Fluorescent Ballast Wiring

K

keitht

I'm wiring a 96-watt PC fixture with a Work Horse 5 ballast, it says that it is "Approved for lamp combinations of 128 max. watts".

The ballast has 4 leads (each 32-watts) and my instructions say to use 3 leads for the 96-watt bulbs, and cap the 4th lead.

Can I use the forth lead to run a 32-watt bulb?
 
You may not be able to do this and get all bulbs to fire... 128W is the max. When the bulbs first startup, it usually takes more current that normal, and if your normal is max then you may have a problem. You really don't want to run a ballast at max due to heat and lifetime issues and general bulb degradation(harder to start as they age) always leave headroom in this area.

Cheers!
 
I have been told you only want to run bulbs that are the same size on a ballast. ie 2 - 54w T-5's would work. or 4 24's etc.
 
The Workhorse 5 ballasts are good up to 110 Watts of lighting. you might be able to run a pair of lower wattage bulbs and overdrive them for a higher lumen output as a tradeoff for longetivity of the Bulbs.
 
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