I found some brand new 2 bulb 4' fluorescent fixtures for what appears to be
a deal @$12 each. The big question is they are rated for 277 volts ...how do
I get there from 240v? and will the switching remain simple & cheap? any
down side to this set up?

Andrew

277 Volts is industrial three phase. Can't remember if delta or Y, but I
think Y arrangement. I'm sure they'll work on 240V just fine. The ballast
inside does the voltage change already and the voltage the lamps see won't
be much different.

"Andrew V" wrote in message
...
| I found some brand new 2 bulb 4' fluorescent fixtures for what appears to
be
| a deal @$12 each. The big question is they are rated for 277 volts ...how
do
| I get there from 240v? and will the switching remain simple & cheap? any
| down side to this set up?
|
| Andrew
|
|

On Sun, 27 Feb 2005 14:00:21 -0500, "Andrew V"
wrote:

I found some brand new 2 bulb 4' fluorescent fixtures for what appears to be
a deal @$12 each. The big question is they are rated for 277 volts ...how do
I get there from 240v? and will the switching remain simple & cheap? any
down side to this set up?

Two choices - a 16V/32V buck-boost transformer will kick 240V up to
272V which should be close enough for gummint work - but if you can't
find one surplus it will cost you a good chunk of change.

Or pass up this "Good Deal", and use the money you just 'saved' on a
buck-boost transformer to go buy good light fixtures with the 120V
ballasts you need. Even buying these fixtures and new 120V ballasts
for them will cost more than the right fixture in a box. Then you
have to spend time rebuilding each one.

If you are lighting your shop, you want to buy newer fixtures with
more efficient T8 lamps and electronic ballasts. Some people are
sensitive to the 60-hz strobe effects of magnetic ballasts, and you
will see strobe effect on rotating machinery. With electronic
ballasts you aren't going to see any flicker or strobing when it's up
at 10 KHz to 20 KHz.

If you know someone with a shop in an industrial building with a
277V/480V Wye power feed, they can use those 277V fixtures.

-- Bruce --
--
Bruce L. Bergman, Woodland Hills (Los Angeles) CA - Desktop
Electrician for Westend Electric - CA726700
5737 Kanan Rd. #359, Agoura CA 91301 (818) 889-9545
Spamtrapped address: Remove the python and the invalid, and use a net.

"Andrew V" wrote in message
...
I found some brand new 2 bulb 4' fluorescent fixtures for what appears to
be
a deal @$12 each. The big question is they are rated for 277 volts ...how
do
I get there from 240v? and will the switching remain simple & cheap? any
down side to this set up?


This one would probly get you up there :

http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll...m=3876888 295
&rd=1&ssPageName=WDVW

--

SVL

Hey Andre,

Some good deals just aren't. Maybe you could resell them to an
electrician that works commercial or industrial.

Take care.

Brian Lawson,
Bothwell, Ontario.
XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX
On Sun, 27 Feb 2005 14:00:21 -0500, "Andrew V"
wrote:

I found some brand new 2 bulb 4' fluorescent fixtures for what appears to be
a deal @$12 each. The big question is they are rated for 277 volts ...how do
I get there from 240v? and will the switching remain simple & cheap? any
down side to this set up?

Andrew

"Andrew V" wrote in message
...
I found some brand new 2 bulb 4' fluorescent fixtures for what appears to
be a deal @$12 each. The big question is they are rated for 277 volts
...how do I get there from 240v? and will the switching remain simple &
cheap? any down side to this set up?

Andrew
You can get a transformer cheap enough but is it worth the hassle? It
shouldn't be too hard to find used 120V T8 fixtures for nearly nothing- they
are considered worthless once pulled out of a ceiling. I have some 277
fixtures I plan on using but only because they're indirect T5 fixtures which
would be rather expensive new. In the meantime they're taking up valuable
real estate.

I would not take them if they were free!!
Greg


"Andrew V" wrote in message
...
I found some brand new 2 bulb 4' fluorescent fixtures for what appears to
be a deal @$12 each. The big question is they are rated for 277 volts
...how do I get there from 240v? and will the switching remain simple &
cheap? any down side to this set up?

Andrew

What iggy said.

Dude,

4 foot 2-bulb **T-8's**, *electronic fixtures*, w/ reflector, plug, chain,
virtually assembled: $7.98 at gag Home Despot. Two-pack of T-8 buhbs:
$3.98.
It's called a "shop light".

Cain't beat dat w/ a pair of nunchuks.

120V, of course. But, I would imagine, if you connected two fixtures in
series, you could indeed use 240V!
----------------------------
Mr. P.V.'d
formerly Droll Troll
"Ignoramus10062" wrote in message
...
$12 for a 4' fluorescent fixture is not a good deal (unless the OP is
talking about a pallet of them). Walmart sells such fixtures for much
less, in 110V, with power plugs and all.

My suggestion to the OP is to try to sell them on ebay, once, and if
they do not sell, remove all useful hardware such as screws and dump
them to garbage.

i
who wasted too much time with **** of similar nature.

On Sun, 27 Feb 2005 16:34:54 -0500, Brian Lawson
wrote:
Hey Andre,

Some good deals just aren't. Maybe you could resell them to an
electrician that works commercial or industrial.

Take care.

Brian Lawson,
Bothwell, Ontario.
XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX
On Sun, 27 Feb 2005 14:00:21 -0500, "Andrew V"
wrote:

I found some brand new 2 bulb 4' fluorescent fixtures for what appears to
be
a deal @$12 each. The big question is they are rated for 277 volts ...how
do
I get there from 240v? and will the switching remain simple & cheap? any
down side to this set up?

Andrew





--

beware of PCBs in old fixtures (in the capacitors inside the ballast) -
makes them very hazardous waste, and not a good thing to put in the
trash/landfill

"Andrew V" wrote in message
...
I found some brand new 2 bulb 4' fluorescent fixtures for what appears to
be
a deal @$12 each. The big question is they are rated for 277 volts ...how
do
I get there from 240v? and will the switching remain simple & cheap? any
down side to this set up?

Andrew

"william_b_noble" wrote in message
news:1109573009.683523f87e75217f524f6825ee4292cc@t eranews...
beware of PCBs in old fixtures (in the capacitors inside the ballast) -
makes them very hazardous waste, and not a good thing to put in the
trash/landfill

"Andrew V" wrote in message
...
I found some brand new 2 bulb 4' fluorescent fixtures for what appears
to
be
a deal @$12 each. The big question is they are rated for 277 volts
....how
do
I get there from 240v? and will the switching remain simple & cheap? any
down side to this set up?

Andrew

I've got 8 of those 277 volt lights that came from an airport remodel
running just fine on 240 in my basement shop. Been using them for better
than 10 yrs. now.

Garrett Fulton



----== Posted via Newsfeeds.Com - Unlimited-Uncensored-Secure Usenet News==----
http://www.newsfeeds.com The #1 Newsgroup Service in the World! 120,000+ Newsgroups
----= East and West-Coast Server Farms - Total Privacy via Encryption =----

X"william_b_noble" wrote in message
news:1109573009.683523f87e75217f524f6825ee4292cc@t eranews...
beware of PCBs in old fixtures (in the capacitors inside the ballast) -
makes them very hazardous waste, and not a good thing to put in the
trash/landfill

Yeah, and the scrap guys are proly burnin'em in 55 gal drums, to get at the
copper...
---------------------
Mr. PV


"Andrew V" wrote in message
...
I found some brand new 2 bulb 4' fluorescent fixtures for what appears to
be
a deal @$12 each. The big question is they are rated for 277 volts ...how
do
I get there from 240v? and will the switching remain simple & cheap? any
down side to this set up?

Andrew

"Proctologically Violated©®" wrote in message
...
What iggy said.

Dude,

4 foot 2-bulb **T-8's**, *electronic fixtures*, w/ reflector, plug,
chain, virtually assembled: $7.98 at gag Home Despot. Two-pack of T-8
buhbs: $3.98.
It's called a "shop light".

Cain't beat dat w/ a pair of nunchuks.

The ballasts in those "Lights of America" type cheapo fixtures are not the
same as, for example, Advance ballasts in a quality fixture.

Nor do they have the reflectors necessary for those of us without a nice
white ceiling.

ATP* wrote:
"Proctologically Violated©®" wrote in message
...

What iggy said.

Dude,

4 foot 2-bulb **T-8's**, *electronic fixtures*, w/ reflector, plug,
chain, virtually assembled: $7.98 at gag Home Despot. Two-pack of T-8
buhbs: $3.98.
It's called a "shop light".

Cain't beat dat w/ a pair of nunchuks.


The ballasts in those "Lights of America" type cheapo fixtures are not the
same as, for example, Advance ballasts in a quality fixture.

On Mon, 28 Feb 2005 20:25:54 -0500, "ATP*" wrote:
"Proctologically Violated©®" wrote in message
...
What iggy said.

Dude,

4 foot 2-bulb **T-8's**, *electronic fixtures*, w/ reflector, plug,
chain, virtually assembled: $7.98 at gag Home Despot. Two-pack of T-8
buhbs: $3.98.
It's called a "shop light".

Cain't beat dat w/ a pair of nunchuks.

The ballasts in those "Lights of America" type cheapo fixtures are not the
same as, for example, Advance ballasts in a quality fixture.

Rule: You get what you pay for.

I wouldn't touch Lights Of America equipment (Made in China, or
worse) with a twenty foot pole - utter garbage. I've taken them apart
after the Magic Smoke escaped, and found that an alleged "65 Watt"
fluorescent flood routes all the power through a 1/4-watt film
resistor on the ballast board. Something is wrong there.

Another famous trick at LOA is to make fixtures with non-standard
lamps (odd pin arrangements nobody else uses) - and they discontinue
the lamps after 5 to 10 years. Even if the fixture still works, you
can't get new lamps for it.

Even shopping for the allegedly good Lithonia brand fixtures is no
guarantee. The "Good" F40T12 shoplights at Home Despot have the much
cheaper 'Rapid Start' ballast that can't reliably fire old 40W lamps
above 60F, let alone any of the 34W Energy Saver lamps at 40F or
below.

You want something with an Advance 'R-2P32' T-8 electronic ballast,
or the tried-and-true 'R-2S40-TP' T-12 magnetic ballast, or industry
equivalent. Open up the fixture at the store and look. If it has a
disconnect lampholder to switch power off to the ballast, that is a
danger sign. (Read the wiring diagram on the ballast label.)

And Lithonia is also rolling their own electronic ballasts for FC8T9
22W Circline fixtures, and they don't last for 24/7 use like apartment
hallways. Same thing, going for the "Best" quality level gets you
fixtures with the more reliable ballasts.

You can buy cheap fixtures every two years, or good ones every
twenty. Your call. ;-)

-- Bruce --
--
Bruce L. Bergman, Woodland Hills (Los Angeles) CA - Desktop
Electrician for Westend Electric - CA726700
5737 Kanan Rd. #359, Agoura CA 91301 (818) 889-9545
Spamtrapped address: Remove the python and the invalid, and use a net.

"Andrew V" wrote in message
...
I found some brand new 2 bulb 4' fluorescent fixtures for what appears to
be a deal @$12 each. The big question is they are rated for 277 volts
...how do I get there from 240v? and will the switching remain simple &
cheap? any down side to this set up?

Andrew


Thanks for the input,

I have not bought them yet but I spoke to the guy that has them and I'll
probably take a look next week. He gave me some info and it would seem they
are better quality fixtures (surplus from a commercial fit up) I'm going to
look up the model # and see what's up. Apparently there he has a bunch of
electrical stuff so if the lights don't pan out maybe there's something else
I can make use of.
As far as low buck fixtures from HD and Walmart go the last ones I put up
buzzed just enough to push me to the edge, so I'm going to be a little more
picky this time. I'll look at what they have but the bar is set a bit higher
this time.

Andrew

On Tue, 1 Mar 2005 08:30:49 -0500, "Andrew V"
wrote:


"Andrew V" wrote in message
...
I found some brand new 2 bulb 4' fluorescent fixtures for what appears to
be a deal @$12 each. The big question is they are rated for 277 volts
...how do I get there from 240v? and will the switching remain simple &
cheap? any down side to this set up?

Andrew


Thanks for the input,

I have not bought them yet but I spoke to the guy that has them and I'll
probably take a look next week. He gave me some info and it would seem they
are better quality fixtures (surplus from a commercial fit up) I'm going to
look up the model # and see what's up. Apparently there he has a bunch of
electrical stuff so if the lights don't pan out maybe there's something else
I can make use of.
As far as low buck fixtures from HD and Walmart go the last ones I put up
buzzed just enough to push me to the edge, so I'm going to be a little more
picky this time. I'll look at what they have but the bar is set a bit higher
this time.

Andrew


I've got some 277 volt lights in a barn wired to 240 volt. They work
alright at 240. The light output might be about 10 percent less but I
can't notice it.

Yeah, I bought summa dat **** a few years ago. Also a fire hazard!

No doubt Bruce is correct in what he eays. However, one poster sez they come
w/o a reflector, but they do have one, albeit a marginal one.
I was actually surprised at their "apparent" quality, and only time will
tell. These are certainly heads and shoulders above the crap they used to
have.

I personally am so used to getting PV'd by everything/everybody, I just opt
for the lower-priced insertion. Kind of a crap shoot--delightful pun
actually un-intended.

My local guy who makes these fixtures charges $24 each; I had just bought 4
when I went to HD. Blew my day.
----------------------------
Mr. P.V.'d
formerly Droll Troll
"Andrew V" wrote in message
...

"Andrew V" wrote in message
...
I found some brand new 2 bulb 4' fluorescent fixtures for what appears to
be a deal @$12 each. The big question is they are rated for 277 volts
...how do I get there from 240v? and will the switching remain simple &
cheap? any down side to this set up?

Andrew


Thanks for the input,

I have not bought them yet but I spoke to the guy that has them and I'll
probably take a look next week. He gave me some info and it would seem
they are better quality fixtures (surplus from a commercial fit up) I'm
going to look up the model # and see what's up. Apparently there he has a
bunch of electrical stuff so if the lights don't pan out maybe there's
something else I can make use of.
As far as low buck fixtures from HD and Walmart go the last ones I put up
buzzed just enough to push me to the edge, so I'm going to be a little
more picky this time. I'll look at what they have but the bar is set a bit
higher this time.

Andrew

,



"Andrew V" wrote in message
...

"Andrew V" wrote in message
...
I found some brand new 2 bulb 4' fluorescent fixtures for what appears to
be a deal @$12 each. The big question is they are rated for 277 volts
...how do I get there from 240v? and will the switching remain simple &
cheap? any down side to this set up?

Andrew


Thanks for the input,

I have not bought them yet but I spoke to the guy that has them and I'll
probably take a look next week. He gave me some info and it would seem
they are better quality fixtures (surplus from a commercial fit up) I'm
going to look up the model # and see what's up. Apparently there he has a
bunch of electrical stuff so if the lights don't pan out maybe there's
something else I can make use of.
As far as low buck fixtures from HD and Walmart go the last ones I put up
buzzed just enough to push me to the edge, so I'm going to be a little
more picky this time. I'll look at what they have but the bar is set a bit
higher this time.

Andrew

Andrew

If the buzz from the flourescent fixtures bothers you, you might want to
ask the seller to let you try out one of the 277 vac fixtures he is selling.
They may be even noiser than most of the "household use" fixtures.

It is likely that a 277vac fixture was expected to be used in a high
ceiling factory invironment where balast noise isnt important.
Industrial/factory type balasts are less expensive than home use balasts
because of that buzz noise problem.

Jerry

"Jerry Martes" wrote in message
news:Ps2Vd.69787$wc.10356@trnddc07...

It is likely that a 277vac fixture was expected to be used in a high
ceiling factory invironment where balast noise isnt important.
Industrial/factory type balasts are less expensive than home use balasts
because of that buzz noise problem.

Jerry


Don't bet on that! I see allot of office buildings with 277 volt fixtures, 8
foot ceilings!
Greg

"Greg O" wrote in message
...

"Jerry Martes" wrote in message
news:Ps2Vd.69787$wc.10356@trnddc07...

It is likely that a 277vac fixture was expected to be used in a high
ceiling factory invironment where balast noise isnt important.
Industrial/factory type balasts are less expensive than home use balasts
because of that buzz noise problem.

Jerry


Don't bet on that! I see allot of office buildings with 277 volt fixtures,
8 foot ceilings!
Greg

Greg

Whats the point?? Didnt you say you wouldnt take then even if they were
free?? My point is/was to test one before buying because the industrial
balasts are inclined to be noisy. If the ones Andrew can buy are quiet
enough, and he likes the fixtures, he can be more assured that the buzz
noise will be acceptable to him.

Jerry

"Jerry Martes" wrote in message
news:GD9Vd.36134$uc.1458@trnddc01...

"Greg O" wrote in message
...

"Jerry Martes" wrote in message
news:Ps2Vd.69787$wc.10356@trnddc07...

It is likely that a 277vac fixture was expected to be used in a high
ceiling factory invironment where balast noise isnt important.
Industrial/factory type balasts are less expensive than home use balasts
because of that buzz noise problem.

Jerry


Don't bet on that! I see allot of office buildings with 277 volt
fixtures, 8 foot ceilings!
Greg

Greg

Whats the point?? Didnt you say you wouldnt take then even if they were
free?? My point is/was to test one before buying because the industrial
balasts are inclined to be noisy. If the ones Andrew can buy are quiet
enough, and he likes the fixtures, he can be more assured that the buzz
noise will be acceptable to him.

Jerry


Just contradicting your comment that,
"It is likely that a 277vac fixture was expected to be used in a high
ceiling factory environment where ballast noise isn't important."
The fixtures could very easily be from an office setting where quiet
ballasts would be required.

And what the hell does my choice of fixture have to do ballast noise???

I would not want them because free 120 volt fixtures are available every
where, if you know where to look. I installed ten, two bulb, four foot
fixtures in my shop last year. They were free, with bulbs, and I could have
gotten twenty more if I wanted them. I pass up two bulb, 120 volt troffer
fixtures often. I would not want to screw around with 277 volt fixtures,
even if they would run on 240 volt. I don't feel the need to complicate my
lighting with a mix 240 volt , and 120 volt circuits.
Paying $12 each for a used fixture in robbery in my opinion. Any commercial
electrician tosses 120 volt fixtures every week, plus you can buy good
fixtures new for a few dollars more.
Last spring's clean up week I tossed ten troffer fixtures that I had been
hoarding. They did not stay on the curb long!
Greg