# Which Electronic Ballasts to buy?



## MacGyver (Feb 6, 2007)

So I was checking around on Ebay, thinking about buying a quantity of electronic ballasts & retrofitting/upgrading my shop's fixtures to T8 technology.

A quick search turned up GE, Sasi, Osram/Sylvania, Basic 12, Triad, and Motorola to name a few.
Any recommendations for which brands to go for or specifically avoid? 
I've never even heard of several of those!

Thanks in advance


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## brickbat (Feb 7, 2007)

My thinking is this is an area where you can only depend on a manufacturer's brand reputation. Brands such as Advance, GE, etc. have a lot at stake, and I think they're the best bet. Our office building is about 6 years old. We have about 500 Advance 2 x 32 ballasts, and afaik, only a handful have failed so far.


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## IgNITEor (Feb 7, 2007)

Yeah, I'll second that! Advance ballasts are in most of the 2-lamp 32-watt fixtures I've changed out in many a lighting upgrade. You can also purchase these at your electrical supply wholesaler who _should_ take your cash. Call ahead for stock issues.

If your T-8's are in a standard strip light fixture (no-cover) and your shop, or you, are capable of launching objects near the lights, you can sleeve them for extra protection & better starting in cold temps. Run them for a few hours at first for breaking-in.
I recall the GE ballasts will continue running a single lamp when one fails, or breaks!


-Mark


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## LightingGeek (Feb 9, 2007)

First of all, if your shoplights are the $9.95 hardware store specials, just throw them away. They aren't made to the standard of regular commercial fixtures and the safety features and quality just aren't there. They start fires.

The most popular commercial e'tronic ballasts are Sylvania, Advance (Philips), Triad (Magnetek). Motorola could be from some old stock somewhere, because they aren't actively manufactured today.

Be careful when you wire these suckers up. Most magnetic/fluorescent systems use a shunt between lamp pins at one end. If you don't rewire the sockets precisely like the wiring diagram on the case, you'll blow 'em up . . . blow up the ballast, that is.


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## brickbat (Feb 9, 2007)

...


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## brickbat (Feb 9, 2007)

LightingGeek said:


> ...Most magnetic/fluorescent systems use a shunt between lamp pins at one end...



Really? Most magnetics I've seen are rapid start, and the lamp pins are NOT shorted, since the lamp filaments are used.

Regardless, if he picks instant start electronic ballasts (which are generally the least expensive and most efficient), shorted lamp pins are a good thing, or at least not a bad thing...

But, yeah, follow the wiring schematic on the ballast. Brain surgery it ain't.


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## MacGyver (Feb 11, 2007)

Thank you for the comments 

I was leaning towards the names I'd heard of but wasn't sure if the others might now be amazing & I'd missed the memo 

I'm in Canada so we don't get '$9.95 specials', and the local distributor's pricing can't touch what I see on Ebay. That's even at contractor price since I know the guy well 
My existing fixtures are ancient heavy magnetic ballasted ones I got second hand years ago. They're probably almost as old as me LoL.
I've cleaned them up but I'd like the brighter more efficient T8's.


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