New ballast question

[Greg Woloshyn]

I wanted to upgrade my old T12 shop fixtures so I ordered a pack of 4 T8 ballasts off ebay. These ballasts are labeled for 120v-277v, while my home wiring is for 110v. The ballasts say right on them not for residential applications. Do I have to return these ballasts and get ones rated for 110v? They start when powered up but the light output is weak and the bulbs look like they arn't working right.

Update: my old T12 ballasts are also labeled for 120v. So maybe something isn't wired correctly?

[Steve Peterson]

110V and 120V are used interchangeably for standard household wiring. The actual spec might be something like 120V plus or minus 5% at the transformer and allowing for additional drop in your house wiring. "110V" or "120V" devices are all designed to operate with supplies ranging between 110V and 127. Your transformers will operate just fine, assuming that you are planning to convert from T12 to T8 bulbs.

Also, 220V and 240V are used interchangeably for higher power household items. I believe 277V is an industrial voltage level that would be measured across 3-phase wiring.

Steve

[Greg Woloshyn]

Thanks Steve, my fixtures appear to be working good now that I had them turned on for a while. Not quite the cool white color as my old T12 lamps, I might see what I can find for cool white T8s.

[Lee Schierer]

New tubes generally take a few minutes to warm up and reach full brightness.