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What voltage does a ballast put out?

FarmerTed

Member
Either 120v/240v

Either 120v/240v

Your ballast is either designed to run on 120v or 240v.
Depending which you have i believe that would be your answer. If i understand your question.
1000w/120v=8.3amp drawn from your circuit
1000w/240=4.2amps drawn from your circuit
Try not to exceed 80% of your circuits capacity for safety.
Just curious, are you trying to test your ballast to determine whether its functioning properly?
Hope this helped.
 
T

trich-zilla

600 volts or some shit like that..

If "OUT" is the key word. Sure, 120 or 240 volts are put in, but what's put out by the ballast is a completely different thing.
 
Y

yamaha_1fan

where are all the electricians and sparkies at?

voltage, amps, and watts are different things PK and Farmer Ted, thanks though

Yes I am trying to troubleshoot and see if the ballasts are putting out the correct VOLTAGE. From what I have been told, my ballasts (at least the 5 that I tested) are putting out the wrong voltage. The vendor I bought them from is clueless and its their store brand.

The ballasts are running on 240 (239 measured with meter) but I think the ballast should have the same output regardless of the incoming voltage.

On my transformer, it says OCV 435-490 but i get 300 at the hood and ballast checked with a digital meter set to AC

For those that dont know, I have had numerous bulb failures. probably 12-15 in the last 4-5 months. All bulbs are from the same manufacturer so the next 5 are from a different manufacturer and the vendor wants to wait and see if these blow. I however would like to verify that the ballasts are running properly


 

Wait...What?

Active member
Veteran
'ballast' is just a simple word for 'step-up transformer.'

a 1000w sodium lamp wants 4,000v to ignite the lamp, and 400v to keep it on.

watts are a measure of power consumption in this context, not power output.
 
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yamaha_1fan

But if the ballast is running for several hours, the lamp is obviously running, there obviously should be a voltage that is read across the two hots going to the lamp, I am trying to find out what that voltage should be

Someone said 600
Someone said 400
My Brother in law says it should reflect the OCV Open Circuit Voltage rating marked on the transformer itself which is 430-490 I believe.


Either way my reading of 300 does not match any of those.
 
Correct me if I'm wrong but isn't OCV the same as no load voltage?
If the lamp is the load, I'm guessing (bad idea with electrics) the voltage would be lower, perhaps 300v.
If you're blowing bulbs, check how smooth your ballast input voltage is, it may be that.
HF
 
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T

trich-zilla

There could be too much resistance in your wire if the length of wire is too long between the bulb and the ballast. Eurosystem dual 600w ballasts had the same problem with their 20 ft. ballast to hood wires, they recognized this and put the ignitor in the hood, problem solved.

I don't know if this is your same problem, but it would be another place to look if you're seeing a significant voltage drop...
 
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cocktail frank

Ubiquitous
Mentor
ICMag Donor
Veteran
very good point trich-zilla.
they dont recommend going over 15ft w/ the cord from the ballast to the socket.
 
Y

yamaha_1fan

hydro you may be right. I was told to read the voltage inside the socket. Then I figured I could just check outside the socket forgetting the lamp will cause a voltage drop. DOH!!!

At the 300 Volt I am seeing no voltage drop from the ballast to the hood. I get that reading at the hood and at the ballast. Tonight when lights come on I will check on the hoods with no lights and see what I get
 
Y

yamaha_1fan

well that didnt work out. I pulled a bulb out and tried to measure the voltage from the socket and toasted the meter.

I guess I will just have to wait and see. I have 5 bulbs that are not of the original brand so if they blow, then I know the problem lies elsewhere
 

Wait...What?

Active member
Veteran
Are they actually blowing, or do you just not have enough current to ignite them? Did you test the bulbs in a known-to-be-good lamp setup?
 

cocktail frank

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Veteran
yamaha.
how long is the wire run from your ignitor to the socket?
lets try the obvious.
too long of a run and the ignitor wont be able to light the bulb.
 
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yamaha_1fan

remember I have 9 lights running, not just one or two. I have had bulbs go bad in just about every hood. A couple have gone all white inside from some type of powder. Most have gone black at the base though indicating some type of failure. When I put another bulb in, then it works. I dont have any other ballasts except the ones setup here

The run from the ignitor to the bulb is probably from 20-50 feet depending on the hood
 
20-50ft. is too far for any standard ignitor.

Most Venture pulse start ballasts have distance limitations of 2 to 15 ft with standard ignitors. Longer ballast-to-lamp (BTL) distances can be attained with higher energy ignitors. These should not be used for short range as they may damage ballast insulation and shorten ballast life. Contact Venture for availability and technical support.
http://www.venturelighting.com/TechCenter/Ignitors.html

Hopefully that might help you out. Good luck mate
 
Y

yamaha_1fan

I am thinking the quickest and easiest solution is to move the ignitor to the hood. I am thinking it will be a bitch to match the right ignitor to the ballast. I am going to contact TDS Power Monday as they seem to be the manufacturer of this ballast.

Why would the bulbs fail though? If the ignitor couldnt get them started, wouldnt they just not light up? I have seen a bulb fail in mid cycle. I was in the room, the light was on for several hours I assume before I came in, and after about 10 minutes the lamp just shut off. Took it out, put it back in, nothing. Put another bulb in and it worked fine

If I move the ignitor, I only need to run one wire back to the hood as I already have 12-2 romex going to the hoods right? I am only extending X3? What gauge wire should I run? 16 gauge?
 
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