# Is there any other use for florecent light fixture ballasts?



## Suzuki4evr (Jul 14, 2022)

Hi guys.

I am currently converting all my florecent light fixtures to LED. Now I am no electronics fundi,but is there any other use for the ballasts I removed?

Michael


----------



## matthewsx (Jul 14, 2022)

You could put them in the hold of a ship and use them for>





Wait for it....








Ballast


----------



## Suzuki4evr (Jul 14, 2022)

matthewsx said:


> You could put them in the hold of a ship and use them for>
> 
> 
> 
> ...


O you funny guy


----------



## pontiac428 (Jul 14, 2022)

If they're potted with PCB, dispose of them.  It's not worth getting that stuff on your skin.  Newer ones can be opened, but they're usually potted or conformally coated in some way.  Not much use.  Making gas glow in glass tubes is what they're good for, unless you can think of another way to put 40 watts of HV/HF to use.


----------



## JPMacG (Jul 14, 2022)

If they are magnetic ballasts then you might need to pay to have them handled as hazardous waste.  If they are electronic ballasts then you can put them in normal electronic recycling.  (Might be different in Washington)  I just got rid of bunch of magnetic ballasts.  I paid something around $4 each at Batteries Plus Bulbs.

There is no use for either, AFAIK.


----------



## Bi11Hudson (Jul 14, 2022)

If you were an "electrical tinkerer", newer (non-PCB) ballasts might have some use. I wouldn't advise using one as an ignition coil, but for a small fence charger it might be done. They are coils designed to limit current for an intentional short circuit, the arc lamp. There are uses for them, but many (most) can be replaced for a few cents with a more suitable device. 

.


----------



## Aukai (Jul 14, 2022)

I'm trying to remember if mine are still in the fixture after upgrading.


----------



## pdentrem (Jul 14, 2022)

Our plant had all 283 2 bays swapped to led and the units were wired to new electronic ballasts. I ask the contractor why ballasts and his reply was to avoid line voltage shocking a service person. That is all I got.
Pierre


----------



## Barncat (Jul 14, 2022)

Scrap yard pays a decent price for them around here.


----------



## Firebrick43 (Jul 14, 2022)

pdentrem said:


> Our plant had all 283 2 bays swapped to led and the units were wired to new electronic ballasts. I ask the contractor why ballasts and his reply was to avoid line voltage shocking a service person. That is all I got.
> Pierre


Yea, that is the reason they sight.  Some idiot could insert a bulb with their finger on the pins and shock themselves.  Of course the same idiot probably sticks butter knives in outlets as well    Using a ballast with LED bulbs waste is mind boggling as you are wasting tons of electricity to power the ballast that you don't need anymore?


At work if I am in a 480 cabinet and some one is nearby I tell them not to lick anything if I have to grab a tool or something.  They think its funny but sometimes I wonder if one of them will one of these days the stuff they pull?


----------



## woodchucker (Jul 14, 2022)

pdentrem said:


> Our plant had all 283 2 bays swapped to led and the units were wired to new electronic ballasts. I ask the contractor why ballasts and his reply was to avoid line voltage shocking a service person. That is all I got.
> Pierre


that's stupid. a quality converted unit goes A/C to a driver. Does that mean that changing bulbs on a incandescent was dangerous to the service people. Did they stick their fingers in the socket.   notice no question marks... it's retorical. Using a ballast on a new LED is STUPID.. yes I am yelling.


----------



## Aukai (Jul 14, 2022)

(sheepishly) I know I'm not using the old ballast on mine.


----------



## Bi11Hudson (Jul 15, 2022)

To say electrical work is an "esoteric" subject is the understatement of the last couple of centuries. When a man has memorized the NEMA wiring tables, he can then acquire an Electrician's License in many states. Those people I consider "wiremen", my dog "Rascal" is as much an "electrician" as they are. Maybe more so, he knows to not urinate on an electric fence. Many newer Electrical Engineers are no longer taught about magnetism beyond the basics. And electricity revolves (pun intended) around magnetism. Many companies hire Electronic Engineers just to program relay "ladder" logic. An "electrician" is expected to know ladder logic. Engineers are expected to design relays, electricians should know how to use them. The state feels that anybody that can change a fuse is an electrician. I am most glad to be a retired "old school" electrician so I don't have to put up with the "wire twisters".

*End of Rant

.*


----------



## Gnpenning (Jul 15, 2022)

Aukai said:


> (sheepishly) I know I'm not using the old ballast on mine.


No need to explain.  It was clear to me,  if you were using the ballast then you would know they were still there.  If you bypassed you may or may not have left the ballast in the housing.   The ones I took down to upgrade the ballast is gone, some of the ones I did in place I just bypassed it and left it.  Not a big deal to remove, or leave.


----------



## machPete99 (Jul 15, 2022)

*deleted*


----------



## Suzuki4evr (Jul 15, 2022)

Thanks boys....I think I got my answer......to the scrap yard they go then.


----------



## Barncat (Jul 15, 2022)

Make sure it is a place that recycles copper and electric motors. My place counts ballasts as electric motors and gives that price for them. About 30 cents a pound last time I went.


----------



## Suzuki4evr (Jul 15, 2022)

Barncat said:


> Make sure it is a place that recycles copper and electric motors. My place counts ballasts as electric motors and gives that price for them. About 30 cents a pound last time I went.


Thank you for the tip.


----------



## silence dogood (Jul 15, 2022)

If your ballast is older than 1970s or is leaking oil, it is not good. It may contain PCBs, which is harmful to the environment.


----------



## Bi11Hudson (Jul 15, 2022)

Just an afterthought on the subject, OP has already conceded to scrapping them. The older ballasts contain an oil that contains PCBs. PCBs are on the EPA's hit list. Given the opportunity, I would spread the oil up and down the main highway through town (US-11) just to stir things up a little. I am so old that any contact with PCBs doesn't scare me. Along side a plethore of other chemicals that are as or more dangerous. And the nuclear test source I used to carry in my pocket as I went up the cupola. . .

The actual thought here is that "magnetic" ballasts, the non-electronic type, contain a goodly supply of small, enameled wire. The enamel will crack as it is unwound, but it is still good copper. It will be easier to recover than the windings from a dead fan motor. And a damn sight cheaper than spooled, new wire of the same size. Anyone interested in winding solenoids (or Tesla coils) should look into the recovery.

.


----------



## pontiac428 (Jul 15, 2022)

PCBs are persistent environmental contaminants, but are low on the toxicity list.  To get it into your bloodstream effectively, you would probably require a suppository.  BTW, the Italian word for those is "innuendo."


----------



## homebrewed (Jul 31, 2022)

As part of banning the use of PCBs, Tte EPA required that all ballasts manufactured be labeled as containing no PCBs:  see here for a discussion regarding that.  However, that may not have the force of law so it may no longer apply.


----------



## Bone Head (Jul 31, 2022)

Firebrick43 said:


> ....At work if I am in a 480 cabinet and some one is nearby I tell them not to lick anything if I have to grab a tool or something.  They think its funny but sometimes I wonder if one of them will one of these days the stuff they pull?...


Since you're warning them, one of the idiots not knowing any better just might decide to screw with you.  Perhaps a "safe" demonstration might be in order?  Seriously.  Every shop has one of those.


----------



## Barncat (Aug 1, 2022)

Lock out tag out and don’t worry about any idiots nearby.


----------



## pdentrem (Aug 1, 2022)

A departed friend was working on a machine at a local company, employed there. Locked out with his lock and tagged properly. He was elbow deep into it control panel. Meanwhile the a…..e foreman was not happy seeing the lock out etc and he CUT IT OFF and electrified the machine. My friend woke up in hospital, lucky was thrown back by the 440 volt. The foreman should of been fired on the spot, but buddy with president, a brown noser. He did get a few knuckle sandwiches off site.
It can be safer with a person for over watch as the world is full of idiots. 
Pierre


----------



## BGHansen (Aug 1, 2022)

Maybe you could wire up something like this old Erector set toy.  It works really well, gets your attention and demonstrates how old points & condensers worked.

Bruce


----------



## pontiac428 (Aug 1, 2022)

Somehow, I don't think I'll attract many friends (outside the internet, anyway) by asking them if they'd like to come over and play with my Erector electric thriller with me.  I bet the fun really starts when the penny in the saucer of water comes out.  Bonus points to the young boy or girl who recommends adding a little salt to the water.


----------



## Bi11Hudson (Aug 1, 2022)

Death is the only true solution for *anyone* that cuts a lockout. Fair is fair, you put me at hazard of death, I put you at hazard of death. The slower the better. . .


----------



## Bone Head (Aug 2, 2022)

Worked at a place that had a similar incident of a foreman cutting lock-outs off.  The victim was a normally quiet good guy.  When the hospital and physical therapists finally released him he was a changed man.  Some fools just don't realize the ramifications of their actions.  He took his own life a little later.


----------



## silence dogood (Aug 2, 2022)

One time when I was working on an electronic organ, the customer turned it on.  Fortunately, nothing happened. After that, I built a box that the organ is plugged into. It had a fuse, switch and other goodies for troubleshooting. The point is now I had complete control.
I did the same thing with my lathe and mill. On the right side of each machine is a "master box" that contain a master power switch. Besides the switch, the box contains three ac plug-ins and the lights above the machine are hard wired. That way when I turn on the main switch, the lights turn on and I know power is being sent to the machine. If I need to work on the lathe or mill, I simply unplug the machine, since it is so convenient, Yet I still have my lights.  These are 110-volt machines, but you guys with 220 units could probably come up with something similar.


----------



## BGHansen (Aug 2, 2022)

I've been poked by 110 a half-dozen times, nothing can wipe that involuntary vibration in your hand feeling from your mind.  I can't imagine 220 or worse.

Bruce


----------



## Aukai (Aug 2, 2022)

110, 220 hurt, 440 will reach out grab YOU, and do very bad things to you, if you live.


----------



## Shotgun (Aug 2, 2022)

Aukai said:


> 110, 220 hurt, 440 will reach out grab YOU, and do very bad things to you, if you live.


It's not very nice to you if you die, either.


----------



## tq60 (Aug 2, 2022)

Been hit with 700+ while working on older transmitters.

Lucky that it was current limited but getting hit by the truck seemed to hurt less.

Sent from my SM-G781V using Tapatalk


----------



## pontiac428 (Aug 2, 2022)

Coming from the guy who tests 9 volts with his tongue, I'd rather get struck by lightning than to unwittingly pee on an electric fence.


----------

