Ballast for florescent lights

[John Reeves]

Can anyone recommend a place to purchase magnetic ballasts for two 48" T12 florescent bulbs? I looked at Lowes and they are about $17 each. I need 8 or 4 that will supply 4 bulbs each.

Thanks

John

[chris99z71]

Check this out:
http://www.ballastwise.com/category.asp?FID=14&level=1
I don't know anything about the company or their products, but it's cheap...
Maybe somebody else will chime in here with more info.
Brand of most of their ballasts appears to be Dexin. But they are electronic which i believe is preferred (vs. magnetic).

[John Reeves]

Chris,

Thanks for the lead. They are manufacturers of ballasts, lights, gen sets, etc. The prices were about a third of Lowes. I am buying an electrinic ballast for 4 48" bulbs for $13. The price at Lowes was $38.

I spoke with Tony Devita
1-866-433-9468 x 117

Very helpful. Good proces on light fixtures as well. He offered me a 2500 watt diesel gen set for $250 for power back up which is also a good price.

Give him a call, he was good to deal with. I will get the ballasts next week and report back.

John

[NCPete]

looks good! considering I have 4 four lamp sets to reballast, I shall give them a call (whenever SWMBO gives me permission to spend money again)

[hdc]

Try Illuminating Technologies in Greensboro. (800) 278-5483. They have a great selection and price.

[McRabbet]

Hey Doug,

Welcome to the NC Woodworkers website -- I've seen several of your posts, but to make a full introduction of yourself, you need to go to the "Who We Are" Forum and post a full introduction. You'll find that our members will give you a warm welcome! And be sure to request a Photo Gallery (under the Help Desk) and upload pics of your shop and projects.

Rob

[Grgramps]

Chris & John,
I have been suffering with the buzzing magnetic ballasts since I bought these lights at Home Depot a couple of years ago. It's not HD's fault, I went cheap and bought the magnetic instead of the more expensive electronic ballasts. Not a smart move if your ears still work. That's why this thread got my attention.
I talked to Tony Devita at Ballastwise and ordered new electronic ballasts for my fluorescents. He was very pleased when I told him that you had given him a plug on this website and offered his email if anyone chooses to contact that way: tony@dexinintl.com.
Actually I would suggest that anyone ordering, call him at 1-866-433-9468 x-117 because the price he quoted was less than the figure on the Ballastwise website.
I should add that I am not familiar with this company and have not dealt with them before. I rolled the dice and we will see if I'm a winner. John, mine should arrive next week too. I trust you will post again to report your thoughts.
Roy

[chris99z71]

Well, I'm glad that I steered you guys right because I just got lucky and found them on an internet search. I hope that you didn't misconstrue my suggestion as an endorsement...

[John Reeves]

Got my ballast and they work great in the lights I got from NCPETE. I wired them today and will hand them tomorrow. Thanks Pete for the lights and thanks to Chris (I think) for the referral to the group in CA for the ballasta. They were priced right, got here when I was told to expect them and they worked.

Wish I was that good.

John

[Grgramps]

Mine arrived yesterday afternoon, well packaged and on time. I'll post again after installation. If they perform as expected I won't have to turn on the radio every time I turn on the lights.

Roy

[NCPete]

That is great John! Glad you got them working. Thanks for the tip on the ceiling outlet in my garage, I was able to run my saw without interruption the other day while I was ripping the trim for some siding work I was doing! Woohoo!

[Grgramps]

My new electronic ballasts are installed and they are totally silent. They are wonderful. My wife asked, "Don't you wish you had done this sooner?" What I wish is that I had spent the extra money for the lights with the electronic ballasts in the first place. Never again will I buy a fluoresent fixture with a magnetic ballast.

Wiring was an adventure since they had different numbers and colors of wires while I was expecting them to be the same. The fixtures are 96" 2 tube units and the magnetic ballasts have 2 blue, 2 red and 2 yellow wires. The electronics use 2 blue and 1 red. Of course, they both use the black and white wires for power. It took a while to figure it out, but patience rules.

Roy

[D L Ames]

Roy, if you don't mind me asking............what did the new ballasts run you apiece?

D L

[Grgramps]

D L
They were $12.99 each and the shipping for 4 of them was $12.00 for a total of $63.96. That's a small fraction of what they would have cost at the Borg. I had never heard of this place until this thread was started. This is what I got.
http://www.ballastwise.com/item.asp?...FID=14&level=1

Roy

[D L Ames]

Thanks Roy, that does sound like a decent price. When I get around to replacing mine I will need 14 of them. Maybe I will hold off till it gets colder when they really start buzzing again.

D L