overdriving T5s

[lilrobb]

I know a lot has been said, especially about the 4' 54W bulbs that will run at 80Ws then.
How about overdriving 60" 80W bulbs - what do they run at?
How many of those would a 660 fire?

 

[ichthyoid]

The ballast has a ballast factor of approximately 1.45, so multiply the bulb wattage by 1.45.

So the 60" - 80 watt bulb would run at 80 x 1.45 = ~116 watts

BTW, the Icecap 660 could only run 2 of those bulbs, as there is a 16 foot maximum.

 

[ichthyoid]

You are correct, 3 x 5 = 15 feet (below the 16 foot maximum). I must have been thinking about the 440's and their 12 foot maximum :doh:

Thanks for pointing that out!

 

[mufret]

Per IceCap, you can run 3 of the 80w T5s and it will overdrive them to approximately 100w

 

[ichthyoid]

mufret;546578 wrote: Per IceCap, you can run 3 of the 80w T5s and it will overdrive them to approximately 100w

Do you have a reference for that from Icecap? I would be very interested in reading anything You may have. The only stated data I can find on their ballast factor was a post in a dated thread from an Icecap employee.

IMO- Icecap is not very forthcoming on ballast spec's. I have back calculated the ballast factor from numbers widely touted by Icecap distributors. Example below, in Robb's original post...

LilRobb;546506 wrote: I know a lot has been said, especially about the 4' 54W bulbs that will run at 80Ws then.
How about overdriving 60" 80W bulbs - what do they run at?
How many of those would a 660 fire?

Ballast factor = power out wattage (actual) / rated wattage, so

From Robb's post: 80 watts / 54 watts = 1.48 ballast factor

What is the T-5 rated</em> power you are referring to? Thx

 

[ichthyoid]

Nevermind, I see you stated it as 80 watts.

That would mean the ballast factor is:

100 / 80 = 1.25

That's about what a 440 model is rated at!

 

[lilrobb]

There is no 440, it's a 430...

 

[ichthyoid]

Right, 430, my mistake.

They will drive bulbs at 120% of normal output,
or ballast factor = 120

I thought you mentioned the 660 above (?).

 

[stoney1118]

So while were on the t5 topic I have a question. I got a icecap ballast the other day, I think it's a 430, supposed to drive 2 54w t5s. So I wire it up using the diagram on the ballast and the brand new bulbs blew during the first day! *** could have happened? Bad bulbs? All connections are good and it's wired properly.