Cord length on HQI ballasts

[whaase]

I bought a 250w PFO HQI ballast. I need to get a Socket and cord for the reflector, I read/was told that the maximum length of cord for HQI ballasts was around 5', but all the cords they sell are 8'. Will those work?

Walter

[Invigor]

logic tells me yes..it's only electricity. I'm sure 3' of 12-14 guage wire doesn't have that much resistance..

[Delphinus]

If the PFO ballast comes with that then it must be OK. If it works, it works. If the light doesn't turn on then you know it doesn't

I know that the technical specs for the Advance ballast say "BTL of 5 feet" but what that translates into exactly I can't say.

I know that with other pulse-start ballasts, without long-range ignitors, you can only get about 2' of cord between ballast and socket, otherwise the lamp doesn't fire (I know this because I tried it). 10' cord using the long-range ignitor, lamp works fine, using standard (ie., short-range) ignitor, lamp wouldn't fire. (It'd hum a lot, but no light.) The pulse must be sensitive to resistance on the line; I guess you can compensate using a smaller gauge, but I don't know how far you can push the limit.

[whaase]

Well, the ballast came with nothing. The reflector came bare (No socket or cord), I wanted to buy the PFO quick connect cord/mogul socket. It is 8', I just wanted to make sure this would work for the HQI.

Walter

[EmilyB]

I bought the 8' PFO quick disconnect cords for the PFO HQI ballasts and all is good.

[whaase]

Originally Posted by EmilyB

I bought the 8' PFO quick disconnect cords for the PFO HQI ballasts and all is good.

Thank you, that what I was waiting to hear

Walter