An F48T12/HO ballast for 6.99??? Should I buy it?

http://www.topbulb.com/f40t12-ho-rapid-start-ballast-class-p-2-lamp?gclid=CJm_haSfk78CFSJo7AodYz4A8Q

I believe I'm going to go buy this ballast now. I'll also go to Lowe's and get a pair of Sylvania F48T12/CW/HO's. I plan to convert my 1973 shoplight to High Output IF that ballast isn't a POS.

I bought this ballast today for the grand total of $16.75. I did some looking around, and it seems that this is a legitimate F48T12/HO ballast. The only thing that puzzles me is that why is the minimum starting 50F when most other ballasts for HO lamps is -20F? See below: 

Minimum starting temperature is a factor of OCV, so possibly this ballast has a lower OCV than most HO ballasts. However, I've seen two different ballasts for the same lamp, with the same OCV, which list vastly different starting temperatures, so it seems to also depend on how the manufacturer feels. 

Too bad I can't use it.    I bought it before I realized I couldn't fit RDC lampholders in my 1973 shoplight. Does anyone have any suggestions on where to use this ballast?

Hmm... What type of lampholders does the shoplight use? There must be a type that can fit.

https://www.1000bulbs.com/category/high-or-very-high-output-fluorescent-sockets/

http://www.leviton.com/OA_HTML/SectionDisplay.jsp?section=40419&minisite=10251

If not, then you could possibly make wooden adapters that install into the fixture's lampholder mounts, and then mount the new lampholders on it.

The shoplight uses the standard donut medium bi-pin. They slide right on and are only about half an inch thick, which is all the room the shoplight can provide. All slimline or RDC lampholders I have looked at require at least an inch of clearance to be properly mounted.  

I think I found a solution. I checked the Lowe's website, and they have a shoplight that has a wide reflector, and what looks like enough space between the reflector and lampholders to fit an RDC lampholder. I would still have to Dremel out the lampholder assembly, but that's easy.

http://www.lowes.com/pd_159578-337-ICF232RC_4294896174__?productId=3335362&Ns=p_product_qty_sales_dollar|1&pl=1&currentURL=%3FNs%3Dp_product_qty_sales_dollar%7C1&facetInfo=

Turns out "Blowe's" didn't have that light in store. I then checked the Home Cheapo website, and found another even better light. Home Cheapo promises to have this light in the store. I'm sure I'll go over there next week and see about getting that one.

http://www.homedepot.com/p/Lithonia-Lighting-2-Light-Flush-Mount-White-Industrial-Fluorescent-Light-L-2-32-120-GESB/100165074?N=5yc1vZc9h6

If you have Menards in your area, I'm pretty sure they carry an American Fluorescent shop/industrial style fixture that's HO out of the box, probably with an electronic ballast.  I don't know much about them, but I've seen them on the shelves.  Some Lithonia fixtures can be converted to HO without modification.  All you need to do is flip the end plates around.  Beware that other Lithonia fixtures appear to be narrower now, and might not have enough space between lampholders for any kind of T12.

I have several of those Metalux fixtures.  They are not HO-ready like the Lithonia, but are easily convertible to ordinary T12, and probably could be modified to accept RDC sockets without too much difficulty.

I would give anything to have a Menards close to me. The nearest one is some 400 miles away. I have seen that HO fixture on their website. I sure hope that the Lithonia fixtures are still exactly like the ones in the link.  

Here is an HQ picture of the exact model Home Cheapo sells. This is a picture from Lithonia's website. As you can see, it has what looks like Sylvania T12 lamps with shiny endcaps.