Letting the smoke out DO NOT ATTEMPT THE FOLLOWING!

StirCrazy · #1 02-24-2002, 06:56 PM

well, for all thoes that were wondering how running electronic ballasts in parallel works...it doesent [img]images/smiles/icon_biggrin.gif[/img] what it does do is allow you to get in heck for stinking the house up then give you practice at finding recipts so you can take back the "defective ballast" [img]images/smiles/icon_smile.gif[/img]

oh well good 3 hours of tinkering while I watched the hockey game [img]images/smiles/icon_smile.gif[/img]

maby a workhorse 7 will be next..

Steve

Steve I have changed the title of this thread as it is a dangerous post and I do not want to hear of someone seeing the diagram you attached and doing this thinking it will increase the output of a NO balalst.

[ 24 February 2002: Message edited by: DJ88 ]

titus · #2 02-24-2002, 07:39 PM

Hello,

Hey have you taken any pictures?

StirCrazy · #3 02-24-2002, 07:56 PM

of what the smoke? LOL no I didn't it was a tiny puff gone as fast as it came (I was fast on the power button [img]images/smiles/icon_biggrin.gif[/img] ) I have dissasembled it all now as I have to take the ballast back in now and get new ones.. I am thinking mabe a workhorse 7 powering three 30 watt bulbs in series.. I did take a picture of the wiring mess from hell durring the hookups.

Image removed for saftey reasons.

so what did I learn from this... well the problem is in the grounds (yellow wires) I guess that power back feeding throught the grounds smokes electronic ballasts if the ballast isn't on. if they are both on it prevents them from lighting for some reason. Oh well it was fun [img]images/smiles/icon_smile.gif[/img]

Steve

[ 24 February 2002: Message edited by: DJ88 ]

titus · #4 02-24-2002, 08:48 PM

Hello,

Oh well too bad. There was one during my military course when the stove's fuel tank went on fire. I grabbed my camera before the fire extinguisher, hoping you would do the same. [img]images/smiles/icon_biggrin.gif[/img]

Anyway, I don't understand how ballast works exactly but from what I have been seeing, I say we have some of the best experiments and people with great experiences of ballasts here.

DJ88 · #5 02-24-2002, 08:58 PM

<blockquote>quote

Quote:

well the problem is in the grounds (yellow wires) I guess that power back feeding throught the grounds smokes electronic ballasts if the ballast isn't on. if they are both on it prevents them from lighting for some reason. Oh well it was fun

Steve,

It wasn't the grounds. You can't hook power supplies in parallel. Those yellow wires aren't the ground you see from the wall of your house. They are meant to run to the opposite end of a lamp to complete a circuit that the ballast supplies a voltage to.

You are lucky it was only a puff of smoke IMVHO.

How did you try wiring those things? By the looks of it you wired the output grounds from two independant power supplies and then turned them on. Am I right??

<blockquote>quote

Quote:

give you practice at finding recipts so you can take back the "defective ballast"

Your choice Steve. But don't post it here. I'd prefer to have the trust of retailers if I ever have to return something that actually is defective. I am sure others will agree. IMO it is wrong. You blew it up, you pay for it.

reefburnaby · #6 02-24-2002, 10:02 PM

Hi,

Can you draw a wiring diagram of what you did ? Its hard to tell, but are all of the yellows shorted together ?

Also...I think the grounds (the green wires) of the ballast should always be connected together.

- Victor.

Tau2301 · #7 02-24-2002, 10:58 PM

If they are the Advance REL-4P32-SC try this link.

http://www.advancetransformer.com/ec...1914441681.pdf

This is for a four lamp cct. It shows the yellow lead as being a return for the lamp and not a ground wire.

The green (ground) lead on the power cord should be attached to the ballast case. The black/white leads are the hot/neutral leads - just match them to the ballast leads.

What I have done on my connection board is to place some half inch bushings (a stack of washers will do) between the wood and the ballast - it helps to dissipate the heat. Plus you don't have something that generates heat right next to a combustable material.

DJ88 · #8 02-24-2002, 11:06 PM

Steve,

Just thought of a great way to describe it interms of the ship.

Ok. we are in te MCR and the ET of the watch calls and says he is flashing up a chiller and needs anothe DG broght online. Yo bring it up no problem but when you go to bring it on the bus you forget to Sync it with the other DG. What happens next? Ship goes black, ET gets ****ed and EO, CERA and everyone else gets really pi$$ed.

The yellow leads aren't ground as you are thinking. They are a return lead for an AC circuit. You have just hooked to DG's together and flipped the switch on both at the same time. On ship the board trips and the ship goes dark. At home if you don't have GFCI's you get smoke.

StirCrazy · #9 02-24-2002, 11:25 PM

hehe ya my bad, I called them grounds but they arn't.. I should have said the yellow wires [img]images/smiles/icon_smile.gif[/img]

and Darren yup thats exactly what I did.. I think.. anyways throught some trial after I have found that only one blew.. the other is defective. the weird thing is when I powered up the first one it puffed.. the other wasn't even plugged in yet. so I never had them both plugged in at the same time. I have sat down and thought about how I did it and what i did and it shouldent have blowen unless the other
ballast tryed to DRAW a higher curent through the first one for some reason.. of course I could be sucking slew water in my thoughts.. I know a fair bit about electricity and lights ect.. but with electronics, I know just enuf to be dangerous [img]images/smiles/icon_biggrin.gif[/img]

as for ground (green) yes I had both ballast grounded

Oh and Titus.. you are realy scaring me now LOL going for the camera first Bahahaha that was the last thing on my mind hehe..

this is the drawing off how I hooked it up. don't try to recreat this as I feel ou will probably have the same results.

image removed for saftey reasons.

Steve

[ 24 February 2002: Message edited by: StirCrazy ]

[ 24 February 2002: Message edited by: DJ88 ]

DJ88 · #10 02-25-2002, 02:05 AM

<blockquote>quote

Quote:

anyways throught some trial after I have found that only one blew.. the other is defective.

Steve,

You blew them both I am sorry to say..
Even tho one was not plugged in you sent voltage through it and it could not resist it as it was shut off. You may not have gotten smoke out of it but you have damaged it.. Once again you cannot hook two power supplies in parallel such as this. They are both fried. If you had a gfci you may have saved one. Maybe.

Please please don't hook anything up like this again. If you won't take my word for it, I'll send an electrician your way to explain how bad this could have been.

If you are trying to overdrive your lighting I'd think again. This shows you how fickle electricity is.

As well If you are gong to do anything like this DON'T mount the ballasts to a possible fuel source. Mount them separateley away from the wooden part of the stand. I have done DIY lighting with those ballasts and they get HOT. Hot enough to dry out wood and make it a great source of fire.