PC Ballast Driving T-5's

[jcollins]

Can you drive T-5's with a PC ballast? Someone said something to that extent the other day and the more I thought about it I said why not. PC are power compact florescent. I have several 96w ballast that are collecting dust. It would be nice to run them as T-5 actinics. Thanks!

Joey

 

[coralnut99]

Sure. The Tek retrofit kits come with Workhorse ballasts now.

 

[jcollins]

Cool! I guess I should of done a little research. Thanks.

 

[coralnut99]

www.fulham.com for wiring diagrams you can download.

 

[jcollins]

Thanks again!

 

[coralnut99]

Your Welcome!

 

[kraze3]

Maybe im misunderstanding. Are you saying its ok to run this bulb
http://www.fulham.com/Detail_LampClass.php?ID=4PCFL-TWINT5
in a 4 pin coralife PC light? I have an old coralife aqualight in my basement, would be cool if i could just plug and play with T5s.

 

[coralnut99]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=12853589#post12853589 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by kraze3
Maybe im misunderstanding. Are you saying its ok to run this bulb
http://www.fulham.com/Detail_LampClass.php?ID=4PCFL-TWINT5
in a 4 pin coralife PC light? I have an old coralife aqualight in my basement, would be cool if i could just plug and play with T5s.

I think the simple question was if the ballast running PC's could also drive T5's. With the correct end caps and standoffs, and following the wiring diagrams you can certainly do so. It's not a plug and play scenario, but not a difficult diy. I'm not sure where the misunderstanding is?

 

[IslandCrow]

kraze3, I don't think those are T-5 lights. They appear to be compact fluorescent. Notice it says "4-Pin CFL Lamps" at the top, and the picture is clearly of a CF/PC light. T-5 is either the model or it's just saying each section of the light is T-5 diameter.

The high efficiency of T-5s is more about the reflectors than the actual bulb anyway. The bulb itself puts out less light than a VHO bulb. The smaller diameter allows you to pack in more bulbs and most importantly use individual reflectors to maximize the amount of light that is directed towards the tank.

 

[nebraskareef]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=12853589#post12853589 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by kraze3
Maybe im misunderstanding. Are you saying its ok to run this bulb
http://www.fulham.com/Detail_LampClass.php?ID=4PCFL-TWINT5
in a 4 pin coralife PC light? I have an old coralife aqualight in my basement, would be cool if i could just plug and play with T5s.

Kraze - you would need to open the fixture to see what type of ballast is included. Then you will need to find the specs for the ballast. They were referring to Fulham Workhorse ballasts. Your fixture probably doesn't have those, but it may be able to run t5ho bulbs. Please check with the manufacturer of the ballast.