pc bulb/ballast question

smells like fish · 04/19/2006, 06:26 PM

Is it the PC ballast or is it the PC bulb that determines how much wattage is being used?

My old 18watt ultraviolet's ballast could not fire a new 18watt bulb from Coralife, so I attached an old electronic CSL ballast that I had. Only problem the ballast was 32watt.

Well, it's been running for a year with no problems, but I've wondered how much is energy is being used. Is it 18watt or being overdriven at 32 watt?

UV bulbs need to be replaced often(6months or less) to be effective, but I've had pretty good success with the PC UV bulbs lasting a year. If the bulb is actually being overdriven at 32 watts, I'm surprised it lasted this long and is still effective.

PaulErik · 04/19/2006, 06:37 PM

It depends on the ballast. CSL used Workhorse ballasts for sometime. If it is a Workhorse 3 ballast and configured to operate a 32-watt PC lamp it will overdrive a 18-watt PC lamp.

I canÃ¢â‚¬â„¢t say how much it is overdriven. You would need specialized equipment to measure the how much the ballast is outputting to the lamp.

UV lamps will generally operate for a long time but the useful lamp life is much shorter. If the ballast is overdriving it is hard to know when to replace the lamp.

smells like fish · 04/20/2006, 02:28 PM

Thanks for the reply.

I guess I need to find a ballast nearer to 18 watts, instead of wasting energy and shortening the life of the bulb.

Do you know of a good replacement ballast? Advance?

The 36watt uv bulb would have been better with my ballast, unfortunately, it's too large for the uv housing.

I was thinking of buying a new ballast ($30-40) and new bulb ($45), but it might be cheaper to buy a new UV filter instead.

04/19/2006, 06:26 PM	#1
smells like fish Registered Member Join Date: Sep 2001 Location: Hole-in-the-ground Posts: 145	pc bulb/ballast question Is it the PC ballast or is it the PC bulb that determines how much wattage is being used? My old 18watt ultraviolet's ballast could not fire a new 18watt bulb from Coralife, so I attached an old electronic CSL ballast that I had. Only problem the ballast was 32watt. Well, it's been running for a year with no problems, but I've wondered how much is energy is being used. Is it 18watt or being overdriven at 32 watt? UV bulbs need to be replaced often(6months or less) to be effective, but I've had pretty good success with the PC UV bulbs lasting a year. If the bulb is actually being overdriven at 32 watts, I'm surprised it lasted this long and is still effective. __________________ Malama 'aina Current Tank Info: 20g nano

04/20/2006, 02:28 PM	#3
smells like fish Registered Member Join Date: Sep 2001 Location: Hole-in-the-ground Posts: 145	Thanks for the reply. I guess I need to find a ballast nearer to 18 watts, instead of wasting energy and shortening the life of the bulb. Do you know of a good replacement ballast? Advance? The 36watt uv bulb would have been better with my ballast, unfortunately, it's too large for the uv housing. I was thinking of buying a new ballast ($30-40) and new bulb ($45), but it might be cheaper to buy a new UV filter instead. __________________ Malama 'aina Current Tank Info: 20g nano

04/19/2006, 06:37 PM	#2
PaulErik Premium Member Join Date: Dec 2000 Location: North Charleston, SC Posts: 1,703	It depends on the ballast. CSL used Workhorse ballasts for sometime. If it is a Workhorse 3 ballast and configured to operate a 32-watt PC lamp it will overdrive a 18-watt PC lamp. I canÃ¢â‚¬â„¢t say how much it is overdriven. You would need specialized equipment to measure the how much the ballast is outputting to the lamp. UV lamps will generally operate for a long time but the useful lamp life is much shorter. If the ballast is overdriving it is hard to know when to replace the lamp.