Electrical Help with T5 Retro setup

[joseney21]

Hello all, i decided to DIY when making the switch to T5 but now i'm a little confused as I have very very little experience with electrical (none actually, i thought the wiring book from HD would help). First question is

where do I put in the red cable from the ballast into the endcap??

this is what i think it should be like

this is what i'm left with (how tight should the endcaps be tightened??)

Second question would be what to do with one yellow cable and four endcaps

and last question is how do i ground the ballast (it doesn't have a green wire)??

thanks to everyone for their help.

 

[diver0z2]

Hey joseney21
Premium Member
Those instructions are FOR ELECTRICIANS. Thats why there is a warning which comes with retro fits to get an electrician.
THE BURN HOLES in your hands and when you take your last breath from grounding out in a wet puddle or on damp concrete....ISNT WORTH THE $$$$$$ PAID TO SOME ONE WHO REALLY KNOWS AND HE COULD TO SAVE YOUR LIFE.

Right???

 

[joseney21]

would something like this worked if i cut the yellow cable up and joined the ends with twist caps????

 

[joseney21]

Muff, thanks for the advice....but to tell you the truth, i didn't order a retro to save on money. i'm taking pics of the retro with an $800 camera, which i bought to take pictures of coral with= i don't need to save $$$ by risking electricution (lol, and cuz i like photography a bit).i also have, in the past bought acrylic tubing worth ~$300(without a clue on how to cut it to size, or experience in gluing it) just to have a shot at making my own skimmer. c'mon, i could've bought a decent skimmer with that money, and definately could've paid for a fixture, but i would like to learn how to mess with wiring, tablesaws, routers, dremels etc...of course i could go to college and go into electrical engineering or go to a technical school and learn the skills, but i don't have the time and learn better hands on. i would love to have a friend teach me, but i don't have anyone readily available.

if i really wanted to take a shot at dying an electrifying death i wouldn't have posted this thread and would've just plugged in my little experiment, lol. i don't mean to put you on the spot, just letting you know where i stand.

 

[Paul B]

I am an electrician and from the pictures none of your wiring seems correct. You didn't plud this thing in yet did you?
The wires should go on the bottom of the lamp sockets in between the screws where you bolt the thing down with.
There should be a diagram on the ballast. The yellow wires are also incorrect. I don't know how many lamps that ballast is for but there should be a picture on it.
Don't plug it in the way you have it. Look at the picture. There should be two yellow wires on one socket and two red wires on the opposite socket. The two wires on each socket go in opposite sides of the same socket. There should be a place for 4 wires on each socket but use the outer most places. How many lamps does it say on the ballast it is for?
The yellow wires can not be put together like your diagram.
To ground the ballast, there should be a green wire in the cord that you plug in the wall, if it is only a 2 prong plug, go get one with three prongs, one wire will be green, this wire connects somewhere to the metal part of the ballast. There may be a ground symbol somewhere on the ballast, it looks like a TV antenna, put the green wire there. If there is no ground symbol, just connect the green wire to the metal on the ballast, use a screw if you have to. But read the diagram, if there is no diagram, show it to someone who knows.
Paul

 

[kgolem]

Well I have never heard of anyone killing themselves building a skimmer. However, I have had third hand experience with dangerous electrical projects by persons who thought they knew what they were doing.

There must be some instructions with the retro kit you bought. At least there should be a wiring diagram on the ballasts you are using.

Rather than using connectors to join the yellow wires, there should be a way to connect two wires to the same endcap, that way you can daisychain the endcaps without using connectors.

It is good practice to not have any bare wires showing, the insulation should cover the wire right up to the connecting terminals.

All connectors should be very tight. The endcaps should be watertight when you are finished, if not, then you are doing something incorrectly.

You need to ground the ballast according to the instruction on the ballast.

Good luck, err on the side of caution.

 

[joseney21]

it's a fulham workhorse 7 ballast, the diagram is on their website

can't copy a shortcut, but it's the diagram for the workhorse 7 with 4x54w HO T5 linear lamps

 

[joseney21]

thanks Paul B. & Kevin for the help.
guess this is where the wire or wires should go

 

[Paul B]

Thats it

 

[Fast Fred]

What don't you understand?

 

[joseney21]

in the smaller diagram (on the bottom right) i don't understand what the jumper wire is. is it something i need to buy??in the larger diagram each end of the bulb has two wires leading to the one red wire that comes from the ballast. are these also wires i have to buy? Another thing i don't understand is what Kevin "kgolem" suggested, daisychaining the yellow wire.

on the diagram it also says to use a starting aid, i don't know what to use for this.

 

[Fast Fred]

OK, first off, watch the amount of wire you strip, as stated above. Strip only what is nessisary for a good, tight connection. On the finished product, the should be NO exposed bare wiring.

This diagram shows your ballast has 4 red wires and 1 yellow wire. Is this correct?

If so, are you planiing on using 4 tubes?

If yes, then each tube will get it's own Red wire.

The end caps have 2 screws per cap? Yes?

Answer those Qs and we'll go from there...

 

[joseney21]

4 red wires and one yellow, correct. i will be using 4 tubes, and yes the endcaps have 2 screws per cap.

 

[Fast Fred]

OK, Good.

Does this picture help?

 

[Fast Fred]

Just imagine the white wire in my picture is actually your yellow wire.

 

[joseney21]

can i use pieces of the red wire itself as jumper cables ( is that what you're trying to illustrate)??
i don't understand what you want me to do with the yellow (white cable)...if i fold it like that i don't think it'll fit in the endcap.

 

[Fast Fred]

What I pictured was for 2 lamps. You will do what I did 4 times instead of just 2 like I did.

Yes, the red can be used as a jumper between the 2 screws inside the end cap. However, nothing says you have to cut the wire. Just strip it the way I did in the picture. I made it big and pronounced so it would be easier for you to see.

If you can't fit and 'In' and an "Out' in the endcap, then it would be OK to splice it outside of the endcap. Just waterproof your splice with liquid electrical tape.

 

[joseney21]

cool, i understand a little better now. thanks Fast Fred

 

[Fast Fred]

Any time, pal. Good luck and be safe.

 

[joseney21]

the endcap only has two holes unlike the diagram which shows four. does it matter that two cables will be going into the same hole (the jumper cable and the ballast cable)??