ECN Forum Forums Technical Discussion Electrical Theory and Applications Flourencent Fixtures

Hi,

I was wondering if anyone had any advice for me.

I have a camp out in the middle of nowhere that, over time, has had many things added to it. Namely, a stereo and several party lights (Mostly incandescent). Most are not too picky about the type of power they get, which is a good thing because it's all run by a gas powered generator.

The only things that are really giving me problems are two fixtures that operate two 4 foot florescent black lights.

Every couple of weeks, when the lights are switched on, one fixture doesn't quite light up. It flickers, but doesn't become fully operational. I've gone through about 3 new ballasts over time, and I would really like to find out why this is happening.

If anyone has any advice it would be greatly appreciated.

Scott.

The standard ballast doesn't start a fluorescent bulb reliably below about 50 degrees F (10 degrees C) ambient. The colder a bulb is, the higher the voltage that is required to strike the initial arc in the tube.

Al

Thank you! What type of ballast would you recommend I get? I've noticed that sometimes the end of the bulbs get hot. Almost too hot to touch. What could be the cause of that?

Thank you for the info :-)

Scott.

For cold weather applications, I have been spec'd to install zero degree ballasts. They are engineered to lite up a tube in cold weather.