Page 1 of 1
Control T5 ballasts through RA?
Posted: Sun Mar 17, 2019 2:38 pm
by Hudds
I have a diy T5 fixture (10x39w), with 5 non-dimmable ballasts.
Can I connect and control through my Reef angel plus unit, what time each ballast goes on and off? No dimming, just on-off.
Thanks in advance
Re: Control T5 ballasts through RA?
Posted: Sun Mar 17, 2019 4:44 pm
by rimai
Sure. You can set it to turn on and off at anytime you want.
Re: Control T5 ballasts through RA?
Posted: Sun Mar 17, 2019 10:13 pm
by Hudds
Thank you Roberto, that’s great! Can you please let me know what I need to do?
How do I connect each ballast to RA?
Additionally (but of secondary importance) I have a led stripe for moon-light and fans for unit cooling, if possible to connect them as well for on&off time.
Do I need an addition to the code? Can you please guide me considering I am total newbie?
Re: Control T5 ballasts through RA?
Posted: Sun Mar 17, 2019 10:17 pm
by rimai
All you need to do is plug the components you want to the relay outlet ports and tells those ports what to do.
The relay box has 8 outlet ports that you can turn on and off on whatever fashion you would like.
Do you currently have an RA system or you are just thinking about getting one?
Re: Control T5 ballasts through RA?
Posted: Sun Mar 17, 2019 10:48 pm
by Hudds
So you mean have individual power cords plugged in to relay box?
Is there a neat way to do it, so I avoid so many cables going out the fixture?
I already have an RA plus (pwm dimming), but I haven’t use it for some time.
Re: Control T5 ballasts through RA?
Posted: Sun Mar 17, 2019 11:46 pm
by rimai
I don't get how else you want to do it if not running power cords. The only way to turn your fixture on/off is by turning power on/off.
Re: Control T5 ballasts through RA?
Posted: Mon Mar 18, 2019 5:13 am
by Hudds
What I mean is that ideally I would like to avoid 7 individual cords going out of the fixture if possible (5 from ballasts +1 moonlight led stripe + 1 for fans) mainly for aesthetics.
Maybe if I connect all these cords (inside the fixture) to just one multicore cable that is going out from the fixture and then it is somehow connected to RA unit or relay to be controlled? Is this feasible?
Or maybe to connect the multicore cable directly to the dimming expansion module and control them through that? Is this an alternative feasible solution if the former is not possible?
Re: Control T5 ballasts through RA?
Posted: Mon Mar 18, 2019 9:05 am
by rimai
I would not do that. Your inrush current from the ballasts will kill the relay in no time.
Back in the day when I was using ballasts, I would also stagger them so each ballast would turn on at a different time to avoid my circuit breaker from popping. They take a whole bunch of current when they start off.
If your ballasts don't accept dimming signal control, how can one control it with the dimming expansion? It is not possible.