On Mon, 23 Apr 2012 15:24:59 -0600, Josepi wrote
(in article ):

Get an electronic ballast AND ventilate. Not sure of your construction
but... no wood should be exposed directly without a metal barrier for fire
prevention. The wood will dry out and crack eventually.

I agree with this, however find the 'best' ballast you can get. Every light I
have with an electronic ballast eats bulbs alive if they are power cycled
often.
-BR

----------------
"Mark" wrote in message ...

Hello to all:

I need your feedback on a little issue i'm having.

To make a long story short, our bathroom fixture decided to give it up a
couple of weeks back. SWMBO and I went looking for a new one but couldn't
find anything we liked so me being the handy dandy carpenter guy, told her
I could build one for her that has some features not found on most
fixtures. The box is made of oak and is about 25" long and 6" wide and
houses 2 electrical outlets, one on either end with two 15" T8 bulbs
providing the lighting. I happened to have a magnetic ballast on hand so
used that, but it requires a metal grounded plate to sit about 1/2" above
the lamps in order to get them to illuminate.

Here's the issue...after constructing the unit, I put in the metal plate
that covers the lamps (and also reflects the light). After testing it out
for 4 hours, the metal plate is also acting like a heat sink. It's very
warm to the touch, but not to the point where one would burn one's hands
(ballast on the other hand is very hot.

There are 2 pieces of oak which stretch across the unit which support the
lampholders underneath as well as the metal plate on top. My question is,
should I be drilling some holes on the top of the unit for heat
dissapation??

At some point in time, this unit will be left on for several hours at a
time and don't wish to burn the house down. Any ideas or comments would be
most appreciative.


Thanks,


Stripes23