making dawn / dusk effect with jbj formosa 12'' 2X18watt

[bingalpaws]

so i finally found the lamp i was looking for on their company website. a 12'', 2X18 watt pc unit, that says it has separate switches, and can be put on timers for dusk/dawn effect.

 

try to order one, only to find they're discontinued. finally find someone on ebay with one, who is kind enough to end his auction early to sell it to me direct (probably for what he paid brand new, but that's neither here nor there).

 

i get it, and there's only one cord!!!

 

sure, there's two switches on the unit, but they said you can use timers!!! what gives? how on earth can they expect you to do manual switching on and off of the unit twice daily for dusk/dawn?

 

http://jbjlighting.com/sys_formosa.html

 

it's the 12'' one on that page, it clearly says:

 

"independent switches

allows for dawn and dusk effect.

may be used with a timer."

 

i read that as i can put dawn and dusk on a timer... did they really just mean that you have to do it manually, adn that you are allowed to put the single cord on a timer? that seems misleading to me, maybe i wasn't paying much attention when researchign, but it still seems like it meant timers for dawn/dusk

 

 

HOLY JESUS!!! just plugged it in... lighting is awesome, but the fans in this goddamn thing are louder than my 55 was when everything was one! craziness... gonna have to disconnect and redo them..

[bingalpaws]

would it be okay for me to just manually turn off the 10K bulb whenever i get home, assuming the main plug is still on? i would have the entire unit powered for a set photoperiod each day, but i would manually create the dusk/dawn at random times each day, roughly an hour before/after the unit goes on / off

[jmt]

You could rewire each ballast to its own switch and powercord. It shouldn't be that difficult.