Workhorse ballast questions

jagermeister

jagermeister

Member
I'm looking to add two more 4' vho bulbs to my setup. I'm attracted to the price of the workhorse ballasts but am confused on a few points. I've read posts that state you can't wire 2 vho bulbs to a workhorse 7 ballast even thought the ballast is rated for 220 watts. Other posts state that people have wired 2 bulbs with no problems. Can anyone clarify this contradiction?
I've also read that the workhorse ballasts run hot. Hot relative to what? Can you touch them after they've been on for a couple of hours? Or are they too hot to touch?
What about noise? Are they quiet?
Any insight would be greatly appreciated.
Thanks!
 
nas19320

nas19320

Active Member
I just hooked my workhorse 7 ballast up to two T5's today so the only thing I can really tell you is that the ballast is absolutley silent.
 
krux

krux

Member
i run dual 96 watt pc's on my workhorse 7 and they fire fine. my buddy uses a workhorse for 4' actinic vho's and they also fire nicely. if in doubt go with what workhorse says though.
mine is silent, but gets a little warm... definately not too hot though.
i am also going to try some t5's on a workhorse 5 for my fuge, they have that configuration at a lfs here and theirs fire nicely.
 
c_bell

c_bell

Member
I run 2 work horse 5 ballast on 4 T5 bulbs and the ballast is very silent, but it does seem to run a little hot to the touch. I have'nt noticed a temp swing though. With the cost of the ballast and a couple of fans to keep it cool, still is cheaper then some more expansive ballast that claim to run cool. HTH ;)
 
justinx

justinx

Active Member
I run a WH7, wired to two 75w VHO bulbs. Ballast is mounted inside my canopy, no heat issues. The ballast is silent, gets hot, hot enough that I have to pull my hand off it after a few seconds, but I acn still handle it though. I would highly reccomend it. Plus its DIRT cheap. I paid $35 online. I have been running it for 10 mo.
 
nas19320

nas19320

Active Member
I am also interested JustinX as to where you found them for that cheap. I just paid $55 for mine and I'm looking to get a second.
 
justinx

justinx

Active Member
I'll get it when I get off work. It is from a shop that has NOTHING even remotely close to aquarium stuff.
Isnt's it kinda funny how as soon as you attach the word "aquarium" to the name of something, the price practically triples? Same thing with Bonsai stuff. A maple tree that is 10 years old at Home Depot costs like 30-40 bucks. As soon as it becomes a "bonsai" tree (same exact tree might i add) it becomes like 3-4 HUNDRED!
 
justinx

justinx

Active Member
Actually, i have not sent it out yet, because the place that I ordered it from is no longer listed on the site. I originally went to the fulham home page, and did a search for local dealers. The first guy that used to be listed under the michigan page was seeling them for 35 a piece. His number had a 616 area code, but is not listed anymore. I suggest that you call around to some of the stores listed regardless if they are in your state or not. These people will (or most likely) will sell them for much less that aquarium shops because they are not selling them for "aquarium" use. Give that a try and I will try to find my reciept. I usually save those kinds of things.
 
jagermeister

jagermeister

Member
Thanks for the reply JustinX. I called Fulham and they directed me to a local seller who has WH7's in stock.
Thanks again!
 
krux

krux

Member
if you live in a larger city, graybar electric usually stocks them as well, or can tell you who in your area will. also check ----. i got mine for 10 bucks there.
 
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