I have seen the light!
- Thread starter bjmumy
- Start date
MrSandman
Team RC
In short, CWA=Constant Wattage Autotransformer. Its basically a specially designed ballast that can account for the fluctuation in voltage input into a ballast. Typical ballasts can safely account for a 10% voltage drop, but a CWA can account for up to 25% i believe. When u exceed these limits, your light will self-extinguish and you will have to let your bulbs cool before being able to restart again. If you have high powered equipment on the same breaker as your lights then you will get these voltage drops. If you have poor wiring in your home, you can also have this problem. If you live in an apt where the main elect. line is shared by other tenants, then u can also have these problems. As for me, my home is fairly new and the lights are on their own breaker with nothing else shared. So i don't need the CWA. That's my interpretation of it. I'm sure i missed some other points but i think that is one of the main advantage points in having a CWA ballast. my $.02 HTH.
salty toes
Member
one more question.
whats the footprint on those boxes?
by any chance are they 8x8x2?
thanks
whats the footprint on those boxes?
by any chance are they 8x8x2?
thanks
salty toes
Member
hey johnny
i called graybar to try and order one more for you, and they told me the same thing, they said that its gonna take about 2 weeks to get that item to me, (no reason as to why givin) do you still want me to go ahead and order it.....?
[Edited by salty toes on 11-03-2000 at 09:39 AM]
i called graybar to try and order one more for you, and they told me the same thing, they said that its gonna take about 2 weeks to get that item to me, (no reason as to why givin) do you still want me to go ahead and order it.....?
[Edited by salty toes on 11-03-2000 at 09:39 AM]
Colin said:
He was simplifiying things a bit more. The post from Eye that said to use a "high power factor" ballast. The 3802 has a power factor of 50% and the 3572 has a power factor of 90%. The other thing apperas to be the 3802 draws a lot more current (4.2a to 2.5a) and has a higher voltage dropout (90v to 65v) than the 3572. If you compare the Advance data sheets for the two lamps there are many differences. So the hunt is on for the lowest cost place to buy the 3572.
mellotang
Premium Member
I went to graybar today and tried to get the ballast but they didnt have it in stock but they will have it in on monday. I was only able to get the 71A3572 ballast, the one with the capacitor, so I will let you guys know how it works. Since I work in the construction field I went in their after work with my bosses business card, wrote the model # of the ballast on the back, handed it to them and said my boss told me to pick this up. He asked if we had an account with them, which we didnt, so I said no and he opened an account. You may wonder why I am telling you all this info. but I would assume that it would work with any old business card, just go in dirty and wearing a pair of workboots.
goodluck
Seth
goodluck
Seth
MrSandman
Team RC
Yeah, i got mine all over the telephone. I just made up some business name and gave them my home address. I doubt they care, nor will they make the time to verify that u are a business. All they care about is the sale. How much did you get yours for? I got the 3802 model, but i was just curious how much the other one was?
MrSandman
Team RC
Johnny,
I got mine from a greybar located in Long Beach, California. It was, as expected an item that they did not stock and had to special order. It only took them a week to special order it from Advance Transformers and to get it to me. I was very surprised at the quickness, but then again at the time i ordered it, there was not really a high demand like there is now.
Mellotang,
Yeah, i paid 23 bucks for mine.
I doubt there is much of a difference between the 2 ballasts. The one you got i believe is the CWA type, which is probably a more reliable ballast, but as long as you keep them on their own breaker either one should be fine. There has been so much confusion as to which one is the right one, but imho you can't go wrong with either one.
I got mine from a greybar located in Long Beach, California. It was, as expected an item that they did not stock and had to special order. It only took them a week to special order it from Advance Transformers and to get it to me. I was very surprised at the quickness, but then again at the time i ordered it, there was not really a high demand like there is now.
Mellotang,
Yeah, i paid 23 bucks for mine.
I doubt there is much of a difference between the 2 ballasts. The one you got i believe is the CWA type, which is probably a more reliable ballast, but as long as you keep them on their own breaker either one should be fine. There has been so much confusion as to which one is the right one, but imho you can't go wrong with either one.
signu459
New member
Wow this is a great thread!
Here is a little tid bit that may be usefull for those that are putting together or are looking to replace their bulbs. I have found a place that can get me the 250W Iwasakis 6500K bulbs for about $55 each + shipping to you. I know this isn't much of a discount but it is better than nothing, I guess. These are brand new bulbs that have never been used and will come directly from Iwasakis distribution center. Here is the catch. The only way I can do this is to order 12 at a time. I will take two of them but I really don't want to sit on $550 worth of bulbs until they all burn out. So is anyone interested in going in on a case with me? I may also post some on ebay and see if I can actually make a few bucks on them. Shoot me an email if your interested.
[Edited by signu459 on 11-04-2000 at 09:42 AM]
Here is a little tid bit that may be usefull for those that are putting together or are looking to replace their bulbs. I have found a place that can get me the 250W Iwasakis 6500K bulbs for about $55 each + shipping to you. I know this isn't much of a discount but it is better than nothing, I guess. These are brand new bulbs that have never been used and will come directly from Iwasakis distribution center. Here is the catch. The only way I can do this is to order 12 at a time. I will take two of them but I really don't want to sit on $550 worth of bulbs until they all burn out. So is anyone interested in going in on a case with me? I may also post some on ebay and see if I can actually make a few bucks on them. Shoot me an email if your interested.
[Edited by signu459 on 11-04-2000 at 09:42 AM]
