Incandescent Ballast

Experimental wiring of a standard incandescent light bulb connected in series with a small F15T12 15 watts fluorescent lamp to act as a ballast. The incandescent bulb regulates the current arriving to the fluorescent lamp preventing it from destruction, the same was a typical magnetic ballast would work.

The best result for light output, heat, electrode use and optimal lamp lifespan is to use a 60 watts 120 volts incandescent bulb.

Be careful not to overdrive your fluorescent lamp. You need a current of 0.5 amps for the tube to fire up.
Watts / Volts = Amperes. In this case, 60 / 120 = 0.5

This is a nice little project for under 20 bucks if you want a mix of smooth incandescent and bright fluorescent light. Using a bulb also get rid of any hum or annoying buzz from a regular ballast.

This can be great for bed light, desk lamp where the hum can be a nuisance, however it is not a efficient solution for economical application as the wattage loss is greater with an incandescent ballast than a magnetic type.

Category:

Science & Technology

Tags:

• ballast
• fluorescent
• incandescent
• experiment
• starter
• preheat
• light
• bulb

[fairyheli2]

how is it started

[66kerekes]

Wow Idid not know you could combine both lamps like that.,cool.

[SoUhYeaPrettyMuch]

@MAKEAL silver light - alpha

[MikiElectronic]

Can I use this on 230V 50hz AC ???

[MAKEAL]

could you please give me the name of that lady singing in the back ground.

[umloginqualquer]

How was the lifespan of the fluorescent tube affected? What was the measured voltage across the incandescent bulb?

[turgi65]

A 100w lamp won't work for European tubes.

[P42STUFF]

@sentinel040 It's sound strange to use a resistor though because of the heavy heat losses, there's 65W of heat loss in the 20W light I said about so efficiency is terrible. This 4ft batten of yours sounds interesting to me because resistors were only normally used on DC circuits before the days of electronic ballasts with semi conductors.

Do you know the approximate age of it? :D

[sentinel040]

@P42STUFF The fitting in the loft (which I brought with me from another house) is not quite as exotic as yours, this a bit more standard in that it is a 4 foot bi-pin wall/batten mounting type.

I am not sure if the fittings i referred to were designed for a balanced light output of if it was just a way of cutting cost, or both!

[P42STUFF]

@sentinel040 I've seen catalogue photocopies that refer to a 'tungsten ballast' for use where a blend of incandescent and fluorescent is required, these probably the bulbs you're talking about.

I also have a fitting with a long resistive wire inside as a ballast and a bayonet cap on the top for use in a standard light socket.