Apex Lighting

[DaFishHead]

Love it Love it Love it!!!
The apex has so many features it is awesome!!

Okay setting up my apex lighting and I had a couple of questions.

1. I have a Energy bar 8 with a duel 250 Watt Ballast. Does it matter which outlet the ballast is plugged into?

2. I am using the advance settings for lighting. Here is how I programed my MH lights.

Fallback OFF
If Sun 060/-045 Then ON
If Temp > 82.0 Then OFF

However when my ballast turns on my lights flicker at first and then slowly turn on. Is there a way to stop them from flickering? No sure that is good for the ballast.

3. I use a 660 Icecap with 4 T-5's as well. Can the T-5's be programed to turn on slowly by using the profile Ramp Type? This is how I programed my T-5's.

Fallback OFF
If Sun 000/000 Then ON
If Temp > 82.5 Then OFF

How could I adjust the program to slow light up and then light down before it turns off?

4. Is there a way to set a e-mail alarm if the outlet turns off for any reason when it is supposed to be on? What would that command be?

Thanks for the help!

 

[Deleted member 143833]

1. I have a Energy bar 8 with a duel 250 Watt Ballast. Does it matter which outlet the ballast is plugged into?

No, any outlet would be OK, dual 250s would be between 4-5 amps and any outlet will be just fine but you will need to make sure you don't exceed the 15 amp max for the EB8

2. I am using the advance settings for lighting. Here is how I programed my MH lights.

Fallback OFF
If Sun 060/-045 Then ON
If Temp > 82.0 Then OFF

However when my ballast turns on my lights flicker at first and then slowly turn on. Is there a way to stop them from flickering? No sure that is good for the ballast.

Very strange; are these older ballasts??? Try moving to outlet 4 or 8, these are relay based outlets.

3. I use a 660 Icecap with 4 T-5's as well. Can the T-5's be programed to turn on slowly by using the profile Ramp Type? This is how I programed my T-5's.

Fallback OFF
If Sun 000/000 Then ON
If Temp > 82.5 Then OFF

In order to ramp the T5s you will need a ballast that supports it and then you would assign profiles rather than on/off statements for the lights.

4. Is there a way to set a e-mail alarm if the outlet turns off for any reason when it is supposed to be on? What would that command be?

The current programming doesn't support sending email when the current for an EB8 is lower than expected bor does the electronics support per-outlet sensing; it is 1 sensor per EB8. If you really want this level of reporting then you could wire a relay inline with the light power and have the relay close a switch contact but beyond this level of DIY it isn't available.

 

[DaFishHead]

The ballast is a sunlight supply 250 HQI.
I will move the ballast to #4
It is strange. When my MH lights turn on, my T5's which were already on flicker too.
I am only drawing about 11amps max too.

Anyone else have this problem?

 

[DaFishHead]

Okay now I am nervous,
When my MH turn's on, The entire EB8 flickers power for a min.
My ballast is good and it does not do this when I plug it directly into a outlet.
Anyone else have this problem?

 

[RussM]

To supplement Kenargo's responses... IC660 ballasts do not support 0-10V dimming, so these will not work with the Apex variable ports (or the equivalent module for some non-Neptune controller models) - just the usual on or off when connected to an EB8 outlet.

IC660 versions that do support dimming only do so with Blueline Solar series dimmers, and then only with T12/VHO lamps (not T5HO)

 

[DaFishHead]

To supplement Kenargo's responses... IC660 do not support 0-10V dimming, so these will not work with the Apex variable ports (or the equivalent module for some non-Neptune controller models) - just the usual on or off when connected to an EB8 outlet.

Cool but any idea why I am getting the flickering of the lights?

 

[Deleted member 143833]

Okay now I am nervous,
When my MH turn's on, The entire EB8 flickers power for a min.
My ballast is good and it does not do this when I plug it directly into a outlet.
Anyone else have this problem?

What you describe sounds like an indication of a pretty signifncat start-up current. You might want to use an AC Socket Expansion so that the current draw isn't on the EB8. The AC Socket Expansion is a heavy duty relay that draws control from the EB8 and power directly from the wall.

What does the EB8 report for current when the lights are on?

 

[DaFishHead]

What you describe sounds like an indication of a pretty signifncat start-up current. You might want to use an AC Socket Expansion so that the current draw isn't on the EB8. The AC Socket Expansion is a heavy duty relay that draws control from the EB8 and power directly from the wall.

What does the EB8 report for current when the lights are on?

The amp never went over 8.4

So I disconnected everything but my t-5's and tested it to see how it turns on. I have never been around to see them turn on.
My t-5's flickered just as long as my MH.

isn't there a setting that causes the pumps to soft start? Could this be turn on for these outlets? I never turned ramping on, but should I check to make sure it is off?

 

[DaFishHead]

CORRECTION!!!

My t-5's do not flicker by theirself. It is only when they turn on in concuction with the MH that they flicker.

Still the amps are only 8.4...seems like there is a lot of room

 

[DaFishHead]

Okay, So since I have two MH in one ballast I decided to unplug one light to see if I still got the same problem. The answer is yes I still got the same problem.

Any other test that you guys can think of that might tell me why this is happening?

 

[DaFishHead]

The weird thing is, when My MH turn on, even after my T-5's are on, they cause my T-5's to flicker.

 

[janes_mw]

Just to rule out the ballest, unplug the other one that you didn't unplug and see if the same. Bring each ballest up a few minutes after the other as well as the IceCap. Don't bring all up at the same time. While the MH bulbs are starting, the current draw is different and the ballest react differently as well.

Just "food for thought". I have one Bluewave dual 250 and an Icecap660. My Icecap comes on one hour before the Bluewave. I have the Bluewave in a relay outlet.

mike

 

[DaFishHead]

Okay,
Turned off the ballast and tried the t-5's again.
No flicker

Turned off the T-5's, Unplugged one MH so that only one MH was plugged in. Everything else was off. Turned the one MH on with the Apex and it flickered.


Turned the MH on by itself plugged into the wall and not the apex, and no flicker

HOWEVER, When I plugged the MH into the wall, Different outlet but same circuit, the EB8 status light flickered from green to yellow.

 

[janes_mw]

Hummm, Not sure what is going on, but with that much noise on the lines, make sure the ballast ground connection is good. Might even try to see if on the same house circuit and plug into (using an extension cord) to another circuit (preferably the other side of the 220 bus). Is the one MH plugged in different in each case? Just checking to make sure one ballast isn't the culprit. Sounds like a traditional EMI (electronic magnetic interference) problem to me. Make sure everything is grounded good. If you have some two prong plugs with three prong adapters, make sure the grounds are connected.

 

[DaFishHead]

Everything is on a GFI. If it was not grounded the GFI would not work. Correct?

 

[Deleted member 143833]

Everything is on a GFI. If it was not grounded the GFI would not work. Correct?

That is incorrect; CFI outlets detect a voltage difference between ground and hot and if there is no connection for a sevice to ground it just wouldn't detect a problem and never trip; certainly a condition you don't want to have near water!

 

[DaFishHead]

I had a electrician wire the GFI so I am assuming that it is right. I will have it double checked.

I will also try the two of these on a different circut too

 

[janes_mw]

Ken is correct. Just for kicks, try plugging into a non-gfi plug. When you have a noisy device (ballast) and poor ground, recipe for disaster. Not saying the GFI is causing problems, but this is an eliminate causes one by one.

 

[DaFishHead]

Latest update.

So it does not matter if the lights are plugged into a GFI or not. My MH light flickers when it turns on after my 660 icecap is turned on and warmed up for a while. When I turn on both sets of lights together, and they are not warmed up, I have no problems. I only have problems when the 660 icecap is warmed up.

So I don't think it is a amp issue. The two lights should draw the most amp's when they first turn on. I can turn them both on at the same time.

It's not a GFI issue or ground issue.

Back to EMI...What is it? How do you fix a EMI problem? My Ballast are two feet apart does that matter?

 

[DaFishHead]

Ken is correct. Just for kicks, try plugging into a non-gfi plug. When you have a noisy device (ballast) and poor ground, recipe for disaster. Not saying the GFI is causing problems, but this is an eliminate causes one by one.

What do you mean noisy ballast. Do you really mean that the ballast is "noisy"