I have a 240 volt fluorescent light fixture running an 18 watt UV blacklight, and I was wondering whether I could replace the old magnetic ballast with a 15 watt electronic ballast I salvaged from a dead CFL (the failure was the tube, not the electronics). Is the any problems with running the 18 watt UV blacklight at 15 watts?
Dave Australia
The blacklight has a fair chance of being underpowered because it probably has a lower voltage drop and higher design current than the CFL's tube.
If the filaments in the blacklight do not get close to normal operating temperature, they may fail to emit electrons normally and then will run into "sputtering" - blackening the ends of the tubing and running into short life.
Some CFL integral ballasts normally self-destruct when the tube fails.
Good luck!
- Don Klipstein ( snipped-for-privacy@misty.com)
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