Alternative Ballast for 2 FT36 (AKA PL-L 36W) lamps? « on: December 28, 2021, 08:57:36 PM » Author: LampLover
I found another Sadelite at a GoodWill for $2 but the Type A ballast (bare ballast PCB No case) is dead (I could not test it in the store as the lamps were missing) I have plenty of "extra" F32T8 ballasts both in Programmed and Instant start can I use one of those? I had an older KT232/IS/120S that states F17T8 but I just want to ask if this is OK before I wire up my old GE232MVPSH-V03 No I did not pay that much for mine I think I paid about $15 for it Thanks PS: The lamp in my picture is not the same one as the one that needs a new ballast. The lamp I bought has another switch my guess they though the switch failed installed a new one lamp didn't work so they donated it.
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	Re: Alternative Ballast for 2 FT36 (AKA PL-L 36W) lamps? « Reply #1 on: December 28, 2021, 09:11:35 PM » Author: WorldwideHIDCollectorUSA
You can reliably use a single lamp F40T12 preheat ballast and FS4 starter to power a 36w PL-L lamp. I have performed some tests of 2 36w PL-L lamps on a 2 lamp F40T12 preheat ballast that uses no starting compensator, but one lamp kept blinking like EOL and would never sustain an arc in the same way that European F36T8 tubes would have problems on some 2 lamp F40T12 preheat ballasts. In the near future, I will see if I can simultaneously light 2 36w PL-L lamps on a 2 lamp F40T12 preheat ballast that uses a starting compensator. For now, I highly recommend that you get 2 single lamp F40T12 preheat ballasts and FS4 starters for your 36w PL-L lamps. Such ballasts will give you the reliability of a magnetic ballast for many years to come. So far, I do not recommend 2 lamp F40T12 preheat ballasts yet, but I recommend a pair of single lamp F40T12 preheat ballasts.
« Last Edit: December 28, 2021, 09:23:13 PM by WorldwideHIDCollectorUSA »		Logged

Desire to collect various light bulbs (especially HID), control gear, and fixtures from around the world.

DISCLAIMER: THE EXPERIMENTS THAT I CONDUCT INVOLVING UNUSUAL LAMP/BALLAST COMBINATIONS SHOULD NOT BE ATTEMPTED UNLESS YOU HAVE THE PROPER KNOWLEDGE. I AM NOT RESPONSIBLE FOR ANY INJURIES.

	Re: Alternative Ballast for 2 FT36 (AKA PL-L 36W) lamps? « Reply #2 on: December 28, 2021, 09:24:48 PM » Author: LampLover
I can try that in the future but I was hoping to see if my F32T8 and F17T8 ballasts would harm my lamps and or the ballast as I have a few on hand now (ballasts that is)
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	Re: Alternative Ballast for 2 FT36 (AKA PL-L 36W) lamps? « Reply #3 on: December 28, 2021, 09:27:10 PM » Author: WorldwideHIDCollectorUSA
The F32T8 ballasts will underdrive your 36w PL-L lamps since 36w PL-L lamps are officially rated for 100v 430mA, but actually run at 115v 360mA on full power F40T12 preheat ballasts and F32T8 tubes run at 130v 265mA. In Europe, it is pretty common to run 36w PL-L lamps on F40T12 preheat ballasts. I actually have a video of a 36w PL-L lamp running on a single lamp F40T12 preheat ballast: https://www.lighting-gallery.net/gallery/displayimage.php?album=6272&pos=79&pid=191000 In the near future, I am going to find out if I can run a pair of 36w PL-L lamps on a 2 lamp F40T12 preheat ballast with a starting compensator and will let you know if it runs the lamps reliably. In Europe, it is common to run 36w PL-L lamps on F40T12 preheat ballasts. As I said before, I do prefer running 36w PL-L lamps on F40T12 preheat ballasts because you get the reliability of a magnetic ballast and plus, such ballasts would run the 36w PL-L lamps at full power.
« Last Edit: December 28, 2021, 09:36:44 PM by WorldwideHIDCollectorUSA »		Logged

Desire to collect various light bulbs (especially HID), control gear, and fixtures from around the world.

DISCLAIMER: THE EXPERIMENTS THAT I CONDUCT INVOLVING UNUSUAL LAMP/BALLAST COMBINATIONS SHOULD NOT BE ATTEMPTED UNLESS YOU HAVE THE PROPER KNOWLEDGE. I AM NOT RESPONSIBLE FOR ANY INJURIES.

	Re: Alternative Ballast for 2 FT36 (AKA PL-L 36W) lamps? « Reply #4 on: December 28, 2021, 09:45:04 PM » Author: LampLover
I don't know if a magnetic ballast will fit the ballast Compartment barely fits the 9.5" long brick style ballast of my existing fixture! The ballast will not fit straight that is why it is mounted on an angle plus the ballast compartment is not very tall. I do have an "extra" ICN-2S54-N that is for F54T5 lamps though but I think the FT lamps use T5 tubes? Will that work?
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	Re: Alternative Ballast for 2 FT36 (AKA PL-L 36W) lamps? « Reply #5 on: December 28, 2021, 10:12:45 PM » Author: WorldwideHIDCollectorUSA
I believe that F54T5 HO tubes run at a similar current to 36w PL-L lamps, but the F54T5 HO tubes run at a much higher arc drop than 36w PL-L lamps. If you still enjoy the reliability of magnetic ballasts and preheat action, I believe a pair of HX NPF single lamp F40T12 preheat ballasts might fit in the casing since they are smaller in size, but it may require that you drill holes. Here is a pair of HX NPF single lamp F40T12 preheat ballasts if you are interested in trying those out for your 36w PL-L lamps since they are smaller than HX HPF single lamp F40T12 preheat ballasts and 2 lamp lead lag autotransformer F40T12 preheat ballasts.: https://www.ebay.com/itm/190856407173 I seem to prefer magnetic ballasts over HF ballasts due to the fact that HF ballasts are more easily prone to failure due to the fact that their circuits have more required components whereas magnetic ballasts are just an iron core with a copper winding. These preheat ballasts are 6 7/16” long, 1 7/8” wide, and 1 1/2” tall.
« Last Edit: December 28, 2021, 10:17:55 PM by WorldwideHIDCollectorUSA »		Logged

Desire to collect various light bulbs (especially HID), control gear, and fixtures from around the world.

DISCLAIMER: THE EXPERIMENTS THAT I CONDUCT INVOLVING UNUSUAL LAMP/BALLAST COMBINATIONS SHOULD NOT BE ATTEMPTED UNLESS YOU HAVE THE PROPER KNOWLEDGE. I AM NOT RESPONSIBLE FOR ANY INJURIES.

	Re: Alternative Ballast for 2 FT36 (AKA PL-L 36W) lamps? « Reply #6 on: December 28, 2021, 10:30:22 PM » Author: LampLover
Well I just looked up the Spec Sheet as the my actual ballast is in a storage tub full of other electronic & electrical parts and it actually lists FT36 lamps so I should be good to go well until it fails then I'll go the F40T12 ballast route. What is "arc drop" though? Also what is a "starting compensator"? A capacitor or something totally different. I wonder if a universal lamp spec sheet exists EX: what lamp type(s) run at what current voltage etc.
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	Re: Alternative Ballast for 2 FT36 (AKA PL-L 36W) lamps? « Reply #7 on: December 28, 2021, 10:38:56 PM » Author: WorldwideHIDCollectorUSA
The arc drop is referred to as the lamp’s voltage drop across the arc. 36w PL-L lamps and F40T12 fluorescent tubes both have an arc drop of about 100v. I believe that when going the magnetic ballast route, preheat ballasts run the 36w PL-L lamps better because they have higher voltage cathodes than most F40T12 fluorescent tubes designed for the North American market, which means that if operated on rapid start magnetic ballasts, they would use dedicated 36w PL-L rapid start ballasts rather than normal F40T12 rapid start ballasts because the OCV of normal F40T12 rapid start magnetic ballasts is not high enough to reliably run 36w PL-L lamps. In addition, since the dedicated magnetic 36w PL-L ballasts are too big for the sadelite desk lamp, I recommended the HX NPF F40T12 preheat ballasts due to their smaller case sizes and they also should be able to run 36w PL-L lamps nicely due to the fact that F40T12 tubes and 36w PL-L lamps run at nearly the same arc voltage and current.
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Desire to collect various light bulbs (especially HID), control gear, and fixtures from around the world.

DISCLAIMER: THE EXPERIMENTS THAT I CONDUCT INVOLVING UNUSUAL LAMP/BALLAST COMBINATIONS SHOULD NOT BE ATTEMPTED UNLESS YOU HAVE THE PROPER KNOWLEDGE. I AM NOT RESPONSIBLE FOR ANY INJURIES.

	Re: Alternative Ballast for 2 FT36 (AKA PL-L 36W) lamps? « Reply #8 on: December 29, 2021, 07:15:31 AM » Author: WorldwideHIDCollectorUSA
A starting compensator is a device used on 2 lamp lead lag preheat ballasts to assist with starting fluorescent tubes on the lead side of such preheat ballasts. They often consist of inductors wired in series with the starter on the lead side of 2 lamp preheat fluorescent tube ballasts. I do not fully understand how starting compensators work, but someone else can help explain them in detail.
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Desire to collect various light bulbs (especially HID), control gear, and fixtures from around the world.

DISCLAIMER: THE EXPERIMENTS THAT I CONDUCT INVOLVING UNUSUAL LAMP/BALLAST COMBINATIONS SHOULD NOT BE ATTEMPTED UNLESS YOU HAVE THE PROPER KNOWLEDGE. I AM NOT RESPONSIBLE FOR ANY INJURIES.

	Re: Alternative Ballast for 2 FT36 (AKA PL-L 36W) lamps? « Reply #9 on: January 11, 2022, 05:23:56 PM » Author: WorldwideHIDCollectorUSA
Update: when I tested a pair of 36w PL-L lamps on an Advance RSHM-240 2 lamp F40T12 preheat ballast with a starting compensator, I noticed that both lamps initially seemed to start up and work fine, but later on, the lamp on the starting compensator side began to flicker wildly and strobe like EOL. In that case, if you want to go the preheat F40T12 ballast route for 36w PL-L lamps, it is best to use a pair of single lamp F40T12 preheat ballasts for each 36w PL-L lamp.
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Desire to collect various light bulbs (especially HID), control gear, and fixtures from around the world.

DISCLAIMER: THE EXPERIMENTS THAT I CONDUCT INVOLVING UNUSUAL LAMP/BALLAST COMBINATIONS SHOULD NOT BE ATTEMPTED UNLESS YOU HAVE THE PROPER KNOWLEDGE. I AM NOT RESPONSIBLE FOR ANY INJURIES.