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engineeredgarden

can i od this ballast? pro-tronic ii

engineeredgarden
15 years ago

I bought this light at Lowes, and would like to OD it - if possible. Can anyone help me? Thanks

EG

Comments (10)

  • cannabisgrower
    15 years ago

    try looking in the thread a little ways down, which is just about overdriving. the ballast i use, just has the one red and one blue, the wiring looks different. i think urs has 2 x red and 2 x blue to warm up the filament and vaporize the mercury, whereas mine just uses a burst of high voltage to vaporize it, and i use the kinds of lamp sockets where the pins from each lamp are shorted (bypasses the filament).
    i don't know if there's a way of wiring yours to achieve od.

    Here is a link that might be useful: overdriving thread

  • engineeredgarden
    Original Author
    15 years ago

    Cannabisgrower - thanks for responding. I've read the entire thread, and didn't see anybody using one like this. I will read more into it. Thanks

    EG

  • xmaslightguy
    15 years ago

    I can't say if this ballast will o.d. or not as *every*
    brand of ballast is different...but if it can o.d., the
    most likely way to wire it would be to combine one red
    and one blue wire to each pin on the bulb (so you'll have
    4 wires going to one end of the bulb) and leave the yellow
    as is...

    But note: you can damage/destroy the ballast and/or bulb
    (this is a risk with o.d.'ing any ballast, not just yours)
    If you're gonna try, do it outside just incase something
    gets smoked...
    If it lights and appears to be working normally, let it
    run for a few minutes, unplug and feel if anything is hot...
    if the ballast gets hot its not gonna work... if its just
    warm plug back in and let it run for awhile

    Personally i'd like to find a website that lists various
    brands/models of ballasts and which ones can o.d. :)

    I have yet to find one...
    (sure there's o.d. info spread over various plant/fish
    forms but i don't see a general page with lists)

    Anyone know if such a page exists?

    Maybe i should start one? LOL

  • cannabisgrower
    15 years ago

    My criteria is cheapness. I was able to find cheap ballasts on ebay. they got rained on, rusted, and were being sold cheap. i tried them out, and they od'ed fine. they ignite the lamp with a blast of high voltage, so there is just one hot lead per lamp. the other criteria is make sure it puts out enough current (something like 0.6 amps).

  • engineeredgarden
    Original Author
    15 years ago

    xmaslightguy - thanks, dude. I probably won't try it with this one...I went to HD the other day, and opened a few lights, didn't find any sunpark. Oh well, i'll keep my eyes open for a good deal like cannabisgrower found!

    EG

  • cannabisgrower
    15 years ago

    The guy on ebay still has a pile of them AND THEY ARE CHEAP!!!

    Here is a link that might be useful: go git yer cheap t8 ballasts on ebay, they r the same i used for my overdriving project!!!

  • engineeredgarden
    Original Author
    15 years ago

    Cannabisgrower - thanks for the link, dude!

    EG

  • ccc1
    15 years ago

    Here's a list of ballasts that can be OD'd that I've compiled through various sites when I was doing this a couple of years ago... You could add to this list if you find any others that will work...

    2-Lamp
    ======

    Sunpark SL-15

    Advance REL-2S40-SC
    REL-2S40-RH-TP
    REL-2p32-SC

    GE B232R120HP
    B232M20RH

    Sylvania QTP 2x32T8/120 RSN-D
    QT2x32/120 IS-SC
    QTP 2x32T8/120 ISN-D

    4-Lamp
    ======

    Advance REL-4P32-SC

    GE B432M120RH
    432 MAX

    Sylvania QT 4x32/120 IS-SC
    QTP 4x32T8/120 ISN-A

    Fulham Workhourse 5

    Damar 3093A

  • xmaslightguy
    15 years ago

    Thanks for the info ccc1... i'm gonna save that
    for reference :)
    Also is it ok if i add that to my lights webpage (assuming i
    actually get around to actually making the page) LOL

    Cannabisgrower - do you remember the brand/model on
    those eBay ballasts you got?

  • ccc1
    15 years ago

    xmaslightguy, no problem, go ahead and put it into a page... It's been a few year since I updated that list, but most of those ballasts still seem to be in the market.

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