Kil-O-watt Meter Wattage pull from Bulb??

[derek4real]

I was wondering if you could get more a more accurate wattage pull if you hooked it to the output of the ballast instead of the wall outlet.

Plugging it up to the wall only pulls wattage to the ballast. I want to know if would possible to get a wattage pull from the output of the ballast to see how many watts the bulb gets for a better reading.

If there is a way to do this by other means, let me know how.

TIA (Thanks in advance)

[mick243]

no - when the ballast tries to fire the bulb it sends many thousands of volts down the line, which would kill your kill-a-watt meter.........

pluging the meter into the wall and then the ballast into the meter and then the bulb into the ballast is how its supposed to be used, and gives you the power the ballast+bulb are using - not just the ballast.

I cant really see the point of knowing the *exact* wattage pull of the bulb as opposed to the system, may I ask why?

[derek4real]

Originally Posted by mick243

I cant really see the point of knowing the *exact* wattage pull of the bulb as opposed to the system, may I ask why?

Seeing how all ballasts are not created the same. I was thinking of trying to see how many watts the bulb gets after the ballast to see how many watts get to that particular bulb.

Bulb performance varies by ballast. I kinda thought of this like a car and making a gas choice. Higher octane rated gas will get you better gas mileage when compared to lower octane rated gas.

Since all ballasts are not created equally, I wanted to see how many watts the bulb got after the ballast. This would also see how effiecient the ballast is. M58 are energy hogs but they still get the got done (light the bulb).

[10001110101]

Originally Posted by mick243

no - when the ballast tries to fire the bulb it sends many thousands of volts down the line, which would kill your kill-a-watt meter.........

pluging the meter into the wall and then the ballast into the meter and then the bulb into the ballast is how its supposed to be used, and gives you the power the ballast+bulb are using - not just the ballast.

I cant really see the point of knowing the *exact* wattage pull of the bulb as opposed to the system, may I ask why?

only pulse start ballasts do this. probe start and electronic do not.

can't guarantee it will work anyways.

[mick243]

Originally Posted by 10001110101

only pulse start ballasts do this. probe start and electronic do not.

are you sure?? how does the arc start without enough volts to jump the gap?

AFIK, electronic balasts fire the bulb the same way (either pulse or probe(although I've not seen one of those)) just thier internal workings differ from the magnetic.