Need help with wiring on workhorse

[One_Divided]

Tell me if this is possible.. I want to run 2 28w power compacts and 2 75w vho actinics on the same workhorse7.. Darren, I think you had mentioned that you had tried mixing bulbs before and had success.. do you or anyone else have any ideas as to how I might wire this configuration?

[DJ88]

Adam,

As long as you aren't going over the rated wattage of the ballast you can do it.. I am right now. Two PC's and an NO off of one workhorse 5. I can. still run one more lamp if I chose to.

Run one red wire to each lamp as "positive" or feed, then connect all the opposite ends of the VHO's and "negative" or return pins on the PC's.

get it?

This is assuming you have flat pin PC's two are "positive" and two are "negative". It is as easy as that. Much easier than any Icecap by far. IME IMO

*************************************************

My disclaimer.

If you want to use fulham workhorses and wire them up look for wiring diagrams at fulham.com. If you don't know how to, or don't understand electrical wiring as described on that site DON'T DO ANY OF THIS.

Electricity is very dangerous and these ballasts are putting out enough current to kill.

I have provided these numbers to give people more of a base from which to make decisions about how to light their tanks. If you aren't comfortable doing this wiring yourself, I won't do it for you. Sorry but I won't be held responsible for the electrical for your tank if it isn't done correctly and something happens.

[ 09 July 2002, 09:37: Message edited by: DJ88 ]

[StirCrazy]

Adam, because of the design of the workhorse ballast it will only run 1 VHO bulb, and it requires 3 of the 4 leads for this. you couls run 2 VHO ballasts at HO levels by putting 2 leads to each bulb. the only way around it would be if you could run 2 75watt VHO bulbs in series then run one other bulb off the left over wire.. but I would sugest running them at HO levels and getting another ballast for the PC's.

hope this helps

Steve

*warning advice is dispensed on a "to the best of my knowledge" basis... always verify information for your self before trying something that could be potentially dangerous*

[DJ88]

Steve,

I have run multiple VHO's on a Workhorse.

[StirCrazy]

Originally posted by DJ88:
Steve,

I have run multiple VHO's on a Workhorse.

<font size="2" face="Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif">oh I don't dissagreee that you can do it Darren, but I am only saying to run them properly you need 3 of the 4 leads.. this is confermed on the fultham page in the wireing diagrams also. otherwise you will be underdriving them the same, or worse than a icecap does depending on if you use one wire or two. :D

Steve

[One_Divided]

thanks for the quick respose guys.. Well hmmmm..

The PCs are not 4 leads in a row type.. they're the 2x2 kind (10Q base).

The VHOs are already running on an icecap 430, but I hoped I could combine the pcs and vhos on the workhorse and free up the icecap.. The vhos are already on my 33 and the 28ws are going on the fuge and mantis tank.

maybe I'll just buy a workhorse specifically for the PCs and run the VHOs alone on the workhorse.

Or I also have 2 NO bulbs I could run with the 28ws.. How would their intensity compare to the vhos on the icecap? any ideas?

[ 04 July 2002, 21:25: Message edited by: One_Divided ]

[Delphinus]

Steve and DJ88, I'm not sure I follow. If a person were to say run 2x110W VHO off a WH7, and the bulbs are "underdrived as bad as an Icecap" (I keep thinking about Tim Hortons when I hear the word "Icecap", BTW :D ) ... but an Icecap runs the lights brighter than say a tar VHO ballast ... are the two 110's brighter on the WH7 same as they are supposedly on the Icecap, or will it be similar to running them on a tar ballast? :confused:

If you take a WH7 which is supposedly rated at 220W, but take 3 of the four leads to one 110W, what does that leave for what else can be run off that same ballast? How much juice comes off one lead?

This is all academic to me ... I don't have a WH ... (yet :D ) just trying to understand the different possibilities.

cheers

[DJ88]

Tony,

I have taken two 75W VHO's and run them off of one Workhorse 5(128W total) no problem.

To verify this I just hooked up a wkhse 5 and an Icecap430 and tested them at 3" distance with my PAR sensor.

First is the 430's output. This is done with two lamps. It's the only measurement I could take as you can't hook up only one lamp or single wires on an Icecap.

330.

Next are the measurements for the Wkhse5 single lamp with 1-4 wires

*note the funny numbers I had earlier were due to a lose connection. My apologies guys. The numbers make more sense now*

1 wire - 130
2 wires - 150
3 wires - 204
4 wires - 230

Wkhse5 two lamp with 2 & 4 wires(one or two into each lamp)

2 wires - 164
4 wires - 220

Take that as you want. To me the fulham drawings are a recommended hook up. By running 4 wires into one lamp all you are doing is over driving it if the ballast is much larger than the lamp. One wire does the same as three. I retested this a couple of times to verify that I wasnt' messed up with this.

HTH

[ 05 July 2002, 13:59: Message edited by: DJ88 ]

[StirCrazy]

Originally posted by DJ88:

Wkhse5 two lamp with 2 & 4 wires(one or two into each lamp)

2 wires - 164
4 wires - 220

<font size="2" face="Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif">Darren the "2 wires - 164" is that one wire to each bulbs? if so it would appear that the out put of one ballast is identical to the icecap.

Steve

[DJ88]

Yes Steve. One wire to each lamp only.

[ 05 July 2002, 10:44: Message edited by: DJ88 ]