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Re: Is My Shoplight/Ballast Selection SAFE?
In a message dated 96-04-02 00:16:54 EST, you write:
>I was at the hardware store and saw a shoplight made by American Fluoresent
>Corp. that holds two 48" 40 watt tubes and costs $9.99. The ballast in it is
>made by Lumi-Con and has the following specs: 120 volts / 60 Hz / .650 amps
>/ class P automatic resetting thermal protector / sound rated A series
>ballast / for rapid start lamps / Recommended lamps- F40 CWX, RES, CWP, KB.
> It did have a warning on it that said- Do not surface mount, hang from
chain
>only. Is this warning on all shoplights? Is this a quality
>shoplight/ballast that will be safe to use in my homemade hood that will not
>be hung from a chain? The man at the store told me the new shoplights
coming
>out are switching from ballasts that handle 40 watt tubes, to ones that hold
>32 watt tubes for safety reasons. Jeff
>
>
The shoplight ballast will be safe as long as you don't get it wet, just
like any other electrical product. But to be honest with you I would buy an
electronic ballast. I ran the shoplights for about a year with no problems,
just set them on top of the tank. The buggest problem is that they don't run
the typical grow bulb or aquarium bulbs very well. Some bulbs will only
flicker, while others glow very dimmly. An electronic ballast can be had to
run up to 4 4' T8 bulbs. These bulbs are the 32w bulbs that the salesman was
talking about. An electronic ballast for the mentioned setup is around $25,
and the bulbs fixtures are cheap. In the not so long run you will probably
be happier with a quality ballast rather than a shop light.
Pete Datcuk