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The Shunted-Series-Rapid-Start-Ballast Trick... DON'T try this if you don't know what you're doing... So this afternoon on the way home from school I picked up a second Sears shoplight out of the trash (along with some GE Mainlighters!) with a somewhat-toasted (judging by the toasty label) Universal Therm-O-Matic ballast. Maybe it's due to the old, corroded, busted Y-slot sockets but it seems to light only one tube...so I tried this little trick. It's the standard thing people have told me to do before- red wires to one end of the lamp, blue wires to the other, and cap the yellows. It doesn't light the lamp at full brightness and works best with an F34- seems like the classic thing on HPF RS ballasts where one lamp is missing or EOL and the other lights dimly, only somewhat brighter. Am I doing this right? Or is the ballast officially toast? Keywords: Lit_Lighting

The Shunted-Series-Rapid-Start-Ballast Trick...

DON'T try this if you don't know what you're doing...
So this afternoon on the way home from school I picked up a second Sears shoplight out of the trash (along with some GE Mainlighters!) with a somewhat-toasted (judging by the toasty label) Universal Therm-O-Matic ballast. Maybe it's due to the old, corroded, busted Y-slot sockets but it seems to light only one tube...so I tried this little trick. It's the standard thing people have told me to do before- red wires to one end of the lamp, blue wires to the other, and cap the yellows. It doesn't light the lamp at full brightness and works best with an F34- seems like the classic thing on HPF RS ballasts where one lamp is missing or EOL and the other lights dimly, only somewhat brighter. Am I doing this right? Or is the ballast officially toast?

PICT0025~0.JPG PICT0025~0.JPG PICT0025~0.JPG PICT0025~0.JPG PICT0026.JPG
File information
Filename:PICT0025~0.JPG
Album name:GEsoftwhite100watts / florescent bulbs
Keywords:Lit_Lighting
Company and Date Manufactured:Uh...me, today (5-20-13)
Model Number:#UNIVERSALBALLAST1970sTRICK
Wattage:IDK...
Lamp Type:Florescent
Filesize:103 KiB
Date added:May 21, 2013
Dimensions:640 x 480 pixels
Displayed:129 times
Color Space:sRGB
Contrast:0
DateTime Original:2013:05:20 17:06:48
Exposure Bias:0 EV
Exposure Mode:0
Exposure Program:Program
Exposure Time:1/40 sec
FNumber:f/2.8
Flash:No Flash
Focal length:5.8 mm
ISO:80
Light Source:Unknown: 0
Make:Minolta Co., Ltd.
Max Aperture:f/2.8
Model:DiMAGE Z1
URL:http://www.galleryoflights.org/mb/gallery/displayimage.php?pid=15767
Favorites:Add to Favorites

Comment 1 to 9 of 9
Page: 1

A_lights   [May 21, 2013 at 08:25 PM]
sounds like it works! is the lamp normal brigtness?
GEsoftwhite100watts   [May 22, 2013 at 03:38 AM]
No, I'd say like 1/3 brightness...but then again it was a cold F34...
I DID manage to light a F40 like this before I shunted it (just trying different lamps) and it lit at like 1/3 brightness too...seemed brighter than the normal dim-glow when the other one is missing or burned out...
The F40 ( a GE pre-Ecolux Plant/Aquarium) was tested like this outside too like in the previous pic, should try it again indoors...
Any ideas?
A_lights   [May 22, 2013 at 05:06 AM]
hmm i would say the ballast is probably bad,maybe the capacitor has failed partially
GEsoftwhite100watts   [May 22, 2013 at 05:26 AM]
For whatever it's worth the label is flaky and toasty...
joe_347V   [May 22, 2013 at 07:49 AM]
I'm guessing bad cap too, on these ballasts a failed cap will directly affect the lamp current much like a CW type HID ballast. Bad caps on reactor and HX ballasts usually don't affect the lamp current.
GEsoftwhite100watts   [May 22, 2013 at 03:47 PM]
Is there a way to repair/replace it? Or wire one in externally leaving the old one in place?
A_lights   [May 22, 2013 at 06:59 PM]
well if it has PCB's i dont recommend taking it apart, you could accidentally puncture the cap
GEsoftwhite100watts   [May 23, 2013 at 04:03 AM]
So the next alternative is a T8 conversion I guess...new-old! Laughing But a bit more efficient...
EDIT: I installed this ballast (also wired for one lamp) in that Metalux/Gibson fixture I was converting to 3-lamp. It seems to work alright there, the 34w lamp I tested it with for awhile striated like seen here, then seemed to warm up ok. Then I tried a 40w warm white Mainlighter lamp and I can say it's maybe a bit underdriven but not bad...maybe I was judging it before the lamp pictured above warmed up fully...
Edit: This ballast works fine in 1-lamp mode and has been in use every day sans about three months this summer while I was away from home...and it squeezes the last bit of life out of EOL lamps or ones with broken cathodes.
GEsoftwhite100watts   [Apr 17, 2018 at 06:28 AM]
Still got this ballast in use somewhere, with an Alto...works well nevertheless...

Comment 1 to 9 of 9
Page: 1
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