jflysmooth Posted July 24, 2003 Share Posted July 24, 2003 Heh.. Why didn't I think of that? I mean, I only go to Home Depot... 2-3 times a week... haha. I'm going to be making 4 more of these lights so next time I'll try not to burn the heatshrink. Oh yeah, anyone interested in another how to... http://www.nano-reef.com/forums/showthread...&threadid=15234 Link to comment
MacnReef Posted July 25, 2003 Share Posted July 25, 2003 The post that adin and jfly have posted are really going to help me with my 2.5 that I started last night! Thanx Guys! Link to comment
MrConclusion Posted July 28, 2003 Share Posted July 28, 2003 Forget about Home Depot, and look in the Yellow Pages under "lighting." You will have a Rexel or other large lighting dealer near you. This is the type of place that's probably in or near an industrial park or low-rent retail center, and will be about 1/3 lamp & light showroom, and 2/3 contractor supply. Ask them for an "Advance" brand REL-series ballast, sized for the number and wattage of the PC bulbs you're using. These ballasts are lightweight, electronic, cool-running, and long-lasting. The proper one to drive my two 28 watt PC bulbs cost $17 including tax! Link to comment
schemo Posted August 8, 2003 Share Posted August 8, 2003 jflysmooth in your pic, the top PC connection looks a little burnt? then on you thrid pic the base looks actually burnt? is the actually burnt plastic i see from the heat? if so you might want to change that connection you have, i can garantee you it will start a fire. schemo Link to comment
jflysmooth Posted August 9, 2003 Share Posted August 9, 2003 I take it you didn't read the posts. I got the lighter too close when I made one of them cause I wasn't really paying attention. I made two more today, and they're purdy. Link to comment
digitallinx Posted August 9, 2003 Share Posted August 9, 2003 jfly... you are the king of the lighting issues............. Link to comment
schemo Posted August 11, 2003 Share Posted August 11, 2003 jflysmooth, ok you got me one this one, i didn't read the whole thread. didn't want to put you on front street, but i was just looking out for a fellow reefer. schemo could you post pics of the new connections you made??? Link to comment
SLOreefer Posted August 12, 2003 Share Posted August 12, 2003 wow that was really really easy...now how to wire the ballast? no clue...ha haill figure that one out later. Link to comment
SLOreefer Posted August 12, 2003 Share Posted August 12, 2003 oh by the way i got these molex connectors at radio shack for 12 of them for 2.50 so you all know they are pretty inexpensive. Link to comment
adinsxq Posted November 18, 2003 Author Share Posted November 18, 2003 did some tests ran one with out heat shrinked connections (exposed) ran another with heat shrinked connections (not exposed) both 5" from the water surface after two months the pins and sockets on the unprotected tube were moderately corroded while the protected looked as new as the day they were installed results as expected. was curious about the salt effect/time ratio - pretty quick just a note to everyone who has/is doing this DIY, seal all metal dudes. byee. Link to comment
moorediddy Posted December 16, 2003 Share Posted December 16, 2003 I know this is an old thread, but what about using Work Horse ballasts with this system? Specifically, four 13w bulbs on a Workhorse 3 or 5. -moore Link to comment
jflysmooth Posted December 16, 2003 Share Posted December 16, 2003 What do you mean what about it? yes, you could use these to hook up the lights.. but isn't that obvious? Link to comment
adinsxq Posted December 16, 2003 Author Share Posted December 16, 2003 the workhorse 3 and 5 are electronic ballasts. if you want to properly fire a 13w CFL, you want a magnetic ballast (~.35A) as documented here: fulham faqs if you are still interested in the benefits of using an electronic ballast but insist on using bi-pin tubes, check this out: starter mod hope this helps Link to comment
jimsflies Posted December 24, 2003 Share Posted December 24, 2003 Adinsqt, I'd like to get some of your connectors. Think I need 12 of them if you have them. Please let me know if you have them and where to send the $. thanks. Link to comment
ELGORDOINAVW Posted December 24, 2003 Share Posted December 24, 2003 you know this is a awesome thread but could some one explain how to wire a 4 pin bulb(....)? Link to comment
adinsxq Posted December 24, 2003 Author Share Posted December 24, 2003 there are usually 4 leads out of a ballast - one white, one black, one color A (red), one color B (blue). black and white correspond to the wires in your power cord the other two go to the lights. check out the picture - hope this helps. (note 1: this is a messy temp job. also ignore the yellow wires: they're for something else note2: different ballasts use different color wires. there will always be white and black for the power, but the others may vary (fulham uses red and yellow for instance) note3: this works with normal output tubes as well; i've done this with t5, t5ho, and t8 retros) Link to comment
1fish2fish Posted March 21, 2004 Share Posted March 21, 2004 Awsome DIY Adin. I just converted my two 13 watt PC's to remote ballasts and since the endcaps that come with them are kinda useless since they don't come with a method to screw mount them I went with your method. It works great and best of all lacks the bulkiness of most endcaps. I'll post pics in my 1 gallon bowfront post later in the week. I didn't want to pay the $10 it would have cost me for the two bulb clips from Hello lights (after ground shipping), so I took the slot guards (not sure what to call em) out of the back of an old computer. I ground off the odd shaped ends and bent them into the same shape as the store bought clips. They are a little wider and a little thicker metal. Worked out pretty nicely. Thanks again Link to comment
adinsxq Posted March 21, 2004 Author Share Posted March 21, 2004 i've been watching your little tank grow... looks real promising. 1fish2fish's super cool 1g custom diy bowfront i too made the "mistake" early on by purchasing the hellolights integrated ballast - 13w kit. it's a good setup for say, a large tank that needs some extra supplementation in a big hood or canopy, but for those of us with the tiny tanks, the heat generated is murder. my 1.5g nano if you've got pictures of the lighting part of your diy, post them here and in your tanks thread. thanks for digging this up! btw 1f2f, great idea on how to diy some bulb clips. special note: over the last year, i've found it useful to have a roll of molex sockets lying around just so i could wire up a ballast for temporary lighting situations, new tanks, and helping friends retro their hoods. http://www.action2k.com/molex93.htm well worth it to purchase in bulk if you plan on doing this diy more than once. hth Link to comment
1fish2fish Posted March 21, 2004 Share Posted March 21, 2004 Unfortunately I don't have pics of the DIY in progress as I use the camera from work and it was out all week, but I will take some pics of the bits and pieces after assembly this week. I'm just putting the finishing touches on my hood (just need to go over it with a sealer to protect the finish). Link to comment
1fish2fish Posted March 27, 2004 Share Posted March 27, 2004 The hood pics are now up on my members thread. http://www.nano-reef.com/forums/showthread...&threadid=26895 Link to comment
waynefish Posted May 19, 2004 Share Posted May 19, 2004 cool diy project...anyone think this can be done with VHO bulbs? Link to comment
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