What ballast should I use? « on: March 11, 2024, 05:51:16 AM » Author: axel_chai
So, uhm I wanted to fix my 10W fluorescent table lamp. The 10W magnetic ballast has died I guess, and in my country it's hard to find 10W magnetic ballast. Well, I found PL 9W and PL 13W magnetic ballast on online store. PL magnetic ballast should be compatible, right? And if compatible, should I buy 9W or 13W? (Sorry for asking this because I'm still new.)
« Last Edit: March 11, 2024, 10:44:23 AM by axel_chai »		Logged

I love old lamps! I will try collecting a lot of older lamps, especially LPS and fluorescent! And I will not do weird experiments because I'm not an expert!

	Re: What ballast should I use? « Reply #1 on: March 11, 2024, 03:10:42 PM » Author: Philips tigkas
Personally I think you should use the 9w ballast, because it is better for the lamp and it won't make a big difference from the 10w ballast in the lamp's light output. The 13w ballast will overdrive the lamp, not a lot but still decrease the lamp's lifespan! Other members may have other opinions, so wait for some other reply's and then you can make your choice! <<Sorry for asking this because I'm still new.>> It's ok, asking isn't bad, you will only benefit from asking!
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LEDs are like an apocalypse! They slowly take over the world wiping out every other type of lamp and fixture!

	Re: What ballast should I use? « Reply #2 on: March 11, 2024, 08:50:53 PM » Author: Mandolin Girl
No need to apologise, asking is what the forum is all about.
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	Re: What ballast should I use? « Reply #3 on: March 11, 2024, 08:54:53 PM » Author: axel_chai
Quote from: Philips tigkas on March 11, 2024, 03:10:42 PM Personally I think you should use the 9w ballast, because it is better for the lamp and it won't make a big difference from the 10w ballast in the lamp's light output. The 13w ballast will overdrive the lamp, not a lot but still decrease the lamp's lifespan! Other members may have other opinions, so wait for some other reply's and then you can make your choice! <<Sorry for asking this because I'm still new.>> It's ok, asking isn't bad, you will only benefit from asking! Thanks for the information. So PL bulb's ballast should be okay for T8 tube right?
« Last Edit: March 11, 2024, 08:57:42 PM by axel_chai »		Logged

I love old lamps! I will try collecting a lot of older lamps, especially LPS and fluorescent! And I will not do weird experiments because I'm not an expert!

	Re: What ballast should I use? « Reply #5 on: March 12, 2024, 01:04:41 AM » Author: axel_chai
Yes, a Philips F10T8 tube. The ballast that I planned to buy is Philips BPL 9W, it's rated for 7W/9W/11W PL-S bulb.
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I love old lamps! I will try collecting a lot of older lamps, especially LPS and fluorescent! And I will not do weird experiments because I'm not an expert!

	Re: What ballast should I use? « Reply #6 on: March 12, 2024, 12:21:36 PM » Author: Philips tigkas
Quote from: axel_chai on March 11, 2024, 08:54:53 PM Thanks for the information. So PL bulb's ballast should be okay for T8 tube right? Yea it's going to work just fine . Have fun repairing your fixture!
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LEDs are like an apocalypse! They slowly take over the world wiping out every other type of lamp and fixture!

	Re: What ballast should I use? « Reply #7 on: March 14, 2024, 01:30:47 AM » Author: WorldwideHIDCollectorUSA
Here is a 220V 50Hz preheat ballast that is specifically designed for 330mm 10W T8 tubes: https://www.ebay.com/itm/334706240858 The ballast listed above should drive the tube better than a 9W PL-S choke ballast as 9W PL-S lamps have an operating current of 0.17A and an arc voltage drop of about 55V while 330mm 10W T8 tubes have an operating current of 0.23A and an arc voltage drop of about 45V. I recommend that ballast over a 9W PL-S ballast as the 9W PL-S ballasts are often rated for the lower 5W and 7W PL-S lamps that also operate at about 0.17A but run at lower arc voltage drops and that can result in an underdriven 10W T8 tube. If you prefer running the tube at full power, it is a good idea to consider that ballast, but if you only want to do a quick test, a 5W-11W PL-S ballast should be good for you. Fortunately, these ballasts that I linked can very easily ship over to Indonesia.
« Last Edit: March 14, 2024, 01:48:15 AM by WorldwideHIDCollectorUSA »		Logged

Desire to collect various light bulbs (especially HID), control gear, and fixtures from around the world.

DISCLAIMER: THE EXPERIMENTS THAT I CONDUCT INVOLVING UNUSUAL LAMP/BALLAST COMBINATIONS SHOULD NOT BE ATTEMPTED UNLESS YOU HAVE THE PROPER KNOWLEDGE. I AM NOT RESPONSIBLE FOR ANY INJURIES.

	Re: What ballast should I use? « Reply #8 on: March 14, 2024, 03:10:01 AM » Author: Medved
The T8 10W tubes are in two formats: One longer (very similar size to F15T8) offered e.g. by Osram (and I would guess Philips as well) are rated for 0.17A, so exactly matching the PL-S ballasts. And then the shorter one, usually coming from Cheepeese sources, which is a 0.22A lamp. Edir: The rest was deleted because I made a mistake there (in reading the numbers the wrong way...)... Otherwise fixtures for the short type I have seen so far were all using electronic ballast...
« Last Edit: March 14, 2024, 03:36:54 PM by Medved »		Logged

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	Re: What ballast should I use? « Reply #9 on: March 14, 2024, 03:13:48 AM » Author: WorldwideHIDCollectorUSA
Just so you know, a F15T8 is actually around 300mA, and NOT 220mA. In that case, you will severely OVERDRIVE a F10T8 tube in either of those cases. This would happen if the ballast is a full power ballast. As a result of running 330mm F10T8 tubes on those F15T8 ballasts, the tube life would be significantly reduced with more pronounced end blackening due to overdriven electrodes. In that case, F15T8 and 330mm F10T8 ARE NOT electrically interchangeable with each other and thus, NOT compatible with F15T8 ballasts at all. Spec sheets for F15T8: North America: https://www.scribd.com/document/110155293/Westinghouse-Guide-to-Fluorescent-Lamps-Brochure-1979 Page 4 of this brochure specifies an operating current of 300mA for F15T8 Europe: https://www.lighting.philips.com/api/assets/v1/file/PhilipsLighting/content/fp927922282766-pss-global/Localized_commercial_leaflet_927922282766_en_AA.pdf Current specified at 340mA Japan: https://www.hotalux.com/se/at_file/06112574/teikaku_FL15NSDL_1.pdf Current specified at 300mA
« Last Edit: March 14, 2024, 03:32:25 AM by WorldwideHIDCollectorUSA »		Logged

Desire to collect various light bulbs (especially HID), control gear, and fixtures from around the world.

DISCLAIMER: THE EXPERIMENTS THAT I CONDUCT INVOLVING UNUSUAL LAMP/BALLAST COMBINATIONS SHOULD NOT BE ATTEMPTED UNLESS YOU HAVE THE PROPER KNOWLEDGE. I AM NOT RESPONSIBLE FOR ANY INJURIES.

	Re: What ballast should I use? « Reply #10 on: March 14, 2024, 08:16:29 PM » Author: axel_chai
Quote from: WorldwideHIDCollectorUSA on March 14, 2024, 01:30:47 AM Here is a 220V 50Hz preheat ballast that is specifically designed for 330mm 10W T8 tubes: https://www.ebay.com/itm/334706240858 The ballast listed above should drive the tube better than a 9W PL-S choke ballast as 9W PL-S lamps have an operating current of 0.17A and an arc voltage drop of about 55V while 330mm 10W T8 tubes have an operating current of 0.23A and an arc voltage drop of about 45V. I recommend that ballast over a 9W PL-S ballast as the 9W PL-S ballasts are often rated for the lower 5W and 7W PL-S lamps that also operate at about 0.17A but run at lower arc voltage drops and that can result in an underdriven 10W T8 tube. If you prefer running the tube at full power, it is a good idea to consider that ballast, but if you only want to do a quick test, a 5W-11W PL-S ballast should be good for you. Fortunately, these ballasts that I linked can very easily ship over to Indonesia. Thank you for the link, but I already found a 10W fluorescent ballast.
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I love old lamps! I will try collecting a lot of older lamps, especially LPS and fluorescent! And I will not do weird experiments because I'm not an expert!

	Re: What ballast should I use? « Reply #11 on: March 14, 2024, 08:17:19 PM » Author: WorldwideHIDCollectorUSA
Nice that you found it.
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Desire to collect various light bulbs (especially HID), control gear, and fixtures from around the world.

DISCLAIMER: THE EXPERIMENTS THAT I CONDUCT INVOLVING UNUSUAL LAMP/BALLAST COMBINATIONS SHOULD NOT BE ATTEMPTED UNLESS YOU HAVE THE PROPER KNOWLEDGE. I AM NOT RESPONSIBLE FOR ANY INJURIES.

	Re: What ballast should I use? « Reply #12 on: March 27, 2024, 04:55:06 PM » Author: Philips tigkas
Very nice! Looks old too!
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LEDs are like an apocalypse! They slowly take over the world wiping out every other type of lamp and fixture!