Aha! But the tombstones are in a metal plate, and they slide out of the
plate quite easily!
Okay, I will chuck the ballasts. I don't like humming lights or flickering.
There are no bulbs, so, I am not sure what diameter ones to use. Great idea
on using a hatchback car part for the hood. I was thinking of mounting these
lights, as they are probably T-8's, under the oak hood, and using six lights
instead of four, since I got extra tombstones. I'm not sure about a
reflector. It's wood underneath.
Susan
-----Original Message-----
From: gsas-member-bounces@thekrib.com
[mailto:gsas-member-bounces@thekrib.com] On Behalf Of Paul M Wallace
Sent: Thursday, April 07, 2005 4:45 PM
To: Greater Seattle Aquarium Society member chat
Subject: Re: [GSAS-Member] Found! 8' flourescent light fixture
Congratulations on your find. The good news it that it was a great find.
The not so good part is that you may have scored the tombstones ($1.50-$3.00
a pair) and possibly the reflector (do you have an 8' tank or are you going
to cut it in half?) And some of the tombstones are riveted in and otherwise
nearly useless. Not quite the blue bird of happiness today am I...
The number following the T is the diameter in 1/8 inch. So a T12 is 1.5"
diameter and the T8 is 1". You might notice that the T12 is 40W and the T8
is 32W but the T8 produces more light (in lumens). Unless the ballast
clearly says "electronic" and looks to be nearly new I would chuck it (or
auction). I bought a 4X 4' electronic ballast from the local orange big box
for ~$18. With this ballast you get more light from less energy without
flicker or hum. You should also replace the bulbs as you want the right
color and they do age. (I have 4X 4500K <~$3 for two> and 1X 55W 10,000K)
which give a nice color.
I use a particularly large novelty chopstick to hold my canopy open. There
are hinge kits/strut though. If you are ever in a wrecking yard try and get
the struts from a hatchback that are ~10" long as they work too...
So great find overall and feel free to hurl things at the next meeting for
spoiling your plans.
-Paul
On Thu, 7 Apr 2005, Susan Welenofsky wrote:
Some building was remolding, and I got an 8' light fixture out of the
trash.
It has a "rapid start ballast" for four 4' lights. This isn't the same as
an
"electronic" ballast, is it? I think the "tombstones" are for T-10 or T-8
bulbs. (Why is it called "T", tombstone? What does 12, 10, and 8 mean?)
Also, I was wondering if there was some kind of shock or strut or whatever
to make life easier for when I open the lid of the oak canopy top. It
weighs
a ton, and it doesn't stay open, so I have to prop something in there. I
worked on a 300 gallon at a CWU, and they had something for their canopy
lid, maybe like what a screen door has, and it closed slowly. I can't
remember how it stayed open.
Susan
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