F32T8 to drive 1 VHO?

[Old Guy]

I'm wondering if I could run 1 48"/110w VHO with a F32T8 4 lamp ballast. I am currently running 2 t8's with it and would like to change to 1 vho if I can.TIA

Jeff

[Canadian Man]

Be aware though that your bulb life will be shortened quite a bit but for the price diffrence between the two ballst's it probably is worth it for ya.
I got 7 od 4x bulbs, by the ballast you mention on my tank and the daylight last I would say 6 months or so then they start to get real black ends.
I may be just repeating stuff you know so i will stop rambling.
cheers smile.gif

[StirCrazy]

Originally posted by Canadian Man:
Be aware though that your bulb life will be shortened quite a bit but for the price diffrence between the two ballst's it probably is worth it for ya.
I got 7 od 4x bulbs, by the ballast you mention on my tank and the daylight last I would say 6 months or so then they start to get real black ends.
I may be just repeating stuff you know so i will stop rambling.
cheers smile.gif <font size="2" face="Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif">um.. he isn't talking about overdriving a NO bulb anymore though.. he is talking about trying to get the proper amount of curent our of a T8 ballast to drive a VHO bulb.. I don't know if even with all 4 wires if you will be able to get the proper amount of curent to run at true VHO levels but you will certianly get as much power as a Icecap puts out.. when i did my tests 4 sets of leads only did slightly better than double the current, so still under 1 amp or up to a amp.. whare a proper VHO is 1.2 amps.. so inface the VHO will last longer than if ti was on a tar VHO ballast.

Steve

[reefburnaby]

Hi,

At the full rate current (which is in the vicinity of 1.2 to 1.6 A), VHO's output drops off like a rock and they only last about 6 months.

So, the VHOs with reduced current should help things. I believe Darren had a thread on driving VHOs with Workhorses. The F32T8X4 ballast is basically the WH5 in a black steel case.

One thing to note is that the VHOs have a different connector than the T8s. So, you'll need those fancy connectors (similar to those waterproof ones from Icecap).

- Victor.

[ 29 August 2002, 23:08: Message edited by: reefburnaby ]

[reefburnaby]

Hi,

Short answer...yes. 2x will underdrive by a lot (like a regular NO T12), but a 4x should put it in the same league (if not slightly higher) than the Icecap.

- Victor.

[Old Guy]

Thanks Victor,

Thats the answer I was hoping for :D

[Old Guy]

At the moment I have a WH7 running 2 bulbs and the F32T8 running 2. I acquired Darrens 660 of which I wanted to run 3 bulbs and separate switch the F32T8 for actinics.

I would then have the WH7 to run 2 95w on another tank.

For now I was just going to wire it and run NO bulbs until burnout, then replace with URI bulbs.

Victor, I did not know of different connectors. Maybe you could explain it to me. This hood is not exposed to moisture so I am currently using
normal leviton lampholders. Are these not ok for URI bulbs? Of course I can always stay with NO bulbs.

[reefburnaby]

Hi,

I believe true VHO tubes have a small sleeve that prevents the VHOs from using the cheap Leviton connectors. It is like a small protective plastic around the two pins. The regular NOs don't have it, but the VHOs do have it. I saw this a long time ago, so things may have changed over the years. You might want to check it out before you buy your URI bulbs.

VHO : (from www.gelighting.com) (http://www.gelighting.com))
http://catalog.gelighting.com/gelight/data/images/r17d-1.gif

NO : (From www.gelighting.com) (http://www.gelighting.com))
http://catalog.gelighting.com/gelight/data/images/t12g13-1.gif

- Victor.

[StirCrazy]

Um.. Victor a VHO is a normal T12, same ends and everything.. what you are showing might be a specalized unit, but definatly not the norm.

Steve

[reefburnaby]

Thanks Steve. I can't remember which lamps had the special connectors...maybe it was just a particular brand (Philips).

The other thing is....don't drive full VHO power levels in to a standard Leviton socket. Icecap levels are fine. These sockets are rated at 1A/600V/600W. 100% VHOs are running at 1.5A (at 100%)

- Victor.

[Old Guy]

So the way I see it then is that I will be able to get by with leviton's for the Icecap, but would/should have proper endcaps for the F32T8.

I had no idea I should not be using the leviton's as I have not seen a warning anywhere. The package only states 660w 600v. Nothing about amps.

Right now the WH7 is split to 2 t8 bulbs using leviton holders with no apparent problems. Is there a danger here that I should know about?

The stores that sell ballasts don't sell special lampholders so I didn't think I would be forced to spend 16 bucks a pair.

You'll have to excuse my ignorance as I lost my last brain cell at a golf tourney in June and am now running on deficit. :D I do appreciate your help.

Jeff

[reefburnaby]

Hi,

So...Amps = Watts divided by Voltage -- for most resistive loads like lamps. For motors, which are reactive load...different story as Darren found out with his defective pump.

So 660W / 600V = 1.1A. A single lamp usually carries less than 800mA in overdrive or Icecap cases...so you are fine. When we are driving 100% VHO levels with a purebred VHO ballast, which are around 1.4-1.6A of lamp current...then you can see we can have a problem. As we all know, Icecap and the overdrive (both NO and VHO) configuration drive less than ~800mA in to the lamp. The main problem is the metalic contact between the lamp pins and the socket...its is mated through a very thin piece of metal.

I have been thinking about using VHO actinics too. If you want...I can try it out for you and tell you how well it works.

- Victor.

[ 31 August 2002, 09:49: Message edited by: reefburnaby ]

[Old Guy]

As I have a few T8's lying around I am going to run NO's for awhile, so therefor wouldn't mind if you would like to try it first ;) .

I like the color of the URI actinic and would like to be able to replace my marine glo with it when the time comes. smile.gif