New lights not drawing advertised wattage

Just bought some pll's, each fixture has 2 dual 55w ballasts but it is only drawing 160w instead of 220w.
I'm guessing they shafted me and gave me 40w bulbs? Or could it be cheap ballasts?
There is nothing on the bulbs to indicate the watts or temp.

I'm not sure if the bulbs dictate how many watts are used, never used t5 before.
Could I buy 65w bulbs? Would it increase consumption to 260w? Would the ballasts be able to handle that many watts?

well what i know is you never get as many watts as it says on the package, there are diff ways to calculate watts, they use a way that isnt really correct, i first found this out when shopping for car stereo parts.

That's fuckin' bullshit !

TFW
http://www.hoveyelectric.com/hovey-electric-power-blog/bid/63963/How-to-Calculate-Total-Fixture-Wattage-for-Fluorescent-Lighting
i dont know wat pll is, but this is for fluorescents. a start.

Ballasts and tubes and starters... too fade with age...check the gear again

vostok said:

Ballasts and tubes and starters... too fade with age...check the gear again

Click to expand...

They are brand new. They also have electronic ballasts. Here is the link.

http://www.aussieponics.com/index.php?route=product/product&path=67_121&product_id=158

Funny thing is the box states 10k lumens(should be closer to 20k).But it also says 4x55w lol. My power measurements have been made with a killawatt meter, so it is defiantly only using only 160w. The ballasts are 55w.

So I'm guessing the bulbs make the difference etc
4x40w 160w
4x55w 220w
4x65w 260w
All the above bulbs are the same size. I do sort of feel a bit ripped off but for $80 what do I expect..... So can the 55w ballasts handle 65w bulbs? The aquiruim shop I buying from has more choice in 65w, so I would prefer to use 65w.

Specifications:

Input voltage 240V

Size: 585mm(L) x 510mm(W) x 100mm(H)

Propagation light, 4000 Kelvin Spectrum rating for growing

Four lamp 55 watt included

1.2 meters flex and plug fitted

These are the 2 foot lights not the 4 foot lights, its the 4 foot lights you need these are OK for early germing and 2 weeks of veg, break a leg go for the 4 foot length just for the lumen

vostok said:

Specifications:

Input voltage 240V

Size: 585mm(L) x 510mm(W) x 100mm(H)

Propagation light, 4000 Kelvin Spectrum rating for growing

Four lamp 55 watt included

1.2 meters flex and plug fitted

These are the 2 foot lights not the 4 foot lights, its the 4 foot lights you need these are OK for early germing and 2 weeks of veg, break a leg go for the 4 foot length just for the lumen

Click to expand...

Just looking at a 54w t5ho 4 ft and it says 5000 lumens. The pll 55w is 4800 lumens.
It seems the pll puts out a lot more lumens for the space. Can't buy em anyway I have already bought the 2 sets of pll, for a total length of 4 foot.(8 bulbs total 38400 lumens)
I thought the pll was basically a t5ho snapped in half and rejoined.

I only want to use them in a veg tent.

I have heaps of time in on flouros, I started in the 1970's then it was T12's 8 feet long and brittle as hell, it wasn't long until we updated to the new T8's hung on chains 4 tubes and adjusted daily, even if you forgot to raise them, no worries as no heat either, some places you can still get T8's or shoplights for under $20.00 but not many as most T guys have gone to T'5's,.. again 4 footers and 4 -6 tubes on a rack and adjusted daily, each 4 foot 840 tube has about 3050 lumen per foot thats great if you want an even layer of light over your canopy, with minimal heat, ideal for Aussie conditions, if you still got heat issues grow at night and let them sleep thru the hottest part of the day

T12's and T8's have been replaced by many growers with the uprated T5 system at about 54 watts per 4 foot(1200mm) tube off hand I can't remember the lux emmitted but it is greater than the pokey 3050 of the T8 tube, these are the ideal light to veg or even bid under if HEAT is your greater concern, some very nice bud can be gleaned from these, I'd have a T5 over any heavy weight CFL(110w-300w) any day just for canopy spread, and although I'm against defoliating(de leafing) a grow done under 100% T5/T* should have the lower leaves removed, to enhance ventilation, and yes the light can't reach that far too!

Many tricks to learn here, some great ones, mount your 4-8 tubes on a ply sheet, with the ballasts located on a wall 10 feet as way to avoid any localized heat ..
even double the brightness by doubling the ballast, but does shorten the tubes and ballast, paint top section of tube with heat proof auto, white paint as a reflector!

sell your 2 foot shitters and trade up!!