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Re: 40W compact fl. lamps
Joshua Liechty <jliechty at custom_net> sez:
> It has been mentioned in APD V4 #258 in "Re: Lighting help" that a T8
> ballast could be used to drive 40W c.f. lamps. My question is: which
> one? Would something like the REL-3P32-RH-TP (from Advance) work
> (instead of the REL-2TTS40) for driving 2 40W lamps? BTW, in the Advance
> ballast catalog, the REL-3P32-RH-TP is recommended for 3 T8 lamps from
> 25 to 40 watts.
>
I am currently using a REL-2P32-RHTP ballast with a 40W compact
fluorescent, and it works great. I'm not sure if these ballasts are
still listed for use with c.f. lamps, but they used to be. C.F.
ballasts now require some kind of end-of-life circuitry that the T8's
don't require (I'm talking from memory here about something I read
about over a year ago). I figure it is not an important consideration
here because I intend to change the lamp before it fails. Note that
there are two different c.f. lamps in the 36-40W range with the same
pin configuration and lampholder. The 16 inch lamps operate at about
430 ma (similar to an old fashioned T12 lamp) and the 22 inch lamps
operate at 265 ma (same as a new T8).
BTW, I have operated a 16 inch c.f. lamp (F39BX/SPX41) on a F40T12
magnetic ballast and it has trouble starting, but lights to full
brightness once I get it going.
regards,
bob