I need help understanding 80w T5 ballast...

[BCT182]

I ordered a three thousand dollar piece of junk LED fixture a year ago. It also has two T5 bulbs. The bulbs I was running were KZ fiji purple bulbs. I always felt they were completely washed out by the LED's. Its been a year, so I ordered another set of fiji purples and they too were very dim. I turned one of the bulbs slightly in its endcaps and BOOM, the bulb was BRIGHT! I could finally tell there was supplemental lighting in the hood. I unplugged the fixture to do some final reassembly and when I turned the fixture back on the T5's were back to the very dim (probably 20% brightness) and that's how they had been the last year.

Any idea what would cause this? No matter what way I twist the bulbs to get them to fire at MAX brightness, it goes back to dim after I restart the fixture. To me that seems more like an issue with the internal ballast rather than a connection issue, but if that is the case, why does fiddling with the bulbs correct the problem?

I have about had it with this piece of sh*t, so If I were to get a new ballast and use it to power the bulbs, what would I be looking for? Brand, wattage, ect. The bulbs are 2 x 80w T5.

Another question is this, since the original bulbs were run for a year, at only probably 20% brightness, do those original bulbs still have life in them? I'd like to return the brand new ones and buy something else if I won't need them for a while.

Please help me out. I really don't understand all this, and if you know me or my situatuon with this light fixture, you probably know I'm about to run over it with my car out of frustration.... :frusty:

TIA
Brett

 

[mfinn]

Just a guess, but if you can move the bulb in the endcap and the bulb gets brighter, then it sounds like it's a endcap problem. Like maybe the endcap moves ( on it's own) away from the bulb?
Is there a way to wedge something against the endcap to make it a tighter connection?
I have no idea what the unit looks like or what is possible.

If I were to change any ballast, I'd go with IceCap, even though they are no longer being made, there are still plenty of them around and IMO, they are still the best.

 

[BCT182]

Just a guess, but if you can move the bulb in the endcap and the bulb gets brighter, then it sounds like it's a endcap problem. Like maybe the endcap moves ( on it's own) away from the bulb?
Is there a way to wedge something against the endcap to make it a tighter connection?
I have no idea what the unit looks like or what is possible.

If I were to change any ballast, I'd go with IceCap, even though they are no longer being made, there are still plenty of them around and IMO, they are still the best.

What I don't understand though, is if I twist the bulbs so they are bright, why do the come back on as dim after turning them off and back on?

 

[mfinn]

Do you move the unit any after you turn it off, then back on?

 

[BCT182]

Do you move the unit any after you turn it off, then back on?

Nope. It's controlled by WiFi on my notebook so all I do is click the "restart" tab on the program. The lights go out and come back on dim.

 

[BCT182]

And they do seem to snap in pretty snug.

 

[mfinn]

Hmmm, what ballast is it?

 

[mfinn]

Nope. It's controlled by WiFi on my notebook so all I do is click the "restart" tab on the program. The lights go out and come back on dim.

Does the software in the program that runs the lights control voltage?

 

[BCT182]

Does the software in the program that runs the lights control voltage?

Ha! When I was sold the lights I was told the T5's were dimmable. They were not. Then they said there would be a software update to make them dimmable. It never came. They finally released an update with the ability to turn the T5's off and on separately, but of course I would have to ship the 150lb piece of junk to them to have the firmware updated.

 

[BCT182]

Which icecap ballast would I need? 440, or 660? Do I have any options if I want to be cheap?

 

[fishoutofwater]

I am using the workhorse ballasts with my 4 t-5's . i run one workhorse 7 per 2 - 48" 54w t-5 with no issues. they are also alot cheaper then the icecaps. I actually have a new one available if you want it. just pm me and i will get you the price.

 

[mfinn]

Which icecap ballast would I need? 440, or 660? Do I have any options if I want to be cheap?

The Workhorse ballasts are close to half the price of IceCaps.
But I was under the impression that people used the IceCap ballasts to overdrive the T5 lamps, so I'm wondering if the Workhorse will do the same and would you want to, just for actinic.

 

[BCT182]

I am using the workhorse ballasts with my 4 t-5's . i run one workhorse 7 per 2 - 48" 54w t-5 with no issues. they are also alot cheaper then the icecaps. I actually have a new one available if you want it. just pm me and i will get you the price.

PM sent......

 

[BCT182]

The Workhorse ballasts are close to half the price of IceCaps.
But I was under the impression that people used the IceCap ballasts to overdrive the T5 lamps, so I'm wondering if the Workhorse will do the same and would you want to, just for actinic.

If I did go with an Icecap, would I need the 440, or 660? I know when I use to overdrive halides, they would burn whiter than normal. If I did decide to overdrive actinics would they be brighter, or would they shift the color too?

 

[mfinn]

I would think that the 440 would be enough to power 2- 80w T5 bulbs, because I have a 430 that powers 2- 160 watt VHO bulbs, same as the 660.
As far as using them with T5 bulbs, I don't have any experince with them.

 

[trido]

Ya, the icecap 430 will run those two bulbs just fine. The 660 will overdrive them alot and reduce thier lifespan. Ive seen a 660 overdirve 4 x24 T-5 HO so hard it literally burned them black and out within a few months. The workhorse brand of ballasts are my second choice behind icecaps.

 

[tat2z_21]

Is there wa way to look at the insides to see if the ballast is indeed a dimmable ballast and if it is, are the dimming pots connected to the mother board. If so you would need to check the voltage coming out of them on start up. If the controller is only putting out 2vdc to the DIMMING circuit, then the dimming portion of the ballast is only going to run at a certain percentage. I know that this lighting has pissed you off enough already, but you have it and should figure out why it is jacked up. If you need help I would be glad to help you out. It would require taking it apart. Then I would contact the BBB and make a complaint. That should get their attention. It is crap to spend so much money for a piece of crap. Either way let me know.

 

[BCT182]

Is there wa way to look at the insides to see if the ballast is indeed a dimmable ballast and if it is, are the dimming pots connected to the mother board. If so you would need to check the voltage coming out of them on start up. If the controller is only putting out 2vdc to the DIMMING circuit, then the dimming portion of the ballast is only going to run at a certain percentage. I know that this lighting has pissed you off enough already, but you have it and should figure out why it is jacked up. If you need help I would be glad to help you out. It would require taking it apart. Then I would contact the BBB and make a complaint. That should get their attention. It is crap to spend so much money for a piece of crap. Either way let me know.

Yeah I could open it up. I've had to 4 times in the last year since I bought it. There's no potentiometers as everything is controlled via wifi/Bluetooth. Last night I did check to ensure the connections were good at the endcaps and they were. I just dont understand why if I rotate the bulbs in the endcaps the brighten up, but after restatrting the ballast they are back to dim.

 

[BCT182]

One thing is the interesting. The T5's turn on and off along with the LED's once the sun fully rises and before the sun starts to set. (Setup by the custom par table). So I don't need to use a timer or anything.

The T5s are not speperatly controllable though, in brightness or photoperiod. They are told by the main computer to turn on and off accordingly. If I were to isolate theT5 circuit so that it's not communicating with the LED controller would that possibly correct the problem? The T5 has a separate power cable so I could plug it into a timer.

 

[tat2z_21]

I believe that it would correct it. I understand that the controller is what sends the signal for the dimming circuit of the ballast. If you were to bypass that and give it a signal of your own via a pot or just hardwire it to full on. This could possibly fix that situation. I understand how frustrated you are with this thing I would be pretty bitter about it as well. It sounds to me that it is a possibility that the controller is not sending the correct signal to the ballast to go full on.