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How do you wire flourescent light blub to a ballast? And type of ballast do I get?

M

mercer7

Jan 1, 1970
0
I'm getting small face tanning flourescent light bulbs.

Just the bulbs no ballast. How do I know what kind of ballast to get
for them? (15 watts each, 4 bulbs).

How do I know how to connect the wiring? And what type of ballast?
 
H

Homer J Simpson

Jan 1, 1970
0
mercer7 said:
I'm getting small face tanning flourescent light bulbs.

Just the bulbs no ballast. How do I know what kind of ballast to get
for them? (15 watts each, 4 bulbs).

How do I know how to connect the wiring? And what type of ballast?

You need 4 15 W single tube ballasts or 2 15 W double ballasts. They have a
diagram with them.

Be sure to wear eye protection. Tanning is dangerous.
 
D

Don Klipstein

Jan 1, 1970
0
I'm getting small face tanning flourescent light bulbs.

Just the bulbs no ballast. How do I know what kind of ballast to get
for them? (15 watts each, 4 bulbs).

How do I know how to connect the wiring? And what type of ballast?

If these 15 watt bulbs are the same length, same diameter, and have same
pin style as regular 15 watt fluorescent bulbs, especially if they have
markings "F15..." or "F15T8..." then I give them a 99.8-plus percent
chance of being electrically compatible with regular 15 watt fluorescent
bulbs, and working just fine in a regular fixture that takes such bulbs.

The usual "preheat" circuit having the usual 2-lead "preheat" ballast
is in Sam Goldwasser's fluorescent lamp article/FAQ, available in
www.repairfaq.org. I have an older copy in:
http://www.misty.com/~don/f-lamp.html

Beware - suntanning is generally unhealthy. It ages skin and increases
your chances of getting skin cancer. Even tanning UVA wavelengths have
some skin cancer risk - UVB-free tanning is not cancer-risk-free.

- Don Klipstein ([email protected])
 
M

mercer7

Jan 1, 1970
0
Okay so in english, the "preheat" circuit is best cause the voltage of
the ballast is more than the volt required for the bulb?

So a "preheat" circuit solves this problem?

I understand the diagram:

Power Switch +-----------+
Line 1 (H) o------/ ---------| Ballast |-----------+
+-----------+ |
|
.--------------------------. |
Line 2 (N) o---------|- Fluorescent -|----+
| ) Tube ( |
+---|- (bipin) -|----+
| '--------------------------' |
| |
| +-------------+ |
| | Starter | |
+----------| or starting |----------+
| switch |
+-------------+


But how would the diagram look if I had 4 bulbs? Is the "preheat"
circuit really necesarry? Can I do a simple parallel?

From what I saw at home depot they have one rated for 4 bulbs, 17
watts.

Can I setup the 4 ballasts in parallel, and the 4 bulbs in parallel for
each ballast?
 
H

Homer J Simpson

Jan 1, 1970
0
Okay so in english, the "preheat" circuit is best cause the voltage of
the ballast is more than the volt required for the bulb?

Not best, required. While some fluos can strike off voltage alone that is
very unusual.
So a "preheat" circuit solves this problem?

It makes the lamp work, yes. Preheat the filaments, then strike the lamp.
 
D

Don Klipstein

Jan 1, 1970
0
Okay so in english, the "preheat" circuit is best cause the voltage of
the ballast is more than the volt required for the bulb?

So a "preheat" circuit solves this problem?

I understand the diagram:

Power Switch +-----------+
Line 1 (H) o------/ ---------| Ballast |-----------+
+-----------+ |
|
.--------------------------. |
Line 2 (N) o---------|- Fluorescent -|----+
| ) Tube ( |
+---|- (bipin) -|----+
| '--------------------------' |
| |
| +-------------+ |
| | Starter | |
+----------| or starting |----------+
| switch |
+-------------+


But how would the diagram look if I had 4 bulbs? Is the "preheat"
circuit really necesarry? Can I do a simple parallel?

You need 4 ballasts and 4 starters. Make 4 copies of the above circuit.
Connect all Line1 points together and all Line2 points together.

Those bulbs are higher voltage lower current ones. The
multi-bulb 17-watt-per-bulb ballast is usually an instant start ballast.
15 watt bulbs will be significantly underpowered, more so from these multi
bulb electronic ballasts for 17 and 32 watt ones usually slightly
underpowering those when full bulb count is used.
Since the 15-watters were probably not designed for "instant start",
they can easily suffer excessive wear from each start.
Can I setup the 4 ballasts in parallel, and the 4 bulbs in parallel for
each ballast?

Do not connect ballasts together, and especially do not put fluorescent
bulbs in parallel with each other. If fluorescent bulbs are in parallel
with each other, all of the current will flow through just one bulb.

- Don Klipstein ([email protected])
 
D

Don Klipstein

Jan 1, 1970
0
That means I have to have a wire from all 16 bulbs then back to the
bulbs?

The ballast I saw in this picture shows no switch for the connection:
http://www.naturalhandyman.com/iip/infxtra/i/ballastwiringdiag.jpg

If this ballast is a trigger start ballast rated for two 15-watt bulbs,
you can use it for two 15-watt bulbs. Otherwise, do not use it.

The switch is added in series with the black wire. If you have more
than one ballast, connect the black wires together and the white wires
together.

- Don Klipstein ([email protected])
 
M

mercer7

Jan 1, 1970
0
So are you saying that I need a ballast that runs the heater at the
same voltage?

Or are you saying I could use something like that?
 
H

Homer J Simpson

Jan 1, 1970
0
So are you saying that I need a ballast that runs the heater at the
same voltage?
No.

Or are you saying I could use something like that?

You should look on WikiPedia, HowStuffWorks and similar sites for info on
fluorescents. You can run them from resistors if you want, there are more
than a few ways to do it but I work with what I can get and I would buy a
ready to go ballast and starter (if required) that suits the lamps.

Are you using 4 of these or 16? Why not use 4 foot tanning fluos?

http://www.mastertanning.com/category/99/tanning-lamps/ has a selection of
lamps.

FWIW, I have a German tanning lamp which uses an arc bulb and will tan white
skin in 3 second pulses. Max is 6 * 3 seconds - but you need to work up to
that (as I found out).
 
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