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Re: power compacts DIY
Erik Olson <erik at thekrib_com> sez:
> The inline-4 arrangement sounds the same as the Osram Dulux-L series. I
> ordered the $2 endcap (not waterproof) as type 2G11. I don't know about
> the dice thing, though something in the back of my head tells me someone
> hooked one up to a circline ballast in an article on the web somewhere...
I'd *love* to know where you found 2G11 lampholders for $2. I had to special
order them from a manufacturer for $8 each.
You gotta be careful about the current requirement of the different compact
fluorescent lamps as well as the lampholder configuration. I'm not sure these
figures are *exactly* right, but the 16.5" 36W CFL's and the 22.5" 50W CFL's
(both are long twin tube) are about 430 ma, and the 22.5" 40W and some of the
28W are 270 ma). I don't know what the 55W kind take, but it is somewhere in
between. IMO, the aquarium supply companies use the 55W lamps not to get the
highest wattage, but because the 21.7" 55W industrial lamps are not available
in the US. US industrial lighting uses the 22.5" 50W, Europe uses 55W.
Aquarium supply companies don't want you going to the local comercial lighting
supplier and getting a GE or Philips or Osram (Sylvania) lamp for $12. So they
design in some incompatbility by using 55W lamps.
If you select the right ballasts, you can use whatever compact fluorescent
lamps are available to you. I have a 40W 22.5" on my 20 gallon tank, using a
"high light output" ballast intended for T8 lamps. It produces a tremendous
amount of light and it was cheap. But I cannot find 5000K or 6500K lamps for
it. I'm using a 4100K lamp right now, and the color is good, but just
slightly yellower than I would like.
best regards,
bob