workhorse 7 wiring question

wakesetter

Premium Member
I need a little direction with my lighting. I was told by Custom Aquatic that I needed two workhorse7 ballasts to run 4x54w t5 bulbs. Then I talked to Fulham and they said that I could run the 4 bulbs on one workhorse7 and that I could not just run 2. They said to use wiring diagram #7.

First of all, can anyone confirm either of the above wiring statements.

Second, does anybody have a copy of the diagram #7? The Fulham site with all of the diagrams seems to be down.

Thanks
 
I used two WH5's for my (4) T5's because I want to be able to independently switch the lights in pairs, but one WH7 will also work. Wiring is very simple just follow the diagram.
 
I have two WH8 ballasts and run 2x54w lamps with each one. For some reason the specs for the WH7 say you can run 3 or 4x54w but not two. When running 3, one of the red wires is capped off, wiring diagram #8. It would seem logical that you should be able to run two lamps by simply capping off two red wires, but maybe Fulham knows something we don't. I would be inclined to take Fulham's word in this case, after all, they manufacture the ballast, not Custom Aquatic.

In addition to the wiring diagrams, there is also a lamp chart available showing the various lamp/ballast combinations. This also corroborates the 3 or 4 but not 2 x 54watt lamps for the Workhorse 7. See following link:

Fulham Lamp Chart

Some info I had saved to a text file, can't remember the source, but also agrees with the lamp chart... text in parentheses are my own ramblings/theories. Both ballasts have the same maximum wattage, the WH8 has 6 red wires, the WH7 has 4.

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
 
thats a trip. I tried that exact same site like 5 times on two different computers the other night and got nothing. Maybe their site was down for a day. Thanks for the replies
 
i am currently running 4x54w on 1 WH7

I dont know that you need the diagram

I ran 1 red to each endcap, and a ran the yellow to the far end of the bulb. Then jumped the yellow to each bulb.

So.... I have 1 yellow going to the ends of all 4 in series, and then I have 4 reds going to the 4 opposite ends in parallel.
 
all at the same end? I had the black and white at the other end for the power. Mine is an older unit, maybe they have changed them.
 
If you have 2 red,2 blue,1 yellow in one end and black and white in other end,it should be the same diagram with 4 red,1 yellow.I ran few WH7 before for my PC and T5 and they work fine but the light output is not as strong as Icecap but for the money $45 vs $120 it work out good for me.
 
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