Electrical Question

[josh]

Hi, I have an electrical question for you. I had an old PC dual ballast fixture that I don't use anymore. I didn't have room to retro fit both ballast so I took it apart and removed one ballast and rewired it, and it now runs great with one lamp and ballast. My question is this:
I am putting the wiring in a hard plastic container that is just big enough to fit the ballast and the wiring into for water proofing. It has a top on it, with a hole I drilled to run the wire to the outlet and the wiring to the lamp itself. The question is, will the ballast and wiring get hot in the hard plastic box. I am pretty sure it is just the lamp that gives off heat, but I am double checking before I install it. I don't know if any of you are electricians by trade, but I figured some of you have done some wiring, ect. Thanks
- Josh -

 

[wallda]

I am not positive, but I do think the ballast will heat up, too what extent I do not know.
Anyone have any comments?!?

 

[chocochipper]

Yes the ballast will get hot. Maybe just a shield not completely encompassing it would be sufficient which would also allow air movement around it to help cool it. If you must use plastic make sure it can withstand the heat without melting.

 

[josh]

Thanks for the responces,
I just added some extra wiring to the lamp ( 4 pin ) plugin from the ballast itself. I then mounted the ballast under the tank so as to have lots of room to keep cool. It seems to work pretty well, no fires yet!
- Josh -