T5 ballast heat

[Mike61704]

Im new to the T5's and was wondering i have a ge ballast with 4x54 T5HO lamps and the running temp for the ballast is about 115 degrees. Do they normally run that hot? my T8's never ran that hot. Oh and this is a DIY T5 canopy made of aluminum above my 90 gallon.

Mike

 

[The Zigman]

do you know what type of ballast it is?
is it magnetic, or electronic?

they both get pretty warm, electronic get a little warmer than the magnetic, and the magnetic ones Hum...

 

[redfishblewfish]

General Rule of Thumb: The cooler you keep the ballast, the longer it will last.

If you have this ballast mounted to the aluminum retrofit, you should be in good shape. Aluminum is an excellent heat sink. If not, see if you can mount it on a piece of aluminum with the sides bent up. IceCap now sells/includes a heat sink with their ballasts. If you don’t do this, I’m not overly concerned…maybe…and that’s a big MAYBE, you will shorten the live of the ballast slightly. But what do I know!


I’m running one IceCap ballast without a heat shield (living dangerously) and the other with the shield.

 

[TomToro]

Not sure if this is a good idea or not, but I use small personal fans on all my ballasts and are on the same timers. Always have.

 

[Mike61704]

well, its electronic i was reading the specs online and its thermally protected so it should shut off in the event it gets too hot i guess. its rated at 196 degrees max temp. I just didnt think they got so hot. so is 115 like the normal running temp for T5 ballasts?

the GE454MVPS90-G:

http://www.gelighting.com/na/busine...aStart_T5_ProgrammedStartBallast_PC_72757.pdfhttp://genet.gelighting.com/LightProducts/images/t04/0000000/r00370v-1.pdf

 

[Fishieness]

Yeah. That would be fine, and yes, they do run a lot hotter than a t8 ballast since they put out a lot more power.
Giving them a heatsink or running a small fan across them and the bulbs would be a good idea, but things aren't going to blow up if you don't.
You can also mount them on the side of the canopy away from the bulbs so they don't get even more heat from that.

 

[fsn77]

I mounted my T5 ballasts on the top of my canopy. This puts them out in the open air so the heat from them isn't trapped under the canopy. The IC 660 I'm running has the heatsink with it, but the other ballast did not come with one and is just mounted straight to the painted, wooden canopy top. I haven't measured the temp of either, but a temp of 115F wouldn't be higher than I'd expect.

 

[Mike61704]

oh ok, i feel better. Today i mounted 2 12v dc fans on each end blowing on the bulbs and the aluminum casing that holds the ballast. I put them on the same timer with the lights. that should cool things down a little but thanks for the replies. Oh and if you mounted the ballast on top arent all the wires exposed?

 

[fsn77]

I wrapped all the wires in that black plastic spiral material they sell to organize wires. All of the connections are made in two plastic junction boxes, same as the ones you'd find wherever there's a switch or outlet, on the back of the canopy (one near each end).

 

[Mike61704]

ok wow, since i mounted the two fans the hottest this hood gets is 65 degrees!! i cant believe how much of a difference that makes. Aluminum is a great conductor!! pics included.

MIke