NO/VHO Lighting Question

[Richy44]

Ok, This has bugged me for some time. Now it is time to find out what the answer is.

Question: What determines the light output of the flourescent, the bulb or the basllast?

Example: 48" bulbs

40W NO and 110W VHO.

If I put the NO 40W on an Icecap 430 Ballast does it now put out 110W of light or just 40?

Will a 110W VHO bulb run at only 40W on an Icecap ballast?

My main Question: Is it possible for the 110W VHO bulb to be running at just 40W on an Ice cap Ballast. The reason I ask is, last week my lights are still lit but are WAY less intense.

Bulb Change was Sept 1st and everything was good.

Before I call Icecap and UV I would like some background info.. I always wondered but never new!

Thanks for your help and hope you make sense of my question.

Richy..........

[Pan]

IceCap 430 Information: Ice Cap Ballasts are the coolest ballasts available using 40% less electricity and burning 40% brighter. Their unique circuitry prevents premature lamp burn out and fading associated with VHO lamps. You can run VHO, HO, and STD fluorescent lamps in any combination. In summary, the Icecap 430 is a versatile and powerful ballast.

As stated above the ballast can run VHO, HO, STD, but you need to get the bulbs you want...i believe the icecap 430 will run 3 110vho bulbs at one time and that is it.
however if you say put a vho bulb in a ballast that can't handle vho then it would only be what the ballast could produce.

[ron101]

Originally Posted by Richy44

Ok, This has bugged me for some time. Now it is time to find out what the answer is.

Question: What determines the light output of the flourescent, the bulb or the basllast?

Both really. The ballast used determines how much power is put through the lamp (ie wattage). The quality of the lamp can also affect light output and longevity.

Originally Posted by Richy44

If I put the NO 40W on an Icecap 430 Ballast does it now put out 110W of light or just 40?

Yes if you put an NO on a VHO ballast, the ballast will 'overdrive' the lamp to VHO levels. However, if I recall correctly, Icecaps don't produce the full 110W. Its something like 65W but with a higher frequency.

Originally Posted by Richy44

Will a 110W VHO bulb run at only 40W on an Icecap ballast?

No. If you wire the lamps as per their recommended configuration it should run at the 65W (or whatever it actually is).

Originally Posted by Richy44

My main Question: Is it possible for the 110W VHO bulb to be running at just 40W on an Ice cap Ballast. The reason I ask is, last week my lights are still lit but are WAY less intense.

I suppose it is possible but my first guess would be the steep output drop off of fluorescent lamps. It is not uncommon to see fluorescents lose their out of the box intensity in only a few weeks yet alone a few months.

[Pan]

if you overdrive flourescent bulbs they burn out awful quick