Mixing bulbs on same T5 Ballast?

geekboy

geekboy

AC Members
Jul 1, 2009
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Ontario, Canada
Perhaps a very cut-and-dry question:

I have a 4-bulb T5 HO lighting fixture. (Odyssea brand for those interested). It has two 12,000K bulbs (daylight that came with it), and two 4,100K bulbs (found at a local hardware store). The fixture has switches to operate each pair separately. I like the combination the two different color spectrums create while on together, but don't need full brightness all the time.

Is it a problem to run a mixed pair on each ballast?
 
As long as they are the same wattage and design it should be OK. Problems arise not from color but from power requirements.
 
Just make sure the new bulbs are T5 HO and not regular T5s.
 
They are 48" at 54W -- I believe that categorically makes them HO bulbs right? The brightness certainly seems comparable to the other HO bulbs.

They are Osram/Sylvania bulbs that I found by digging through the catalog at Home Hardware (Canada). The guy at the customer service desk seemed surprised that the warehouse had such thing, but promptly ordered it in.

Looks like confirmation: I ran the part number, and this is the same bulb: http://www.genesislamp.com/fp54841hoeco.html
 
geekboy said:
Seems like I should at least try it out. With Odyssea's reputation, what's the worst that could happen? ;)
Click to expand...

Your house catches on fire, lol.

Just kidding, but as long as both bulbs are the right wattage, mix away. And yes 48" T5 HO bulbs are all 54watt.
 
There were no problems, and I really like the output from this combination of bulbs. On their own, they're a bit nasty toward the blue or the yellow range. Together the wide range appears very near to "true" daylight, at least to my eye. I just hope that it hasn't completely skipped the photosynthesis range, as I would like to try some plants.
 
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