
Click to expand...

** Bad contacts on the tube socket behave intermittently.


Question, how hot is the ballast likely to get. 32 watt .
Click to expand...

** 50 or 60 degrees C above the local ambient.

Modern types run hotter then ones made decades ago did.



....... Phil
 
Ian wrote:
Had a flouro turn itself off the other evening.
Would not restart. New tube and starter a week or so earlier.
Felt the ballast. It was hot.
Left it off for for a couple of hours and it worked ok, and
hasn't stopped.
Question, how hot is the ballast likely to get. 32 watt .

Thanks ...Ian
Click to expand...
They often get dangerously hot. Lighting, especially fluoro lamps, is
nearly always cheap and nasty.
 
"Ian" <mac2564_@hotmail.com> wrote in message
news:gfh5o49gjfn48h2tc3o5dlbmi5ou181ten@4ax.com...
Had a flouro turn itself off the other evening.
Would not restart. New tube and starter a week or so earlier.
Felt the ballast. It was hot.
Left it off for for a couple of hours and it worked ok, and
hasn't stopped.
Question, how hot is the ballast likely to get. 32 watt .

Thanks ...Ian
Click to expand...
had a 40watt ballast with 2 20watt tubes
got very hot and shorted out, the 2 tubes exploded
the fitting was new.
 
One can buy Australian made ballasts from electrical wholesalers for pocket
change, likley significantly higher quality than the usual chinese garbage
sold to the masses.
 
On Sun, 1 Feb 2009 10:32:36 +1000, "ZACK`"
<`youwillfindmee`@home.com.au> wrote:

"Ian" <mac2564_@hotmail.com> wrote in message
news:gfh5o49gjfn48h2tc3o5dlbmi5ou181ten@4ax.com...
Had a flouro turn itself off the other evening.
Would not restart. New tube and starter a week or so earlier.
Felt the ballast. It was hot.
Left it off for for a couple of hours and it worked ok, and
hasn't stopped.
Question, how hot is the ballast likely to get. 32 watt .

Thanks ...Ian

had a 40watt ballast with 2 20watt tubes
got very hot and shorted out, the 2 tubes exploded
the fitting was new.
Click to expand...
Thanks ZACK, that's allI need,
the thing blowing up.

I remember one blowing up at home abt 40yrs ago'
Black gunk out of it. The ballast lost it?

Put a new ballast in the fitting, even that one hot.
Will check out another fitting when I get a chance.

Thanks Ian
 
On Jan 30, 7:29 pm, Ian <mac25...@hotmail.com> wrote:
Had a flouro turn itself off the other evening.
Would not restart. New tube and starter a week or so earlier.
Felt the ballast. It was hot.
Left it off for for a couple of hours and it worked ok, and
hasn't stopped.
Question, how hot is the ballast likely to  get. 32 watt .

Thanks ...Ian
Click to expand...


Ballast should be hot - too hot to comfortably touch in fact. (after
lamp has been running for a few minutes)

If its cold, then it or some other part of the fitting - is fucked.
 
On Sun, 1 Feb 2009 02:54:05 -0800 (PST), kreed <kenreed1999@gmail.com>
wrote:

On Jan 30, 7:29 pm, Ian <mac25...@hotmail.com> wrote:
Had a flouro turn itself off the other evening.
Would not restart. New tube and starter a week or so earlier.
Felt the ballast. It was hot.
Left it off for for a couple of hours and it worked ok, and
hasn't stopped.
Question, how hot is the ballast likely to  get. 32 watt .

Thanks ...Ian



Ballast should be hot - too hot to comfortably touch in fact. (after
lamp has been running for a few minutes)

Would agree about being too hot to comfortably touch.
Click to expand...
Confirmed by checking other flouro's in house.

If its cold, then it or some other part of the fitting - is fucked.
Click to expand...
Will have to wait to see if anythnig fails.

Makes one wonder if incandescent would be better.
What generates more heat?
I understand there are electronic ballasts available which
are suppoed to run cooler

Thanks ....Ian
 
Ian wrote:
On Sun, 1 Feb 2009 02:54:05 -0800 (PST), kreed <kenreed1999@gmail.com
wrote:

On Jan 30, 7:29 pm, Ian <mac25...@hotmail.com> wrote:
Had a flouro turn itself off the other evening.
Would not restart. New tube and starter a week or so earlier.
Felt the ballast. It was hot.
Left it off for for a couple of hours and it worked ok, and
hasn't stopped.
Question, how hot is the ballast likely to get. 32 watt .

Thanks ...Ian


Ballast should be hot - too hot to comfortably touch in fact. (after
lamp has been running for a few minutes)

Would agree about being too hot to comfortably touch.
Confirmed by checking other flouro's in house.

If its cold, then it or some other part of the fitting - is fucked.

Will have to wait to see if anythnig fails.

Makes one wonder if incandescent would be better.
What generates more heat?
I understand there are electronic ballasts available which
are suppoed to run cooler

Thanks ....Ian
Click to expand...
How about LED? Try Cutter Electronics for some of the latest LED technology.
 
I understand there are electronic ballasts available which
are suppoed to run cooler
Click to expand...
I got a couple of the Philips electronic ballasts from Oatley
Electronics around the mid-late 90s and they work very well. I had to
replace the rectified mains filter cap in the 2 x 36W unit 5 years ago
(it went open circuit) but apart from that they start instantly and I
don't think they get particularly hot.
 
On Feb 2, 6:42 am, Ian <mac25...@hotmail.com> wrote:
On Sun, 1 Feb 2009 02:54:05 -0800 (PST), kreed <kenreed1...@gmail.com
wrote:

On Jan 30, 7:29 pm, Ian <mac25...@hotmail.com> wrote:
Had a flouro turn itself off the other evening.
Would not restart. New tube and starter a week or so earlier.
Felt the ballast. It was hot.
Left it off for for a couple of hours and it worked ok, and
hasn't stopped.
Question, how hot is the ballast likely to  get. 32 watt .

Thanks ...Ian

Ballast should be hot - too hot to comfortably touch in fact. (after
lamp has been running for a few minutes)

Would agree about being too hot to comfortably touch.
Confirmed by checking other flouro's in house.

If its cold, then it or some other part of the fitting - is fucked.

Will have to wait to see if anythnig fails.

Makes one wonder if incandescent would be better.
What generates more heat?
Click to expand...
incandescent gives more heat.

Straight 20/40w fluro tubes give the best light output per watt
(according to
data i have seen)


I understand there are electronic ballasts available which
are suppoed to run cooler

Should definitely be more efficient, (cooler) but the cost, and
Click to expand...
reliability is an issue there., as its a switchmode device, and if
made on the cheap, reliability has to be considered. Good Quality ones
might be ok. I saw these some time ago and they were over $60 compared
to (usually under $10) of the inductor type. Some also allow dimming
of the tube though. How effective or power efficient this dimming is
(compared to incandescent dimming) is unknown.

CFL's have an "electronic ballast" inside. I wonder if the guts from
one of those would effectively
run a straight tube of the same wattage ?. Might be a cheaper option,
at least it's worth a try just to see if it works.


Phils comment about a faulty lamp holder is probably your problem.
Another source of problems is where the wires connect between the
various parts. Most all of these use a "push in" type, where you just
insert the stripped solid wire and it locks in place. These
connections can occasionally fail, or go to higher resistance from bad
connections, generating heat and failures.


> Thanks  ....Ian
 
On Mon, 02 Feb 2009 11:56:29 +0900, Davo wrote:

How about LED? Try Cutter Electronics for some of the latest LED
technolog
Click to expand...
Has anyone actually used these domestically?

colour balance?
lumens?

Initially I'm not worried about replacing room light but want a string for
night lights on moonless nights.
 
On Feb 2, 1:56 pm, kreed <kenreed1...@gmail.com> wrote:
On Feb 2, 6:42 am, Ian <mac25...@hotmail.com> wrote:



On Sun, 1 Feb 2009 02:54:05 -0800 (PST), kreed <kenreed1...@gmail.com
wrote:

On Jan 30, 7:29 pm, Ian <mac25...@hotmail.com> wrote:
Had a flouro turn itself off the other evening.
Would not restart. New tube and starter a week or so earlier.
Felt the ballast. It was hot.
Left it off for for a couple of hours and it worked ok, and
hasn't stopped.
Question, how hot is the ballast likely to  get. 32 watt .

Thanks ...Ian

Ballast should be hot - too hot to comfortably touch in fact. (after
lamp has been running for a few minutes)

Would agree about being too hot to comfortably touch.
Confirmed by checking other flouro's in house.

If its cold, then it or some other part of the fitting - is fucked.

Will have to wait to see if anythnig fails.

Makes one wonder if incandescent would be better.
What generates more heat?

incandescent gives more heat.

Straight 20/40w fluro tubes give the best light output per watt
(according to
data  i have seen)

I understand there are electronic ballasts available which
are suppoed to run cooler

Should definitely be more efficient, (cooler) but the cost, and
reliability is an issue there., as its a switchmode device, and if
made on the cheap, reliability has to be considered. Good Quality ones
might be ok. I saw these some time ago and they were over $60 compared
to (usually under $10) of the inductor type. Some also allow dimming
of the tube though. How effective or power efficient this dimming is
(compared to incandescent dimming)  is unknown.

CFL's have an "electronic ballast" inside.  I wonder if the guts from
one of those would effectively
run a straight tube of the same wattage ?. Might be a cheaper option,
at least it's worth a try just to see if it works.
Click to expand...
----------------------------------------------

After making this post, I found a faulty CFL in the junk box and
thought I would give it a try....


I cut open an old 18w CFL that had failed,
(General Electric 18w / 240v - had originally bought it about 2002)

Cut open the base, removed the original glass tube and substituted an
standard domestic 18w straight 2' tube on test leads straight to the
CFL PCB in the same
manner as the CFL tube used to be wired.

Worked fine, instant start at room temp, but on the tired old tube
with blackening ends (used this first in case there was some sort of
catastrophic failure that blew out the tube) there was a "running
glow" (about 6 "balls" of light running along) effect going from one
end to the other. It wasnt serious, but might annoy some people.

Substituted a brand new philips 2' tube and this flickering stopped.
Light output looked much the same as you would expect on a mains
powered inductive ballast circuit.

The 2 output transistors hardly even get warm after about 30 mins of
operation. (warning - potentially live and lethal) the tube ends
seemed to run surprisingly cooler too - than a normal ballast type
setup where they get warm. Maybe I just didnt have it on long enough
though ?

Looks like you might have yourself a dirt cheap electronic ballast,
and as a bonus you dont need a starter.

Note:

-The other well documented problems with CFL's such as the shitty
power factor, current spikes on dimmable CFL, etc are NOT going to go
away with this conversion, all we are doing is substituting a
different type of tube.

-If this is wired into a batten, and it fails, there is the hassle of
pulling it all out again, compared to just tossing the original CFL in
the rubbish and replacing it. Other CFL bases might not fit in the
same mountings, or work with these tubes ?

-Heatwise, the CFL electronics should run cooler and therefore be more
reliable inside a typical metal fluro batten case rather than a small
sealed plastic case that is the base of a typical CFL.

----------------------------------------------------------
DANGER: There would be as much as 350v DC on circuitry on the CFL PCB
when connected to the mains. The main filter capacitor could possibly
hold a charge if the tube has failed, and be a shock hazard if touched
even with the power off and cord unplugged.

DONT experiment on these unless you know what you are doing.
 
"ZACK`" <`youwillfindmee`@home.com.au> wrote in message
news:4984ece5$0$3321$afc38c87@news.optusnet.com.au...
"Ian" <mac2564_@hotmail.com> wrote in message
news:gfh5o49gjfn48h2tc3o5dlbmi5ou181ten@4ax.com...
Had a flouro turn itself off the other evening.
Would not restart. New tube and starter a week or so earlier.
Felt the ballast. It was hot.
Left it off for for a couple of hours and it worked ok, and
hasn't stopped.
Question, how hot is the ballast likely to get. 32 watt .

Thanks ...Ian

had a 40watt ballast with 2 20watt tubes
got very hot and shorted out, the 2 tubes exploded
the fitting was new.
Click to expand...
this happend back in 1980
the ballast was a dud, it was getting hotter than
normal from new, thay do run hot but not to the point
of burning anything.
so normal can be hot to the touch
 
terryc wrote:
On Mon, 02 Feb 2009 11:56:29 +0900, Davo wrote:

How about LED? Try Cutter Electronics for some of the latest LED
technolog

Has anyone actually used these domestically?

colour balance?
lumens?

Initially I'm not worried about replacing room light but want a string for
night lights on moonless nights.
Click to expand...
There has been a huge amount of discussion and experimentation regarding
lumens and colour on various bicycle light newsgroups.

http://forums.mtbr.com/forumdisplay.php?f=124
 
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