I am not really stumped. I have 6 x 6500k Sylvania tubes in my tank rated at 39w. Which means they are 3 foot. Builder's are now selling Phillips 6500K 3ft tubes, and on a brief measure, they are the same length as my sylvania, however these are rated 21W. Can someone explain if these will work on a dual 39W ballast? I thought the wattage on the tubes was relative to the length.
As far as my knowledge stretches with this you will be able to add the 21W tubes to the ballast. The tubes will maybe not last as long as the 39W would. On my ballast it shows the range of tubes i can connect ranging: 39W, 24W, 18W HTH
Are the tubes you are talking about Opple? Their wattage is completely different. I was told you would be overdriving the lights and they would burn out quicker but that it works. I was running a 20w of a 25w ballast.
Yes... opple. Seems to be their new range. Lower wattage with same length and higher wattage tubes. How do they dk this. Surely all other ligh fittings will have the ballast fitted for the other tubes?
In standard flourescent light terms, for the same length the following "power output terms " are applied NO = Normal Output HO = High Output VHO= Very High Output The above dealt with old school T8/T12 until the last decade For any given length it possible to have successively higher Wattage. THAT was how flourescent lamps were developed to produce MORE LIGHT in the same size. newer more efficient lighting format of T5, already exceeded Normal Output. hence they opted for TWO gradings, basically: HE High Efficiency HO, High Output Rare occasions EHO...you can guess what that is Your lamps can be driven, but absolutely are not designed for mismatched ballast/gear. HE 21W is same length as 39W HO competes with 1.2m T8 36W NO The idea being similar length, lower wattage, yet for DOMESTIC(not aquaria!) ILLUMINATION, the coverage is virtually the same, at a lower electricity cost A few Chinese brands imported into SA coined it, with just that misidentification, and lower priced T5 units @Zoom HTH
Probably not a good idea. Electronic ballasts may have a wider operating range in some cases than the older magnetic ballasts. Running a 21w bulb on a ballast rated for 39w bulbs will work but because the ballast will not control the running current properly, which is its main function, the bulbs will run very hot, brighter than they should and last a fraction of the time they should, in my experience from running a 10w bulb on a 20w 'old' style magnetic ballast less than a month at around 8 hours a day.
Seems like the Opple units are a bad idea? But some guys have reported success with their units. I want to test the 4ft Opple 28W units, but I can't find any 6500K tubes even though the units themselves come standard with a 6500K tube. Confused
Hi Rudig What I found at builders looking for the 6500k opple tubes is they are all mixed up ie they dont seperate them into 2700k and 6500k etc so best would be just to look at all the boxes and if they are not marked on the side pop them open as the ratings are on the tube. Also go to the guys at the ellies kiosk and speak to them, they are the ones distributing these tubes iirc
