2- 96 ballast at lowe's

[EJS4]

I was in Lowe's recently and they have an electronic ballast that powers two 59 watt bulbs. I've read the DYI project on using a 4 light 32 watt ballast to power a single PC bulb. My question is can this ballast be used to power PC bulbs? The ballast only has 2 power (blue) wires and one common (yellow) wire running to the bulbs. If so how would you wire it to a PC connector? Thanks for your assistance.

 

[PatM]

Shouldn't be a problem. I'm currently putting together a pc fixture to run two 55 watt pc's with a ballast rated for 4 28 watt T8 bulbs. I tested it and it ran fine. I'm not an electrician so use caution, but mine had a similar set up, three wires for four pins. I simply split one into two and it worked fine. It should have some kind of wiring diagram in the instructions or on the actual ballast. You can also use what they call butt splice connectors to connect onto the pc's pins. Works like a charm. Good luck.

 

[loganj]

You can use the 4x32 to power a 96w bulb by using three of the four "hot" wires. You can use the 2x59, using both of the hot wires, to slightly overdrive a 96w bulb. Expect the bulb to run a little hotter than normal and have a slightly reduced life. I have used the 2x59 on 55w and 65w PC bulbs and it works very well. To wire the 2x59 to a 96w bulb, insert the two blue wires into the first two holes in the endcap. Then, split the yellow and insert it into the other two ports. When I split this solid wire, I like to solder it back together and use heat shrink tubing to seal the connection. If you just twist and tape it, it will very likely corrode. Everything you need to do this, except for the PC endcaps, is available at Lowes.

 

[EJS4]

Thanks for the info