does it take the place of the starter (ignitor)?? And will it work with floursent tubes?? Seems pretty cool to have an electronic ignitor (no more flickering)
Why do you want to drop the voltage to 300-400V ? A fluorescent tube needs 500-1000V to start. And if you want an electronic starter for fluorescent tubes, you can buy that in a normal lamp shop. But if you absolutly want to drop the voltage in the above circuit just remove 2 or 3 of the 100nF caps.
sorry...forgot it needs 1kV...his original circuit will proved arund 3-4KV...which will kill me tube I guess...so I just have to remove 1 100nF cap huh?? seems good to me...I can't find the electronic starter arund here...hmmm wonder why...but they are so ex...even if I can locate one...I'll give this circuit a go and see what happens...hehehe
I´m working on a new lightengine and while I was testing it, the bulb was overheated and turned it self of. The problem was that the electronic ignator was dead after that. So I just want to warn you. Do not try to start the bulb when it´s hot, wait 15 minutes, before you turn it on again, and there will not be any problem with the ignator.
Very Important Update !
I wrote before that the bulb was overheated and turned it self of. It wasn´t because of my new lightengine. It turned it self of again after 5 minutes in my normal ohp-setup. So I measured the voltage over the bulb and it was over 115 Volt, normally it should be 96 Volt. The bulb has changed it´s voltage-characteristic when it has been "burned in", and the ballast feeds it with to much voltage right now. I tested to only use 3 of the 36W ballasts, and the bulb worked perfectly again but it will only get 114W. I´m going to reduce the power from the fourth 36W ballast tomorrow, so the bulb will not get overheated.
For whose of you who want to build this ballastdesign, use four 30W ballasts instead of 36W and you will not get any problem with overheated bulbs.🙂
I have updated the electronic ignator, it will work better now.
I wrote before that the bulb was overheated and turned it self of. It wasn´t because of my new lightengine. It turned it self of again after 5 minutes in my normal ohp-setup. So I measured the voltage over the bulb and it was over 115 Volt, normally it should be 96 Volt. The bulb has changed it´s voltage-characteristic when it has been "burned in", and the ballast feeds it with to much voltage right now. I tested to only use 3 of the 36W ballasts, and the bulb worked perfectly again but it will only get 114W. I´m going to reduce the power from the fourth 36W ballast tomorrow, so the bulb will not get overheated.
For whose of you who want to build this ballastdesign, use four 30W ballasts instead of 36W and you will not get any problem with overheated bulbs.🙂
I have updated the electronic ignator, it will work better now.
Attachments
I have now done some more testing and measuring on the bulb and ballasts. A new design can´t be perfect from the beginning it always need some adjustment. To get as close as possible to the rated 150W power, I need to mix 30W and 36W ballasts, two 30W and two 36W, now I got exactly 150W with 230V main voltage. The bulb works perfectly and is not overheated any more. Please let me know if you have problem with this design.🙂
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I was just wondering if I wanted to use a 250W lamp the total ballast power increases linearily proportional?
The ignitor would be the same I guess...
The ignitor would be the same I guess...
I can´t test the 250W bulb design but I did a simulation, according to that, you can use six 36W ballasts and you should get around 250W, but there are two version of the HQI 250W bulb, one that runs on 100V and the other runs on 133V.
Try this:
HQI 250W 100V = six 36W ballasts.
HQI 250W 133V = four 30W and two 36W ballasts.
I haven´t tried this, the only way to know if it works is to measure the voltage and the current, the bulb gets. Ignit the bulb and let it warm up, measure the voltage and current, when the voltage reach 100 Volt (100V bulb) lock at current-meter, it should say 2.4-2.5A. If the voltage goes over 100 V or you get more than 2.5A ,turn it of, replace one 36W ballast with a 30W, do the test again.
Try this:
HQI 250W 100V = six 36W ballasts.
HQI 250W 133V = four 30W and two 36W ballasts.
I haven´t tried this, the only way to know if it works is to measure the voltage and the current, the bulb gets. Ignit the bulb and let it warm up, measure the voltage and current, when the voltage reach 100 Volt (100V bulb) lock at current-meter, it should say 2.4-2.5A. If the voltage goes over 100 V or you get more than 2.5A ,turn it of, replace one 36W ballast with a 30W, do the test again.
A 300W 12VDC to 120(230)VAC inverter May work but you still need the ballast inductor (transformer) for current limiting and the ignitor to turn on the bulb.
mathias said:
The capacitor only changes the the phase of the current. This don't affect your electricbill, as the wattage is still the same.
do yo think guys it is posible to make an electronic ballast with those dimmers?
i mean without any ballast.
If you check the especs on the net about the electronic ballast, you´ll find they work at 20Khz-40Khz frecuency range, (i guess this is the trick to limit current) if we could make an square oscilator and add a power stage to it.... i don´t know.
What to you think?
It could be posible to modiffy a computer power suply????
i mean without any ballast.
If you check the especs on the net about the electronic ballast, you´ll find they work at 20Khz-40Khz frecuency range, (i guess this is the trick to limit current) if we could make an square oscilator and add a power stage to it.... i don´t know.
What to you think?
It could be posible to modiffy a computer power suply????
IR has a range of ICs that do dimming...u might wanna look into those...but I only know they do flourscent lamps...perhaps they could be modded to suit?
this looks like it will run hqi lamps
what exactly do i need to get a 250w output
i have a 250w ballast, but it is core and coil., can i use anything from it
what exactly do i need to get a 250w output
i have a 250w ballast, but it is core and coil., can i use anything from it
ballast with just highspeed switch
I don't think the lamp would stay lit. If you look at the voltage across a regular flourescent lamp with a scope, you will see a high voltage spike at the beginning of every half cycle. I think this is required to keep the gas inside the tube ionized. Then the voltage drops down to the regular level (169 or 338 volts P-P sine wave).
I'd bet the MH ballast does the very same thing. So then you couldn't duplicate it with just a fast switch. You would need an inductor or a flying capacitor circuit to get the higher voltage spike.
I don't think the lamp would stay lit. If you look at the voltage across a regular flourescent lamp with a scope, you will see a high voltage spike at the beginning of every half cycle. I think this is required to keep the gas inside the tube ionized. Then the voltage drops down to the regular level (169 or 338 volts P-P sine wave).
I'd bet the MH ballast does the very same thing. So then you couldn't duplicate it with just a fast switch. You would need an inductor or a flying capacitor circuit to get the higher voltage spike.
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