[Aqua Pro Builder]

I have a bunch of T5 bulbs 48" but only 28W.

I wonder whether anyone has overdriven one of this or similar, how you did it, what the max you can over drive to, what's the pros and cons of it.

[scarf_ace1981]

i'm sure one pro is more light out of a bulb but the con is a shorter life.

[fritz]

The shorter the bulb the more they are overdriven, at least with icecap ballasts. You NEED (not optional) to run a fan over the bulb length wise or the color will wander and the bulb will go quickly.

Overdriven they are SUPER bright but the color does change a little bit.

[ming]

Its basically a NO bulb and if you want to make it HO, simply use a HO ballast.
It'll be almost, if not, as bright as a regular HO bulb, but probalby with a shorter life

[techreef]

I overdrive 4 of my 6 T5 bulbs w/ an IC ballast. Fritz is right on target. And I get the same info directly from the guys at IceCap re: how to set up the fan in the light canopy. Overdriving generates more heat from the bulb than when you push normal loads through them. With the fan cooling the overdriven bulbs, they say that the life of the bulbs is not shortened.

[fritz]

OH! I didn't catch that your four footers were only 28watts(NO), not 53watts (HO)
I would NOT overdrive those bulbs!!!!!!! Well actually I would overdrive them but from behind plexiglass and with a video camera.

[ming]

Quote: Originally Posted by fritz OH! I didn't catch that your four footers were only 28watts(NO), not 54watts (HO) I would NOT overdrive those bulbs!!!!!!! Well actually I would overdrive them but from behind plexiglass and with a video camera.

Why would you say that? You're making it sound like its going to explode. I have a NO T5 bulb on a HO Triad ballast and its working fine on my fuge.

[techreef]

hmm, i didn't know that there was a difference w/ overdriving short vs. longer bulbs. guess i figure as long as you're not using the same size ballast as a 54W setup to drive the 28W setup, what's the harm?

[ming]

Quote: Originally Posted by techreef hmm, i didn't know that there was a difference w/ overdriving short vs. longer bulbs. guess i figure as long as you're not using the same size ballast as a 54W setup to drive the 28W setup, what's the harm?

I dont know what you mean about short vs. longer bulbs. They are overdriven from the ballast. And you would use a the same size ballast as a 54W setup to drive the 28W setup, then its being overdriven. Otherwise, its just another NO(normal output) setup

[fritz]

no no no you guys are missing what I'm saying.

Firstly when someone says "overdriving T5s" I assume we're talking about overdriving HO T5s with an Icecap ballast. If you want to overdrive NO T5s to HO wattage, that's silly IMO. HO T5s cost about the same and an electronic T5 ballast is about $12. So why bother?

Now if you run a 48" 28watt bulb on an icecap ballast you will push about 85watts through that bulb. almost 4X the wattage the bulb was designed to carry. Yeah damn straight I'm going to be out of it's exploding range, just in case. This is coming from someone who used to break fluorescent tubes over people's head when they weren't looking. Trust me you don't want to be up close to an exploding tube, wide eyed going "ooooh"



Now what I mean by shorter or long is, suppose you have an icecap 660. You push about 85 watts per circuit or channel (I'm no electrician) and say you have it setup to fire four bulbs. If these 4 bulbs are 4 foot bulbs great, if the are two foot bulbs or three foot bulbs you are still pushing 85 watts through each of one them!