# walmart shop light overdrive



## surpera1 (Feb 18, 2009)

http://forums.gardenweb.com/forums/load/lights/msg1023085115379.html

i built one last night - it was an easy modification - i run mine with 2 T12 40 watt plant/aquarium lights - because i cant seem to lay hands on T8 grow lights local - there is a definite increase in brightness in the bulbs - anyway - the fixtures are electronic ballast , 800 ma , and will drive either T8 or T12 bulbs - for the price ? these are not bad at all - the overdrive is supposed to increase output by 1.7 with a 2X overdrive - for anyone looking to add more light on the cheap - of course AH supply would be the best option - but this was a fun project for me - the resulting light is very slick looking - you cant even tell its been modified


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## PhoMan (Feb 25, 2004)

Link is not working, can you post the whole link location so I try check it out too? Thanks.


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## surpera1 (Feb 18, 2009)

http://forums.gardenweb.com/forums/load/lights/msg1023085115379.html


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## surpera1 (Feb 18, 2009)

i dont know why the link doesnt work - i copied it directly from the website twice - oh well - just google overdrive walmart lights of america shoplight


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## KCFITZ78 (Apr 15, 2009)

Do you have the schematic and pics that was linked at the end of that blog? Would like to see some that stuff


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## surpera1 (Feb 18, 2009)

quote from original site 

"Just to clarify what I did on OD'ing the LOA shoplights...

1. Remove ballast ends from two shoplights and the non-ballasted receptacle end from the shoplight fixture that will house the OD'd lighting.

2. Took a ballast and cut a red and black wire from one side of the ballast and spliced these into the other red and black...red to red and black to black. This was repeated on the other ballast.

(at this point I'm working with two "ballasted" end caps...the regular, non-ballasted end caps are not used.)

3. Took long wires from a ballast going to the other end of the light, splicing the yellow and red wires together. This spliced wire connected to one pin of the opposing receptacle. The single black wire connected to the other pin. This created one overdriven lamp. Repeating this procedure gives you a twin-tube, OD'd fixture with a ballasted end cap at each end.

4. I did not splice the power cords, but simply have both power cords still attached to the end caps. "


this is exactly what i did - you will need a soldering iron and some solder - to get the wires out of the connectors insert a small nail or some such in there to push back the copper spring - the wires will come right out - you are basically taking a ballast thats driving 2 lights and making it drive just one - and adding another ballast from an identical fixture on the other end to drive the other bulb - i took the wires driving the other light and soldered them to the circuit board myself - the whole thing came out looking real spiffy and will drive each T12 gro light twice as hard - it will drive T8's 3 times as hard - but i cant seem to lay hands on a T8 grow bulb yet - but yeah - its super easy - just take your time and think about what you are doing - PM me and i'll let you call me - i can walk you through it if you need help - normally a T12 runs on 425 milliamp and this mod runs it at 800 milliamp - normally a T8 runs at 265 milliamp and this mod runs it at 800 milliamp - but basically for $20 you can cram some good light over your tank - i saw an immediate difference in plant growth - enjoy! - and oh yeah - it is perfectly safe to run bulbs like this - many ballasts can operate any number of bulbs and combinations of bulbs - in fact i purchased an AH supply 2X55 kit when i first got into plants - nice stuff BTW - but guess what ? they are using a workhorse 5 ballast to 2X overdrive the 55 watt PC's ! - once i figured that out i started poking around with what was available locally for cheap - and this is it - but the AH supply kit with bulbs is $100 - this fixture is $20


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## KCFITZ78 (Apr 15, 2009)

At the end of that discussion it says the following below. The link does not work. Any one have these pic/schematic????????

*Here is a schematic of the ballast under discussion. 
The JPEG resolution gets squashed by the host site 
so if someone offers a better home for the document 
I'll be happy to copy the JPEG/PDF there.
Here is a link that might be useful: LOA 8045E Ballast Schematic*


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## surpera1 (Feb 18, 2009)

no - you dont need it - just look at the fixture - on the ballast end you will see a red and a black wire going to one end cap and another red and black wire going to the other end cap - remove one pair of wires from an endcap and solder to matching red and black wires on circuit board - now , at the non ballast end of the fixture - i forget the colors - but there are 2 "hot" wires and 1 common "return" - the 2 hot wires connect together to one endcap - the common connects to 1 endcap - the same side as the ballast is driving - then you have 1 2x ODNO T12 on that side - you then repeat the process on the other side


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## KCFITZ78 (Apr 15, 2009)

It does not sound easy untill I have the light in front of me or a drawing. That won't happen untill I find a light in a Walmart in my location. I just can't find them.


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## surpera1 (Feb 18, 2009)

it is easy - you will see


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## KCFITZ78 (Apr 15, 2009)

Ok.... now another question. What is the part number of the ballast on AH supply 2X55 kit???? Workhorse 5 xxxxxxxx????

Also can you tell who the moisture end caps are made by and part number on the AH supply kit????

I am now looking at pricing out the pieces separate by cross referencing different manufacturers for lower priced components.


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## surpera1 (Feb 18, 2009)

that you wont find - i believe aHSUPPLY BUYS IN QUANTITY OR WHOLESALE OR SOMETHING - oops caps - anyway - they do have quality components - but cost a lot more than what i did - but my plants dont seem to know the difference - workhorse are good ballasts - if you get a workhorse made to drive 4 T12's and use it in 4X ODNO on one T12 - lots of possibilities - but this kinda stuff ends up costing more than the AH supply kit - thats why i hacked the shop light


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## surpera1 (Feb 18, 2009)

this ballast is a cheaper equivalent of the workhorse 7 - 2 of these would crank 2 T12's

http://www.ballastwise.com/item.asp?PID=5&FID=1&level=0


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## KCFITZ78 (Apr 15, 2009)

I understand they buy quanity as any bussiness that manufactures a product.

Anyways, AH supply is not overdriving the bulbs. The workhorse 5 ballast is meant to supply 2 x 55 watt lights. If they were to overdrive, they would use a ballast that was 4 x 55, and wire it such to only two 55watt bulbs. Actually, the ballast is rated for 128 watt max power, so that would be 64 watt per bulb.... so I guess they might be slighty overdriving the bulbs.

Also... you said "if you get a workhorse made to drive 4 T12's and use it in 4X ODNO on one T12 - lots of possibilities".......... really the fact is 4x output into one bulb is only 2.4 times as bright as normal.

I found the following article, and this is a *GREAT* article:
http://www.geocities.com/teeley2/overdrv1.html


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## surpera1 (Feb 18, 2009)

hey - i was trying to help you out here - since you dont need my help - i will unsubscribe - see ya


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## Dreamweaver (May 31, 2009)

surpera1 said:


> ... normally a T8 runs at 265 milliamp...


Hi surpera1,Please excuse my ignorance, but I was just wondering if this applies to T-8's that are 40w, such as the Hagen Aqua-Glo???
Thanks, Dan


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