Overdriven Normal Output Lighting

[Kashta]

Good heavens... is this actually safe?

http://www.gwapa.org/articles/ODNO/

???

 

[wackydan]

Primary safety concern is the heat output. Plus, anytime you change the design on something like that, you are creating a safety hazard.

That said, I've read numerous articles on this, and have yet to hear of any mishaps.

I've often thought it would be neat to experiment with this. I do have an extra cheap light strip around. I'd like to know just how hot the bulbs get. My Current CF setup gets hot too, and that is in a partially plastic unit.

 

[Sploke]

I'm running a 4x32w electronic ballast into 2x32w T8 bulbs over my 150. Works pretty well. I kept a close eye on it for the first few days, the ballast gets hot but no hotter than the one on my CF lights. The bulbs don't really get any hotter than normal.

 

[Kashta]

When I've read that someone has upgraded their light to a higher-wattage fixture, it usually says they also installed another fan under the canopy to handle the additional heat the unit puts out. Or they built a custom hood that's taller to allow more cooling space in between for venting the heat. So that makes sense. We just have to make sure the heat gets dispersed.

Around the house, I've put a 100-watt bulb into a 60-watt lamp before. I've seen warning stickers that say not to do that, but I just ignored it. Still... I'm too chicken to flash my bios to overclock my computer and lots of people do that... lol.

 

[XR250rdr]

I've been running my setup at 2X for a few months now. Nothing gets warm enough to even warrant thinking about a fan.

 

[Riiz]

Very interesting, especially considering that a pair of shoplights is no more than $20 w/ tax.

 

[Mgamer20o0]

http://tristan.homelinux.net/fish/tank/retrofit/index.htm plenty of people do do it. its not as efficient can get hot so make sure you have fans.