flippityflop Posted April 15, 2014 Report Share Posted April 15, 2014 so i got these 4 CFLs:http://www.ebay.com/itm/161173123039they are 2 pin and i don`t wanna buy a ballast for each and i think we have a few busted screw-on CFL () in a box in our garage.so i thought i could just rip off the electronic ballast off the busted screw-on CFLs and then connect the 2 pin lamps there. just so happens, as i`ve read more into screw-on CFLs and what i saw as i opened one of them, is that they have 4 connectors that connect to the raw fluorescent tube itself... wired that way because integrated to it`s ballast is also a starter.i`ve read that the 2 pin CFLs that i got from ebay have their own starter, but a separate ballast (external of the lamp), that`s why they`re only 2 pin.so i was wondering how can i connect the 4-connector electronic ballast (with it`s own starter) taken from a screw-on, to a 2 pin lamp that i got from ebay??-----another option is ripping open the 2 pin lamp i got from ebay and then removing it`s starter and then connecting the 4-connector electronic ballast of a screw-on.but i haven`t actually opened a lamp to know if i can safely rip off the starter and end up with 4 connectors from it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
audioguru Posted April 15, 2014 Report Share Posted April 15, 2014 A 4-pins compact fluorescent lamp tube has a filament at each end for starting.A 2-pins compact fluorescent lamp is probably VERY OLD and used a huge and heavy inductor as a ballast to provide a high voltage spike to start.It is too bad that you bought old junk from e-bay. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hero999 Posted April 15, 2014 Report Share Posted April 15, 2014 Seriously, save yourself the trouble and buy a ballast. The electronic ballast inside the screw fitting CFL will be tailored to deliver the correct current to that lamp. The lamp needs a ballast to limit the current to the correct level, in order for it to work properly. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
flippityflop Posted April 17, 2014 Author Report Share Posted April 17, 2014 A 4-pins compact fluorescent lamp tube has a filament at each end for starting.A 2-pins compact fluorescent lamp is probably VERY OLD and used a huge and heavy inductor as a ballast to provide a high voltage spike to start.It is too bad that you bought old junk from e-bay.you probably thought i bought these:these are what i got (CFLs):http://www.ebay.com/itm/331138643631 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
audioguru Posted April 17, 2014 Report Share Posted April 17, 2014 I have some modern CFL light bulbs that have burned out. Their glass coil has 4-wires, not 2-wires and there is a filament at each end the same as those huge old glass fluorescent tubes.I saw 2-wire CFL glass lamps about 18 years ago because my daughter had one for her desk light. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
flippityflop Posted April 17, 2014 Author Report Share Posted April 17, 2014 you mean to say i should've gotten these ??:http://www.ebay.com/itm/321293131731 (36W)about $~28 total (price + shipping) -- hardly inexpensive. i wasn't just buying any CFL (which are around $~7 or so), these are UV lamps. well, the four 9W "old" UV CFLs that i bought were practically just a dollar each ($~6 total) and i thought finding the appropriate ballast was just easy peezy. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hero999 Posted April 17, 2014 Report Share Posted April 17, 2014 Those cheap old lamps sound too cheap to be any good.Yes, you need a four pin lamp for a four pin ballast but a 9W ballast won't drive a 36W tube.Why not buy a UV CFL with the ballast built-in?http://www.ebay.com/itm/UV-BLACKLIGHT-BULB-compact-fluorescent-cfl-PARTY-blacklite-15w-screw-in-base-NEW-/310436043164?pt=US_Light_Bulbs&hash=item48476e199chttp://www.ebay.com/itm/25w-UV-Black-Light-Bulb-Compack-Fluorescent-Light-25W-Bulb-E26-Standard-North-/141254573924?pt=US_Light_Bulbs&hash=item20e36dbf64http://www.amazon.com/Fluorescent-Standard-American-Household-Ultraviolet/dp/B0097C8H5C/ref=pd_cp_hi_2http://www.amazon.com/Satco-S7277-Spiral-Color-Blacklight/dp/B003U674VO/ref=pd_cp_hi_3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
audioguru Posted April 17, 2014 Report Share Posted April 17, 2014 you mean to say i should've gotten these ??:http://www.ebay.com/itm/321293131731 (36W)about $~28 total (price + shipping) -- hardly inexpensive. i wasn't just buying any CFL (which are around $~7 or so), these are UV lamps.Are you trying to kill bugs with UV?The 36W glass light looks like two 2-pins lights side-by-side. No filaments. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
flippityflop Posted April 17, 2014 Author Report Share Posted April 17, 2014 Are you trying to kill bugs with UV?i'm trying to make a cheap UV exposure box... this time, only for curing solder mask. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
flippityflop Posted April 17, 2014 Author Report Share Posted April 17, 2014 UV-curing solder masks, i've read somewhere, cures at ~365nm, which is right in the middle of UV-A (black light) wavelength, so this should work just fine.but i'm thinking of also using it in the future for making perchlorate salts by exposing chloride salts. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hero999 Posted April 17, 2014 Report Share Posted April 17, 2014 I can assure you a black light will work for PCB exposure - I've done it before with good results. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.