convert 24w t5 to 54w?
- Thread starter corbett_n
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Mike31154
New member
What type of Workhorse Ballast? The Fulham web site has pdf downloads on how to configure the various ballasts and bulb combinations. As long as the bulb wattage you intend to use does not exceed the ballast's maximum wattage, you can do it. Just a matter of hooking up more of the red wires for the higher wattage bulbs. If your ballast has one or more capped red wires, that's a good indication that you can hook up a larger bulb. Here's an excerpt of some info I downloaded and saved to a text file (some of the info I typed in myself for my own set up):
Workhorse 8, Long Case, 120 volt Solid-State Electronic, Case Size, Height - 1.0", width - 1.72", Length - 19.25", Max. Power 220 watt, Max. Current 1.8 Amp. Instant start, Operating Temperature -20° F (-30º C) to 158º F (70º C) Low Cost Freezer Ballast Replacement. Sound Rated A. Do not use for remote mounting.
Workhorse 8 will operate following T5 Lamps
F24T5 HO - 4, 5, or 6 lamps (24 watts each - overdriven @36.66)
F39T5 HO - 3 lamps (39 watts each - overdriven @73?)
F54T5 HO - 1, 2, or 3 lamps (54 watts each - over or underdriven?)
F80T5 HO - 1 lamp (? watts each ?)
Ballast has 6 red wires, thus 220 watt/6 = 36.66 watts per wire
Workhorse 7, Long Case, 120 volt Solid-State Electronic, Case Size, Height - 1.0", width - 1.72", Length - 18.5", Max. Power 220 watt, Max. Current 1.82 Amp. Instant start, Operating Temperature -20° F (-30º C) to 158º F (70º C) Low Cost Freezer Ballast Replacement. Sound Rated. A Do not use for remote mounting.
Workhorse 7 will operate following T5 lamps
F39T5 HO - 4 Lamps
F54T5 HO - 3 or 4 Lamps
F80T5 HO - 2 Lamps
Workhorse 8, Long Case, 120 volt Solid-State Electronic, Case Size, Height - 1.0", width - 1.72", Length - 19.25", Max. Power 220 watt, Max. Current 1.8 Amp. Instant start, Operating Temperature -20° F (-30º C) to 158º F (70º C) Low Cost Freezer Ballast Replacement. Sound Rated A. Do not use for remote mounting.
Workhorse 8 will operate following T5 Lamps
F24T5 HO - 4, 5, or 6 lamps (24 watts each - overdriven @36.66)
F39T5 HO - 3 lamps (39 watts each - overdriven @73?)
F54T5 HO - 1, 2, or 3 lamps (54 watts each - over or underdriven?)
F80T5 HO - 1 lamp (? watts each ?)
Ballast has 6 red wires, thus 220 watt/6 = 36.66 watts per wire
Workhorse 7, Long Case, 120 volt Solid-State Electronic, Case Size, Height - 1.0", width - 1.72", Length - 18.5", Max. Power 220 watt, Max. Current 1.82 Amp. Instant start, Operating Temperature -20° F (-30º C) to 158º F (70º C) Low Cost Freezer Ballast Replacement. Sound Rated. A Do not use for remote mounting.
Workhorse 7 will operate following T5 lamps
F39T5 HO - 4 Lamps
F54T5 HO - 3 or 4 Lamps
F80T5 HO - 2 Lamps
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Squiers007
New member
Sorry to thread jack, but I am curious if there is any advantage to using an Icecap 660 ballast over a workhorse 7 ballast for lighting 54W T5HO bulbs? Thanks.
Mike31154
New member
I have two Workhorse 8 running 2x54 watt T5HO each. Could hook up at least one more 54 watt to each if desired. Workhorse is less costly but also lacks some of the features of the Icecap. I've never seen the Icecaps and am going by memory of what I've read here, but the Icecap ballast is designed to be able to overdrive your T5HO lamps. You could do that with the Workhorse as well, by hooking up additional red wires to provide more power, but that is a practice not described and I guess not condoned by Fulham. The Workhorse also does not provide EOL (end of life) protection whereas I think the Icecap does. This means that once the bulb is weakened or worn out, the ballast will shut down automatically. The Workhorse will continue to apply current to a lamp even when it starts the typical flickering indicating that it is near the end of it's life or once it goes dark entirely. The EOL feature can be a pro or con, since if the ballast is firing two lamps, both will shut off when the EOL function kicks in, even the good one. Then it's a matter of figuring out which lamp is shot, but that can be done by replacing them one at a time to see when they both fire again. The pro is, that it's a nice safety feature.
Squiers007
New member
Does overdriving a T5HO bulb decrease the time it will last for? and in your opinion will 4x54W T5's (not overdriven) be sufficient for a 75 gal tank with mostly LPS and potentially some SPS? Thanks.
Squiers007
New member
According to this spreadsheet you should be able to power 1 54W T5HO with a workhorse 5 if you use the #14 wiring diagram
http://www.1000bulbs.com/images/PDF/Fulham-Lamp-Chart-brochure.pdf
http://www.1000bulbs.com/images/PDF/Fulham-Lamp-Chart-brochure.pdf
Mike31154
New member
Great chart Squiers, thanks for the link. I downloaded a bunch of the wiring diagrams from Fulham long ago, but this chart identifies which diagram to use. Makes sense that if the WH5 can power 2x24 it should be able handle a single 54. Great job.
I'm actually overdriving my T5HO 54 watt lamps by using two red wires from the WH8 for each one. Using the info from my previous post with wattage, max power for the WH8 is 220 watts, same as the WH7 by the way. I think the difference between the two is that the WH8 has 6 red wires and the WH7 has more/fewer? Not sure. In any case, using two reds to drive each lamp means I'm potentially providing approx 73 watts to my 54 watt rated T5HO. This is assuming each red wire provides 36.66 watts. You should be able to make the same calculation with the WH7. Take 220 watts & divide by the number of red wires. That should tell you the approx output of each red and what wattage lamp you can drive, overdrive or even underdrive. I initially used only one red for each 54 watt and that's actually how it's supposed to be wired according to the Fulham chart/diagram, even though that's only 36.66 watts driving each 54 watt lamp. Maybe some other magic going on inside the ballast, who knows.
scott11 with the WH7, how many red wires does it have? Divide 220 watts by the number of red wires & that should indicate the wattage per wire. The Fulham chart only provides info for driving three or four 54watt lamps with the WH7 which validates the info in my earlier post, but you can always try using one red wire to see if the lamp fires up. If not, power down and add a second red wire. Make sure all unused red wires are properly capped.
Squiers, as for sufficient light with normally driven T5HOs on your 75, I can't really help there since I have no experience with SPS. But from what I've seen most recommendations would be for at least 6 lamps vice the 4 you have for SPS coral. My LPS do just fine with 4x54 T5HO (overdriven by 20 watts?). Although I'm now also firing 2x250 watt MH for 3 hours around midday with the T5HOs turned off. And yes, bulb life will be shortened when overdriven. Heat is the enemy.
I'm actually overdriving my T5HO 54 watt lamps by using two red wires from the WH8 for each one. Using the info from my previous post with wattage, max power for the WH8 is 220 watts, same as the WH7 by the way. I think the difference between the two is that the WH8 has 6 red wires and the WH7 has more/fewer? Not sure. In any case, using two reds to drive each lamp means I'm potentially providing approx 73 watts to my 54 watt rated T5HO. This is assuming each red wire provides 36.66 watts. You should be able to make the same calculation with the WH7. Take 220 watts & divide by the number of red wires. That should tell you the approx output of each red and what wattage lamp you can drive, overdrive or even underdrive. I initially used only one red for each 54 watt and that's actually how it's supposed to be wired according to the Fulham chart/diagram, even though that's only 36.66 watts driving each 54 watt lamp. Maybe some other magic going on inside the ballast, who knows.
scott11 with the WH7, how many red wires does it have? Divide 220 watts by the number of red wires & that should indicate the wattage per wire. The Fulham chart only provides info for driving three or four 54watt lamps with the WH7 which validates the info in my earlier post, but you can always try using one red wire to see if the lamp fires up. If not, power down and add a second red wire. Make sure all unused red wires are properly capped.
Squiers, as for sufficient light with normally driven T5HOs on your 75, I can't really help there since I have no experience with SPS. But from what I've seen most recommendations would be for at least 6 lamps vice the 4 you have for SPS coral. My LPS do just fine with 4x54 T5HO (overdriven by 20 watts?). Although I'm now also firing 2x250 watt MH for 3 hours around midday with the T5HOs turned off. And yes, bulb life will be shortened when overdriven. Heat is the enemy.
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Mike31154
New member
Ok, just checked the Fulham site for WH7 and the wiring diagram for 3x54 watt T5HO is #8. The WH7 has four red wires to provide the maximum of 220 watts. The diagram shows one red wire feeding each of the three linear 54 watt lamps with the fourth wire unused/capped. Should be no problem whatsoever simply using one red wire for your single 54 watt T5HO and capping the remaining three red wires. The fact that they don't have a diagram for running a single 54 watt lamp seems to indicate that it's a waste of this ballast to have 3 wires capped off. In your case it means the ballast should run quite cool and if you already have it, why not use it?
