Best ballasts to buy

[burleymike]

So we went into town today and they were tearing an old school down. Being a junk man I had to go see if there was anything I could use.

I got 4, 4lamp fluorescent fixtures for $20. Since the ballasts in them are very old, probably from the 1930s when the school was built I would like to replace them and all the cloth wire in the fixtures.

Anybody ever use ballasts made by Dexin International? I am trying to figure out if they are worth spending any money on.

 

[14binders]

Fluorescents weren't commonplace until the 1960's, especially in schools (I remodel schools for a living). In any case, those ballasts probably contain PCB's. Beware of any black gooey fluid. If you trash them, please take them to a hazmat disposal station. Where I live, they are free to dispose of, since the gov't doesn't want them to end up in a landfill.

If you are willing to invest the labor, the metal housings on old fixtures are much sturdier than anything you would find new for less than $200 each. Most new fixtures are flimsy 22ga. metal. New electronic ballasts are inexpensive. You can usually even find new tombstones (lamp sockets) that would fit, or even upgrade later to newer style lamps. Never heard of Dexin.

 

[tfi racing]

Good advice.Upgrade those sturdy old housings to new T8 tubes and ballasts or just dispose of them if you can't.

 

[84scrambler]

Are they magnetic ballasts or electronic ballasts? I would personally stay away from the magnetic ballasts as they dont perform well in cold temperatures and they flicker more easily when operating other heavy current draw motors.