T5 lighting/electrical expert needed

polyarcturus

polyarcturus

Well-Known Member
okay what out put voltage do t5 ballast operate on?

can 2 leads from a t12 overdrive a 54w t5 bulb with successful increase of light while keeping the lumen ration?

can a 40w t12 ballast power a 39w t5 bulb?

does anyone got any goo info on flouro ballasts and overdriving them?
 
Dalek Supreme

Dalek Supreme

Well-Known Member
Me personally would not go over the max watt rating of the ballast.for an example:55 watt rated ballast,I would only hook up one 54 watt t5 bulb.I do not care for overclocking anything,even cpu's but that is just me.
 
polyarcturus

polyarcturus

Well-Known Member
i dont have a t5 ballast but i know if 40w t12 can run a 39w t5 thats a 1500 lumen difference and i dont think that would be really considered "overdriving" this would be great if could just buy a bunch of 3ft t5 bulbs all i need to know is the voltage output(from t5 ballast) then i can check the rating on the bulbs and the dozens of electronic t12 ballasts i have in the basement
 
bird mcbride

bird mcbride

Well-Known Member
I have t8 ballasts at 40w dual per tube. I can put the lower wattage t5...30 something watts I can't remember exactly... into these four foot t8 fixtures. The t8's I believe are 1 and 1/2" tube and the t5 tubes are 1". Do they still make t12's?
 
polyarcturus

polyarcturus

Well-Known Member
NM to what i was saying anyways they are some chinese brand nx yuig or somthing.. um they are electronic and can run t8 they say. according to the specs i have read so far there is no reason i have seen why a 40w t12 ballast cant run a 39w t5 bulb
 
bird mcbride

bird mcbride

Well-Known Member
Provided that the voltage is approximately the same the bulb will only draw the amount of current that it's rated for. The tubes that came with those ballasts were 40w. Do the t5's fit the slot?
 
polyarcturus

polyarcturus

Well-Known Member
thx man but i dropped it got a good deal on CL. 50$ for a 4ft 4 bulb t5. yeah i read that article im thinking about overdriving 54w t5 to 80w with a t12 ballast. this is what most people are doing .
 
bird mcbride

bird mcbride

Well-Known Member
I am an expert. I told you that the bulb would only draw the amperage that it was designed to and t8's and t5's are the same voltage. I found t5's that fit my t8 slots so why wouldn't I ask.
 
polyarcturus

polyarcturus

Well-Known Member
i dont know im gonna gove the 3ft t5ho a go with some 40w ballasts when i get the chance could save alot of people alot of money not having to but a t5 fixture but rather just the bulbs with some electrical conclusion.

i had come to the same conclusion as you they are designed to draw the amount watts/amps/volts they draw. the key differences where in the way some ballasts start but i think i will not have any problems using a 39w bulb with a t12 ballast
 
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