Feb 09, 2011 at 12:16 AM Author: icefoglights
An American Fluorescent 2xF30T12 fixture I have came with a ballast exactly like the top one. I replaced it with a Sylvania 2xF30T12 magnetic HPF ballast. The resi-Tronic seems to be a pretty terrible ballast. The one I have seems to randomly not work. Also, my experience with ballasts that will run F32T8s and F40T12s is that the F40T12s are badly underdriven and don't last long.

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Feb 09, 2011 at 12:24 AM Author: BowlingMania14
I agree with you. The ballasts are terrible with F40s. I had some GE F40t12 chroma 50 lamps that got fried on the top ballast. I usually tear out the original shoplight ballast if I get a fixture and replace it with something more reliable like you did with yours. It's a great idea. The fixtures the ballasts come in are not bad, but the ballasts themselves are.

Vintage products are the best! Nothing will ever compare to the quality of old, U.S. made fluorescent bulbs, ballasts, and fixtures.

Feb 09, 2011 at 12:59 AM Author: icefoglights
A couple years ago, I put a 4-lamp fluorescent fixture in my kitchen. If I remember correctly, it had a pair of similar ballasts (maybe the same thing with a different brand sticker). They killed 3 of the 4 F40KB/ECO lamps within 2 months. I found a pair of Valmont F40 HPF magnetic long lead ballasts NOS at an area hardware store and put them in. 5 months later, when I moved out of that house, the lamps still looked new and worked great

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Feb 09, 2011 at 01:12 AM Author: BowlingMania14
It really makes a huge difference going from something really unreliable to something really good! That's a shame that 3 bulbs got killed so quickly. What irritates me is; how do people not see what damage and unreliability electronic ballasts pose?? Nice finds with those NOS ballasts! U don't doubt the bulbs still look good even now being ran on those LOL

Vintage products are the best! Nothing will ever compare to the quality of old, U.S. made fluorescent bulbs, ballasts, and fixtures.

Feb 09, 2011 at 06:38 AM Author: rjluna2
Could these ballast be made in 37th week of 2003?

Pretty, please no more Chinese failure.

Feb 09, 2011 at 02:31 PM Author: icefoglights
I think that may just be a serial number. It may have a date code in it, but I don't think it's that old. My fixture that came with a similar ballast was made in 2009 and had a the same number to about the 5th space from the end.

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