ballast fires

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Iraqelect

Member
Gentleman,

Over here (Iraq) we have a what I will call a phenemon with ballasts catching lights on fire. It has happened dozens of times. They are the standard 36watt magnetic ballast with the starters. These are used all over the world. The standard lighting is plastic flourescent light fixture with these ballasts mounted inside. These routinely get so hot the fixture catches fire, here. We have many different brands made in countrys from Germany to Turkey. I have seen these used with from Dubai to Perth with no (known) issues. I find it hard to believe that it is just poor quality, with some of these ballasts coming from devolped countrys. The voltage is within the range stamped on the ballast. Does anyone have any ideas as to what might cause this, other than the obvious potential quality issue? I can provide model #'s if that would be helpful. I can't imagine that the power source, Gen-power, is a factor.
 
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nakulak

Senior Member
specify fixture, ballast and bulbs. where did the fixtures come from (are they the counterfeit ones from China or did they get shipped from US by the govt.? who checked the voltages, what are the voltages, have they been amp probed while they are on. what is the ambient temp. what is the temp of the ballast. why are they using the plastic ones and not the metal fixtures.
 
mdshunk

mdshunk

Senior Member
Location
Right here.
Since the thermal protection requirement many years back, I think that the instances of ballast fires in the US are close to nil. That makes me think these are non-thermally protected ballasts. It might also have a bit to do with the ambient operating conditions to which these ballasts are subjected.
 
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captaincrab55

Senior Member
Location
Maryland
[ They are the standard 36watt magnetic ballast with the starters. These are used all over the world. ] Quote

I can't remember the last time I saw a starter in use......
 
iwire

iwire

Moderator
Staff member
Location
Massachusetts
Just wondering if they are being operated within specs?

Thinking if this is on temp power / generator that the voltage and / or frequency could be way off of the ballasts requirements.
 
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Special K

Member
Location
Gibsonia,Pa
We had the same problem with ballasts on 8' fixtures years ago. When the fixture was 10' to 15' off of the floor everything worked fine. However the ones that were 25' off of the floor, the ballast would get so hot that is would start oozing black goo out of it and then burn up. The fixtures were metal but the lint and wires would catch on fire. The ballast were class P and thermally protected to boot. We figured the high ambient temp of the ceiling ( over 90 deg ) was affecting the thermal overload inside the ballast allowing it to get much hotter than it was designed for.
 
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jdsmith

Senior Member
Location
Ohio
Special K said:
...the ballast would get so hot that is would start oozing black goo out of it and then burn up.
Click to expand...

So with ballasts it's not just keeping the smoke in, but keeping the goo in as well? What is that goo anyways? I catch some sneaking out on occasion.
 
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Iraqelect

Member
billsnuff said:
http://www.safetycenter.navy.mil/bestpractices/Tools/downloads/SC_ballast_fires.pdf the marine corp had a ballast problem with schwab - germany.
Click to expand...

Wow great web digging. I literally responded to that call. Those are some pretty typical pictures of the problem. Since that article, in the link, was written we have changed thousands of fixtures to electronic ballasts because that was determined to be the fix. As you can see from the pictures this is not UL listed equipment and is not designed for use in the US. I am still reluctant to accept it is just a ballast problem, for the reasons I stated earlier, like these same fixtures being used in multi-million dollar hotels in Dubai, UAE.

Any how I'll post the particulars of the installation when I get a minute.
 
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iowa

Member
I was also curious about why these burned up. I think I have found the problem. Many people say many different things about why they burn up. Few have any evidence to back it up. I have ran in to some that don't hook up the ground because they feel that makes them burn up. Truth is it's pretty simple if you dig into it. I tested 12 lights. That consisted of 6 brands. Each brand was in waterpoof fixture and in regular surface mount. When the starter becomes shorted. It does not come out of the circuit. The current flow through the ballast goes up. The ballst gets to hot and with no thermal it burns up. I have actually burned them up in less than 15 minutes before. Some took hours. The ballast has a maximum winding temperature rating. When it is exceeded the insulation on the windings breaks down. Any way as a side note, the Schwabee ballast I tested did better than any other brand. Funny huh.
 
LarryFine

LarryFine

Master Electrician Electric Contractor Richmond VA
Location
Henrico County, VA
Occupation
Electrical Contractor
REMEMBER . . .

1985poster1.jpg

. . . CAN PREVENT BALLAST FIRES!​

​
 
billsnuff

billsnuff

Senior Member
Location
East of 480sparky
now that you have id'd the root cause, how will you mitigate the problem in the future..........lots of spare starters........in line fuse element on the ballast.....thermal switch super glued to ballast and in series with ballast supply......just curious :cool:
 
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iowa

Member
No, but it will require about as much work. We will get fixtures and ballast in that are thermally protected. They will of course be electroinic too. It will be a long time before everything is changed out. Years I'd say.
 
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