t-5 ballast question

[jck9]

how many watts does the ballast need to be for a single 54w ho t-5? this sounds stupid i know but shoulnt it be 54w? i just got a cheapo t-5 fixture that i was going to add individual reflectors to and when i opened it up the ballast only says 28w. is this the right size ballast?

[luke33]

a 46.5" long normal output t5 puts out 28w. Thats pry what you have.

[jck9]

the bulbs that are in it say 54w. the box said ho t-5 54w. it has 4 ballasts inside the fixture. one for each bulb. each says 28w.

[sirreal63]

If each ballast will drive 2-28 watt bulbs then it will drive 1-54 watt bulb. What fixture is it?

[jck9]

it is a 48" odyssea ho t-5. i know it is a cheapo but i got it for 70 bucks and figured if i threw on some individual reflectors i should have a decent light. it has 4 bulbs and 4 ballasts inside it. one for each of the bulbs. it worked when i opened it just wondered if it was under powering the bulbs.

[sirreal63]

If it does drive 2-28 watt bulbs they are simply hooking both power leads to one side of the bulb which is giving it 56 watts...if their cheapo ballast works like a workhorse ballast.

[jck9]

it drives a total of 4 bulbs and there are 4 ballasts in the fixture. each bulb is hooked to 1 ballast.

[sirreal63]

No, each ballast is driving one bulb, and there are two leads connected to each end of the bulb...is that right? If each ballast is designed to run 2-28 watt bulbs it is correct for a single 54 watt bulb. I know there are 4 bulbs and 4 ballasts, we already established that. :-)

Is any of this making sense? Can you take a pic of what you are looking at and how it is wired?

[jck9]

i got ya. sorry. i think i understand now. basically 28w goes to each end of each bulb. a no t-5 only has one lead for each end of the bulb? and ho t-5 has two leads for each end of the bulb? hope im inderstabding and i dont sound like a complete idiot. thanks for trying to help me understand

[sirreal63]

You almost got it. In the 28 watt config. one power lead goes to one end and the return goes to the other end. If you run 2-28 watt leads to one end and one or two return leads to the other end you are running 56 watts to the bulb. That is a very over simplified explanation though. It is basically the power of two 28 watt bulbs into one 54 watt bulb. Now that is assuming that the ballast is meant for 2-28 watt bulbs. :-) If you have two leads going to each end of the bulb it is a safe bet that is what is being done.

[jck9]

yeah there are four leads coming out of the ballast with two going to each end of the bulb. thanks for helping me understand. really appreciate it.

[sirreal63]

I just hope we are right...with chinese equipment and no diagram to go by all we can do is guess. A 28 watt ballast probably would not fire a 54 watt bulb very well though unless it was a 2-28 watt ballast.

[jck9]

i lit up one bulb before i started to tear it apart to start "making it better and it was pretty bright. i know that dosent say much but if it was only meant for one 28 watt bulb it would be reall dim then correct?

[sirreal63]

Yes, if it fired it up at all. You should be ok.

[jck9]

thanks alot sirreal