How to Overdrive T5's without an Icecap ballast

Discussion in 'T5 Aquarium Lighting' started by FuzzBall03, Jul 23, 2009.

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  1. FuzzBall03

    FuzzBall03 Flamingo Tongue

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    Some people mentioned a couple times about over driving T5's WITHOUT an Icecap ballast... I haven't seen anyone else post this, so I'm sorry if I missed it.

    I've tried this on my ballasts, it does work! Ran my 39's at ~70-80
    Not all ballasts are the same, so do so at your own risk.
    p.s. no magnetic ballasts, sorry!

    The photos should answer all/most questions. I'll try to help with any questions you may have.

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    FuzzBall03, Jul 23, 2009
    FuzzBall03, Jul 23, 2009
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  2. fishluver

    fishluver Sea Dragon

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    tht would be way too confusing for me
     
    fishluver, Jul 23, 2009
    fishluver, Jul 23, 2009
    #2
  3. FuzzBall03

    FuzzBall03 Flamingo Tongue

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    Haha. I promise, if you were able to wire your T5's originally... doing this wouldn't be any harder. You are just going to follow a different wiring diagram this time around.

    Don't let it intimidate you. Just double check your work :)
     
    FuzzBall03, Jul 23, 2009
    FuzzBall03, Jul 23, 2009
    #3
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  4. fishluver

    fishluver Sea Dragon

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    yea i would probobly make an atomic bomb
     
    fishluver, Jul 23, 2009
    fishluver, Jul 23, 2009
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  5. Dr.Fragenstein

    Dr.Fragenstein Panda Puffer

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    Thats how you OD T8 and T12...
    A guy in our club has been telling me about this for awhile now, and I was thinking about doing it to my T5 lamps but, the main reason it works for T8/T12 lamps is the wattage that they are printed at is the UNDERdriven wattage... Most places that run T8/T12 are commercial, or industrial settings, where you want light but doesn't need to be super bright, and they want to save on costs... SO the lamps CAN handle the wattage but the ballasts aren't designed to handle full power...

    So I take it you used a kill a watt or something to see what you were pulling?
    What ballast did you use?
    Do you know anyone with a Quantum meter?

    As far as is it difficult.... actually it is easier than wiring a retro and having to put in jumper wires... All you do is take one lead to EACH port on the endcap instead of one lead and jumping to the other....

    That wiring diagram has been around for along time, so has the article on ODing T8/12 lamps, I am honestly surprised no one has tried it on T5 yet.
     
    Dr.Fragenstein, Jul 24, 2009
    Dr.Fragenstein, Jul 24, 2009
    #5
  6. FuzzBall03

    FuzzBall03 Flamingo Tongue

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    Ha, I was hoping I'd hear from your Dr.

    Actually, I used my fluke meter. It can easily handle an amp, so i used the min, max, and average capability on that. Ran it standard with one bulb, and two bulbs. Determined what my efficiency was (don't recall off hand) than ran one bulb over driven, and went from there to calculate my approximate wattage at the bulb.
    Don't know the model number, but i tried it one two different ballasts. One was a Howard, the other was an Advance(centurion variety i believe)

    I don't know anyone with a quantum meter, sorry.

    Yeah, i saw it was written some time ago... funny where I found it too. (see grass, lol)
     
    FuzzBall03, Jul 24, 2009
    FuzzBall03, Jul 24, 2009
    #6
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