Lighting upgrade...

[JasonC]

Hey all,

Has anyone tried to upgrade their "All-glass" brand lighting? I pulled it apart this morning to see what the flourescent ballast was rated for, and cant readily tell. Has anyone tried swapping the ballast for something that could run appx. 25 - 35 wpg? Any suggestions on what to get and from where?

I am looking for this to be a temp. solution till I can convince the wife to really let me upgrade lighting to a completly diff. system... that may be a tough task for a while since I just spent some decent cash on some Apistos.

 

[jsoong]

Depending on what bulbs you are running, you can either get a ballast specifically for the W's of your bulb, or get an electronic load sensing ballast that has a W rating higher than total W of all your bulbs. The Icecaps are considered one of the best for the auto load sensing ballast, but they are pricey!

For a temp solution, you might check out the electronic ballasts at your specialty lighting store or hard ware store. But make sure it is fully electronic - you can tell by its small size & weight, & it is usu. rated at a certain max W, & not a fixed lamp combo. <I got mine out of a T8 shop light (65W max load) ... cheaper than buying the ballast.>

You can also check out the net for Fulham workhorse line of ballast (#1 or 2 for your W). These are quite reasonable & are the ones used in ahsupply's kits & are supposed to be quite good.