Eddy Current
Senior Member
Is there a special type of lamp that has to be used inside a drink cooler door? T12HO? What about the ballast? The ballast is housed under the cooler, so its not in a cold temperature. Rapid start maybe?
Lamps and ballasts for drink cooler doors
- Thread starter Eddy Current
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- Occupation
- Licensed Electrician
T12 HO is what I am used to seeing.
Eddy Current
Senior Member
What about the ballast? Is rapid start what you would want? The ballast isn't in a cold temperature like the lamp.
mjf
Senior Member
I've only replace cooler lamps once. A couple of years ago. they were T12 HO's but an odd length, like 5 foot or something. IIRC I had to special order them and they were maybe 15.00 each. the ballasts were also special low temp HO.
I think I found out what brand the cooler was and went to their website to get the proper info.
I think I found out what brand the cooler was and went to their website to get the proper info.
- Occupation
- Licensed Electrician
Whatever kind was in there already.
Eddy Current
Senior Member
Rapid starts what's in it.
- Location
- Massachusetts
This is the deal.
kwired
Electron manager
- Location
- NE Nebraska
Replace with what was in there or upgrade to LED replacement. If it is only one section/door on a long set of doors - owner probably will want all doors the same.
The ballast location is usually not cold, it is the lamp type that needs to be designed for cold starting conditions, AFAIK all T12HO were designed for lower temp starting conditions ballast will work whether it is cold or not.
The ballast location is usually not cold, it is the lamp type that needs to be designed for cold starting conditions, AFAIK all T12HO were designed for lower temp starting conditions ballast will work whether it is cold or not.
- Location
- Massachusetts
A warm temperature ballast will not start a lamp in cold location.
Even though the ballasts are not normally in cold locations the case makers use low temp ballasts.
Even though the ballasts are not normally in cold locations the case makers use low temp ballasts.
kwired
Electron manager
- Location
- NE Nebraska
But the issue is the cold lamp more so then a warm or cold ballast (I think)
Though it is probably somewhat rare to see such an installation, I doubt a cold ballast has any problem starting a warm lamp.
Electric-Light
Senior Member
Cold rated ballast is for cold starting. Standard rapid start ballasts are only rated for 50F starting while instant start T8 ballasts are rated anywhere from -20 to 32F. The use of HO is to make sure it stays warm enough in a refrigerated case.
Eddy Current
Senior Member
Yeah, its kind of a mixed bag. The ballast isn't in a cold temperature, its the lamp that is.
kwired
Electron manager
- Location
- NE Nebraska
But is it the lamp that has the cold starting issue, the ballast or both?
My suspicion is it is the lamp that is effected by cold, that is where we need to strike an arc. The ballast likely needs pretty extreme temperature conditions before it has any performance issues and it's impedance probably doesn't have much significant change in somewhat typical ambient temperatures - by that I mean any temperature that may be encountered where living beings also can exist, in the mouth of an active volcano - it may have some issues.
Electric-Light
Senior Member
But is it the lamp that has the cold starting issue, the ballast or both?
My suspicion is it is the lamp that is effected by cold, that is where we need to strike an arc. The ballast likely needs pretty extreme temperature conditions before it has any performance issues and it's impedance probably doesn't have much significant change in somewhat typical ambient temperatures - by that I mean any temperature that may be encountered where living beings also can exist, in the mouth of an active volcano - it may have some issues.
The lamp. Even after starting, low ambient affects the output. This is one application where LEDs is the most suitable which is a type of devices generally best suited for light emitting decorations. Magnetic ballasts are able to handle extreme cold fine, but the potting tar becomes rock hard and may buzz quite loudly.
Both electronic LED and fluorescent ballasts can have issues when they're chilled down to arctic temperatures if they're not specifically rated to handle it. For example LED ballast in street light unable to start up because powder core inductor or capacitor acts up at -20F. I've had several LED ballasts that failed to start at -20F and stays off until it is warmed up and power cycled. You don't really have the option to warm up when it's -20F outside.
Eddy Current
Senior Member
But is it the lamp that has the cold starting issue, the ballast or both?
My suspicion is it is the lamp that is effected by cold, that is where we need to strike an arc. The ballast likely needs pretty extreme temperature conditions before it has any performance issues and it's impedance probably doesn't have much significant change in somewhat typical ambient temperatures - by that I mean any temperature that may be encountered where living beings also can exist, in the mouth of an active volcano - it may have some issues.
Im guessing the lamp it was burnt out, the ballast was still good.
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