I Need Lighting Advice Please

[Black wallnut]

MY problem is that in the last year I have lost three of the ballasts and the lights seem to be overheating and cycling off. I keep my shop between 70° and 80° when I'm out there. The attic is not insulated, nor do I have any vents up there. The lights I bought at a local discount member store. The outside temp these days is 80°+ if it makes a difference.

Now for the questions:

• Would venting the shop's attic cure this?
• Do the experts think this may be only because of cheap ballasts?
• Any other suggestions?
• Would placing a spacer between the lights and the top of the light box make any difference?

TIA

[Hellrazor]

Thats somewhat typical, i know they start to die at work in series. The newer addition had the emergency light ballasts all die within a few months. The cycling on and off is the sign of a failing ballast. After awhile you might start to get the burning tar smell from the ballast cooking oil out of it. If you paid a decent ammount of money for the lights, just replace the ballasts as they fail with a quality replacement. If they are cheap lights, they are basicly disposable since a new ballast can cost as much as a new fixture.

As far as your questions:

1. Depending on where your shop is. If its a garage/etc you should have some kind of venting in the roof and soffits. Lack of proper venting causes problems with shingles wearing out sooner then later.

2. Yes, cheap light ballasts do not last long.

3. Just what i said above.

4. Not really.

[lago]

Check with the mfg for possible free replacement.

I had the same problem with ballast failure on two different types of lights. I contacted the mfg and they sent new ballast free of charge. One mfg had a 5 yr warranty and it was only 2 yrs old. The other had a 2yr warranty but when I called, they replaced 4 ballasts free of charge with a new model. I think they may have had problems with the original model #.

[monte]

How long have you had them installed? How long have you been using the same flourescent lamps in them?

[Tom Slick]

if you bought quality ballasts they should be under warranty. the best but not cheap way to light the area is to get rid of your T12 bulbs with magnetic ballasts and replace them with T8 bulbs with electronic ballasts in your current fixtures. T8 bulbs and ballasts are 30% more effecient than T12 bulbs and the ballasts do not produce heat like magnetic ballasts do. the new T8 bulbs cost about the same as the T12 bulbs. another nice feature of T8 ballasts is the bulbs are wired in parallel so when one bulb goes out the others stay on

[don_hart]

I would look into replacement ballasts but you may find that a new fixture is cheaper than a new ballast. If I bought a new ballast I would make sure its temperature range is high enough so that the temp in the shop and attack was not enough to affect it.

Venting the attic will help keep the heat down but this is probably only a small contributing factor to the failure of the ballasts.

First off they are probably inexpensive ballasts and the they will not take as much abuse and will not last as long as better quality ballasts.

Second off the probable reason they are failing is due to failure to replace the bulbs in the fixtures in a timely manner.

Fluorescent bulbs do not just burn out like incandescent bulbs. They deteriate from the moment you start to use them and slowly dim over time. As they wear they place more load on the ballast. Just before they really start to give up the ghost they can and often do put an almost continous load on the ballast causing it to fail.

Since they dim so slowly you will not really notice the lesser amount of light at least until you put in a new bulb and see how bright the new bulb is. You really should relamp periodically. Every 18 months to 2 years is a good rule of thumb. Not only will your ballasts last longer but you will always have good light.

[Black wallnut]

Thanks for the replies. Upon closer inspection the last few to lose their smoke were here when we bought the place. All of the bulbs are pretty new, less than a year old. I found suitable replacements at the BORG for under $8. each fixture.

[Deadhead]

quote:Originally posted by Black wallnut

Thanks for the replies. Upon closer inspection the last few to lose their smoke were here when we bought the place. All of the bulbs are pretty new, less than a year old. I found suitable replacements at the BORG for under $8. each fixture.

Does this mean I can ask a question without being a "thread hijacker"?

What the heck is a "ballast"? Is that the proper term for the fixture? Or is it part of the fixture? Would switching from "magnetic ballasts" to "electronic ballasts" mean replacing the whole fixture? And finally, how can you tell which kind of ballasts you have?

I have some cheap fluorescent lights in the closests that haven't worked since I moved in - even after purchasing new tubes. On someone's recommendation, I bought new 'starters' (cylinder about 1 inch tall that fits in the fixture and is supposed to turn into place) but couldn't get them installed. Replacing those fixtures is on my long list, so knowing a little more about the subject would help.
TIA

[LJR]

Deadhead, I'll try to post a link here which explains: what's a ballast or a starter http://www.pagewise.com/guides/fluor...t--work.htmter

After posting that, I can't get that link to work. If you go to pagewise and then type in fluorescent lights in the search on their webpage, it will take you to a page explaining "how it works".

The ballast is a separate component and can be replaced. Electronic ballasts are newer to the market. It will be written somewhere on the ballast whether it's magnetic or electronic. If the ballasts are really old and the label is gone, they're very probably magnetic. Magnetic ballasts used oil in the ballasts to keep them cooler. If you've got a really really old ballast that oil may contain PCBs and that's a hazardous substance and needs to be disposed of properly. (don't get it on you).

If you have cheap fixtures that aren't working, it may be faster (and cheaper) to buy new cheap fixtures and don't even mess with buying replacement parts trying to make the old ones work.

[Black wallnut]

Here is a link to what I think LJR is trying to get you to: http://www.pagewise.com/repair-flour...ht-fixture.htm

[LCHIEN]

quote:Originally posted by Black wallnut

Here is a link to what I think LJR is trying to get you to: http://www.pagewise.com/repair-flour...ht-fixture.htm

That article is generally quite accurate but leaves out a few generalizations that might help.

First, starters in Flourescent lighting went out probably 30-35 years ago. You won't find it in most fluorecent fixtures unless they predate 1965 or so, in my experience. My Dad's house had lots of fluor. lighting and was built in 1962 and it had all ballasts. My FIL house was built in 1959 or so and they recently replaced a kitchen fixture that still had starters.

Ballasts are sized by the length and number of lamps they drive. The ubiquitous 2 x 40" fixtures would take a popular ballast that is about 10" x 3" x 2" with two tabs on the back to mount it atop the sheet metal of the fixture, usually under a v-shaped white sheet metal cover (part of the lights reflector between the bulbs, or somtimes in a base below the bults). The ballast is usually black, quite heavy for the size (heavier than a brick) and costs about $15-20 for replacements which can be found in piles below the fixtures at Lowes or HD. Quite frequently the 4x40 fixtures will have 2 of the 2x40 ballasts because they are sold in higher volumes and cheaper and maybe easier to wire.

Most of the $8 complete shop fixtures now available have eliminated the magnetic ballasts (probably starting about 10-15 years ago but now even cheaper with chinese imports) at considerable cost savings due to replacement of the metal and wire with electronic equivalents.
The cheaper ones may have a higher frequency buzzing noise when they start and don't always start quickly in cooler weather. More expensive ones work better but guess what - they cost more.

I haven't bought any fixtures lately for kitchens and home offices; I would not be surprised that these also now have electronic ballasts.

As always there are heavy-duty high quality commercial versions that cost more and work better.

[Tom Slick]

check out http://home.howstuffworks.com/fluorescent-lamp.htm on page 6 it explains ballasts.

basically the fat tubes you normally see are old technology. there are newer skinny tubes (T8 and T5HO) that are much more effecient (about 30% or more), put out much better light and last about 20,000 hours. they also start in lower temps and last longer in higher temps. the new tech bulbs require a new tech electronic ballast. the ballast controls the electricity going to the bulb to make it light up and stay lit.