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From what I know any e-ballast can be used for equal or lower light bulb wattage.
Have came across a electronic ballast (China made I think) which could support any lighting from 1w to 55w. Of course, such eballast is very flexible to use as we could connect any wattages lighting such as 4w, 7w, 11w, 18w, 32w, 36w, 39w or 54w to it without problem. Imagine the flexibility....We do not need to buy different types of wattages eballast to support different wattages lighting.
But, does it really designed for such wide range of wattages? Could the ampere properly support all lights of different wattages? Will it shorten the life of the tube due to some reasons? Anyone expert in eballast care to share and enlighten us? Thanks.
From what I know any e-ballast can be used for equal or lower light bulb wattage.
It is better to use more reliable brand for electric appliances
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Andrew
I understand that most e-ballast could support a range of wattages. Example from 36 to 40w for some branded e-ballast. But, for this e-ballast, it could support such a wide range from 1w to 55w. Hard to believe. I am sure it will light up the tube, but just worry any side effect.
Also, if I only need to use on a 4w of tube. Will this so called wide-range e-ballast be overkill since it could support up till 55w max? Just curious.
Originally Posted by Shadow
Agree with you, better go with more reliable brand. If anything goes wrong because of using sub-standard e-ballast; it may cause some great damages.
Just wondering branded e-ballast like Philips, Osram..etc has such a e-ballast which could support such wide range wattages? Maybe I will do a search.
For those whom like to go a bit more technical on desgin of e-ballast.... below is some of the information and pls refer to the link to read more.
The maximum allowable voltage over the lamp during preheat, Vph , must be less than the minimum voltage required to ignite the lamp. Should the lamp voltage exceed this value during preheat, the lamp can ignite before the
filaments have been sufficiently heated, affecting the life of the lamp. This voltage is a function of ambient temperature, frequency and distance from the lamp to the nearest earth plane (usually the fixture).
The minimum voltage required to ignite the lamp, Vign , increases with decreasing lamp temperature and/or insufficient preheating, and increases with increasing distance from the lamp to the nearest earth plane.
During running, the lamp should be driven at the manufacturer’s recommended lamp power, Prun , and voltage, Vrun .
For a 36W/T8 linear lamp type, the lamp requirements are determined to be:
Iph = 0.85 [Amps]
Vph = 300 [Volts]
Vign = 550 [Volts]
Prun = 32 [Watts]
Vrun = 141 [Volts]
http://www.irf.com/technical-info/wh...wprocedure.pdf
It is highly unlikely that a ballast (whether electronic or the conventional iron-core type) can be designed to cater for the entire range of fluorescent lamp [i.e. 1W to 55W]. The primary reason is the ignition voltage.
Essentially, as the fluorescent tube gets longer, its rated wattage also increases, so does the ignition voltage (needed to create the electrical arc that results in the light being emitted). After the lamp is lit, the voltage needed to sustain the arc will be significant lower but this is "regulated" by the inductive impedance (iron core ballast) or the current regulation (electronic ballast).
Using a high wattage ballast on a low wattage fluorescent lamp is dangerous! It may cause the flouorescent lamp to explode due to the excessive voltage during ignition and/or higher arcing current after the lamp is lit.
I am using one of this, so far so good. The price is very low compare to the branded one. Of course, for safety and reliability, we should go for the branded one or even better those with SAFETY mark.
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Always learning..
Regards, Joe.
This something that I don't understand. The electrical arc should depend on the gas breakdown voltages and electrode distance. The further the distance between two electrode, the higher the voltage needed to create arc. So if the gas and electrode distance inside 1W tube equal to 55W tube, then the voltage needed to create arc should also the same.
I'm not PL tube designer or expert, so I jus guessing here
I saw the shop uses this 1w to 55w e-ballast to drive different wattages tubes. 36w, 27w and 54w etc. I am not sure how much it cost but should be below $20 I think. Tempted to try one maybe.
Also saw the Philips E-ballast of 20w selling for about $12. I think not too expensive for a brand like Philips. Maybe when time permit, will change all my house lighting ballast to E-ballast as E-ballast should save more power. This is more worth especially now the electrical charges is going up.
Today, I touch my Elbiru's 54w e-ballast and it is pretty warm. Last time my Elbiru's 36w-40w e-ballast does not seem to be that warm I think. Logically, higher wattage e-ballast should be warmer?
higher wattage eballast should be warmer because the losses are higher. efficiency should be similar to lower wattage eballast though.
eballast is a constant current device so it would have a narrow operating wattage. a specific wattage tube would require specific eballast.
thomas liew
It is improbable (if not impossible) that a 1W fluorescent tube (probably 3-inch length) is the same length as a 55W (probably 5-foot to 6-foot length) one.This something that I don't understand. The electrical arc should depend on the gas breakdown voltages and electrode distance. The further the distance between two electrode, the higher the voltage needed to create arc. So if the gas and electrode distance inside 1W tube equal to 55W tube, then the voltage needed to create arc should also the same.
I'm not PL tube designer or expert, so I jus guessing here
There are several method to ignite the fluorescent lamp:
1) Most conventional way: Heat (Preheat) the filaments, create high ignition voltage, then sustain arc with lower running voltage. This is cheaply achieved with the iron core ballast with "starter" (bimetallic disrupter).
2) Same as above, but using suitably rated electronic ballast.
3) Apply high frequency, high voltage electric field (e.g. placing near the high voltage transformer in colour television); be extremely careful with such high voltages.
4) Apply microwave radiation (beware you may cook yourself in the process).
In any case, it is hard to believe that an electronic ballast can be designed for use for wattages ranging from 1W to 55W. It will be dangerous to try coupling a low wattage lamp (less than 30W) on such a device.
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