HO Sign Ballast match?

[powerplay]

In an Outdoor HO Sign, there are two F64 HO T12 tubes and two F24 HO T12 tubes, totaling just over 14' in Tubes. The Electrical Supplier ordered an 1 or 2 Tube Sign Ballast minimum 4' to 16'. They say the Ballast depends on the length of Tubes in feet, but if the minimum is 4', would the fact there are 4 tubes, two of which are only 24" cause it to burn out prematurely? I was informer that an Ballast with a minimum length of Tubes greater than the length of tubes being used would also burn out the Ballast by 2 Electrical Suppliers.

 

[kwired]

In an Outdoor HO Sign, there are two F64 HO T12 tubes and two F24 HO T12 tubes, totaling just over 14' in Tubes. The Electrical Supplier ordered an 1 or 2 Tube Sign Ballast minimum 4' to 16'. They say the Ballast depends on the length of Tubes in feet, but if the minimum is 4', would the fact there are 4 tubes, two of which are only 24" cause it to burn out prematurely? I was informer that an Ballast with a minimum length of Tubes greater than the length of tubes being used would also burn out the Ballast by 2 Electrical Suppliers.

Haven't dealt with sign ballasts for some time now - and have little experience with electronic ballasts in signs so I can't talk much about them.

Otherwise for magnetic ballasts yes the total length of all tubes as well as the number of lamps is important ordering information.

But I see you have two 64 inch tubes and two 24 inch tubes yet the ballast your supplier ordered is apparently only for either one or two tubes? sounds like wrong one to me - it needs to be able to handle 4 tubes before we even get into length of those tubes.

 

[powerplay]

Haven't dealt with sign ballasts for some time now - and have little experience with electronic ballasts in signs so I can't talk much about them.

Otherwise for magnetic ballasts yes the total length of all tubes as well as the number of lamps is important ordering information.

But I see you have two 64 inch tubes and two 24 inch tubes yet the ballast your supplier ordered is apparently only for either one or two tubes? sounds like wrong one to me - it needs to be able to handle 4 tubes before we even get into length of those tubes.

Thanks for the response... I called the manufacturer and was informed that it was not warrantied because it wasn't meant to be for 4 tubes.

...on another note... the sign ballast was only 2 years old, but tere was a wind storm that caused power failures... is there an igniter or something that would have been damaged by the power surge?

 

[mjf]

I rarely deal with signs/HO ballasts. Last time I did, I took the existing (bad) ballast, looked to make sure it was rated to operate the existing tubes, and brought it with me to the supply house. Counter man ordered new ballast.

 

[powerplay]

I rarely deal with signs/HO ballasts. Last time I did, I took the existing (bad) ballast, looked to make sure it was rated to operate the existing tubes, and brought it with me to the supply house. Counter man ordered new ballast.

I checked the connections and rating. The Ballast I changed was oversized, which I was told would burn out the Ballast. I replaced it with an properly sized one from "Hatch" with a 3 year warranty, but after the wind storm it stopped working after 2.5 years. I was thinking it was a cheap Ballast, or the power surge took something out in the Ballast....someone told me it had an ignitor inside of it....

 

[kwired]

If it does have an ignitor or whatever you want to call it - it does need a way to control preheating of the electrodes at the ends of the lamp which assists with starting the main operating arc that causes the lamp to light. But whatever components do that are not normally user serviceable and are "potted" inside the case of magnetic ballasts. It would take more time to take it apart and find/fix the problem then it is worth over just replacing the entire ballast unit.

 

[powerplay]

If it does have an ignitor or whatever you want to call it - it does need a way to control preheating of the electrodes at the ends of the lamp which assists with starting the main operating arc that causes the lamp to light. But whatever components do that are not normally user serviceable and are "potted" inside the case of magnetic ballasts. It would take more time to take it apart and find/fix the problem then it is worth over just replacing the entire ballast unit.

It was replaced, but trying to find the cause...

 

[capybara]

why not install 2 electronic ballasts, first one listed for 2- 24" T-12s, next listed for 2- 64" T-12s.