# is this T5HO Ballast for real? -electronics expert needed



## spypet (Jul 27, 2007)

I purchased a no name made in China T5HO fixture
driving a pair of 24w bulbs off a 110volt outlet.
I'm suspicious this ballast circuitry may be under
powering my 22" bulbs because they don't seem
to burn as brightly (brand new) as regular 18w T5.
I risked destroying the fixture in order to see
one of two ballasts driving each of the 2 bulbs.

*so can any of you electronics gurus tell me about
this ballast, and if it's appropriate to the task?*


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## Squawkbert (Jan 3, 2007)

Second pic is a red-X, please try again...









nm - it's working now...

If each of those coils yields 6V, I'm guessing that the ballasts are correct for a 24W bulb, of course, they may be a turn or two short...


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## bigstick120 (Mar 8, 2005)

Should of bought a Tek


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## spypet (Jul 27, 2007)

bigstick120 said:


> Should of bought a Tek


Oh, thanks for reminding me to add you to my ignore list for this forum as well


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## bigstick120 (Mar 8, 2005)

What you can dish it out but you cant take it huh!


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## Volenti (Oct 12, 2007)

it's impossible to tell just by looking at it, you would have to measure the output voltage under load to tell if the ballast is operating correctly.


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## spypet (Jul 27, 2007)

where would I attach the red & black lead of a voltmeter?
what reading would I be looking for?


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## HoldingWine (Oct 7, 2007)

I bought the same exact thing. I'd like to know how this goes!


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## spypet (Jul 27, 2007)

Holdingwine,
I have both a 2x18 aqualight and this 2x24 and they seem to give the same light.
what are your observations, or do you simply lack any point of reference.
in case it turns out to only be a 2x18, it's still cheaper than a same size aqualight


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## zveck (Oct 28, 2007)

Don't go playing with a voltmeter in a ballast. The voltages in a fluorescent ballast can kill you and at best may just fry your voltmeter.


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## ruki (Jul 4, 2006)

Not all ballasts are the same. I've noticed that some (cough cough Odyssea) never light T5 HO tubes as brightly as my Tek Light does using Advance ballasts or running two drive wires with a WorkHorse ballast.

If you meter can handle 1000 volts you should be able to measure the voltage and current being fed to the bulb. But as the previous poster has commented, you want to be careful. This means turning off the unit off when you attach the probes!

If this tube is less bright than other T5 HO fixtures, my guess is that the unit supplies less current than some of the more premium ballasts. It's probably not a case of a faulty ballast. The ballast was designed to send that amount of power to the bulb.


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## spypet (Jul 27, 2007)

according to a poster on an electronics forum;

_A voltmeter will not be able to correctly measure the typical 30kHz voltage and current driving the lamp. An isolation transformer, oscilloscope and a current probe are needed to debug these types of ballasts._


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## HoldingWine (Oct 7, 2007)

I really could not tell you if the ballast produced less light than another T5HO ballast. I do know that mine seem fairly bright. But this is in comparison to other fluorescent lights I've had (T12NO and T8).


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## Gotfish (Aug 15, 2007)

I'm thinking about buying this light. Can someone post pics of their light. I would like to see reflectors.


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## HoldingWine (Oct 7, 2007)

I'll get some pictures up for ya. The reflectors don't seem like anything special but the 2X24watt lights seem to produce just as much light as my 3 fluorescents I had on my 20H. I wouldn't say it is double the light output of NO fluorescents, but they are definitely bright.


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