Overdrive T-5?

[Eric]

How much can one overdrive T-5 lights? The exact situation is actually
a bit odd... My contractor built the front part of the soffet that will
hold my light fixture with a couple pieces of wood that support the
front, but the rear doesn't have those. The rear has 49" of space
(about what I specified) but the front only has 46" of space. So, what
I want to do is install a dual-bulb T-5 retrofit (this is flanking 3
250W MHs) with actinics. But... I want to put a 48" bulb in the back
and a 36" bulb in the front. The bulbs are 14W different. can this be
done? What are the consequences besides shorter life for the front bulb?

Thanks,
Eric

[Marc Levenson]

Eric,

You won't shorten the life of the bulb if you use the correct ballast. If you
are saying that you have to use the ballast that is intended for 48" bulbs with
36" bulbs, you better contact the manufacturer for some feedback.

Marc


Eric wrote:

> How much can one overdrive T-5 lights? The exact situation is actually
> a bit odd... My contractor built the front part of the soffet that will
> hold my light fixture with a couple pieces of wood that support the
> front, but the rear doesn't have those. The rear has 49" of space
> (about what I specified) but the front only has 46" of space. So, what
> I want to do is install a dual-bulb T-5 retrofit (this is flanking 3
> 250W MHs) with actinics. But... I want to put a 48" bulb in the back
> and a 36" bulb in the front. The bulbs are 14W different. can this be
> done? What are the consequences besides shorter life for the front bulb?
>
> Thanks,
> Eric

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