T5 actinic bulb to reduce par?

[rtparty]

So what if i get a burnt out bulb n place it in the slot just to fill it up for safety reasons?

If power isn't flowing through it properly, the ballast should shut down. That's why one bad bulb can make it look like you have multiple bad bulbs

 

[Albz]

If power isn't flowing through it properly, the ballast should shut down. That's why one bad bulb can make it look like you have multiple bad bulbs

Oh okay, makes sense
Thanks for the helpful tips

 

[Steve Erekson]

I can tell you from personal experience that if you run a cheaper fixture (non-ATI) that uses a Fulham Workhorse ballast it can be run with many different bulb configurations. For example, you can find the wiring diagrams on Fulham's website for how to wire a Workhorse 5 for a 2, 3 or 4 bulb configuration. I ran 2 bulbs in my 4 bulb fixture for a few months as well. Now, whether or not this causes issues with reduced lifespan or something like that is another animal entirely, but reduced lifespan is something you get with any Rapid Start ballast so it kind of comes with the territory.

 

[Albz]

I can tell you from personal experience that if you run a cheaper fixture (non-ATI) that uses a Fulham Workhorse ballast it can be run with many different bulb configurations. For example, you can find the wiring diagrams on Fulham's website for how to wire a Workhorse 5 for a 2, 3 or 4 bulb configuration. I ran 2 bulbs in my 4 bulb fixture for a few months as well. Now, whether or not this causes issues with reduced lifespan or something like that is another animal entirely, but reduced lifespan is something you get with any Rapid Start ballast so it kind of comes with the territory.

Are you the 2 bulbs you running connected to the same ballast or differe t?

 

[Steve Erekson]

In my case it was a 4x24w fixture running off a single Workhorse 5 ballast. All four bulbs are connected to the same ballast. In the wiring diagrams for 2 or 3 bulb configurations they direct you to cap off the unused leads. So while you do still have the safety issue of an open lead if you run fewer bulbs it is still within the design spec of the ballast to operate in that configuration.

 

[A. grandis]

It will depend entirely on what the ballast was designed for.
Same with Icecap ballasts. They can run either VHO, PC or HOT5s in many different configurations up to 4 lamps ~440W. Fixture designs require specific ballasts too.
Bottom line is if you install 2 bulbs for any ballast that is designed to run only 2 good bulbs, if one of those bulbs go bad, the other won't come on.

 

[rtparty]

I can tell you from personal experience that if you run a cheaper fixture (non-ATI) that uses a Fulham Workhorse ballast it can be run with many different bulb configurations. For example, you can find the wiring diagrams on Fulham's website for how to wire a Workhorse 5 for a 2, 3 or 4 bulb configuration. I ran 2 bulbs in my 4 bulb fixture for a few months as well. Now, whether or not this causes issues with reduced lifespan or something like that is another animal entirely, but reduced lifespan is something you get with any Rapid Start ballast so it kind of comes with the territory.

Correct. They aren't spec T5 ballasts so they will run this way. They put out less PAR and wear bulbs out quicker.

 

[Steve Erekson]

Correct. They aren't spec T5 ballasts so they will run this way. They put out less PAR and wear bulbs out quicker.

Yeah in the case of the workhorse 5 with 24w bulbs the efficiency is rough with a 0.83 ballast factor (had to reach out to the company for this, they don't even have 24w T5HO on the spec sheet). However 2x54w on the Workhorse 5 is a 1.07 Ballast Factor so a small overdrive but not too shabby!