Question About Diy Lights

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Ryeguy

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Hi, im in the process of doing a DIY jobbie using rain gutter, and a couple flourescents to get some more light...

but ive run into a sort of problem, well more of a potential problem and i just want to make sure before i go ahead and kill myself, because my electrician knowledge is limited...

anyway, i have ballast for connecting two 24"-20W lights in parallel (i think its parallel right?) anyway im not gonna be goin electrical work anytime soon... but my ballast doesn't come with a ground wire. The instructions i found on the net have a ballast with a ground wire so it was straight forward, conenct the ground to the socket...So i was wondering how do i ground my ballast? Or do i need too? i assume i do, and id prefer it if i did...If anyone can help it would be much appreciated....now back to surfing the web for an answer...
 
Do you have a pic or link to a datasheet for your ballast. I'm assuming it is not an off-the-shelf aquarium ballast but the 'insides' ?

Is your ballast made to have two lamps connected to it (as they have to be designed specifically for it if you didn't know that, and aren't very common)?

I'm not an electrician btw. There are some on the forum though.
 
ill look for a pic or link

but yes my ballast is made to have 2 lamps connected....its an Advance ballast RL-2SP20-TPC, for any of those who knows what that means....assembled in mexico, so you know its quality.

anyway, right on the ballast it says ground the ballast and the metal reflector, but in my case it will be vinyl so that wont be an issue..

thanks for the help tho!
 
here are pics of the ballast ...notice only a black and white wire...no ground wire

10000538hw.jpg


ground
10000552kd.jpg
 
use a three wire plug and cord ...white black green... your ground wire (green) you will ground directly to ballast (just screw green wire to one mounting hole on ballast)
also ground one side of each tube holder to this green wire...the case on the ballast and the tube connectors
are your ground once pluged into wall


untitled.jpg



hope this hhelps you out I have tree of the same ballast in my hood
 
Most ballasts/starters I have seen recently do not have an Earth/Ground connection. They are "double insulated" and no grounding is necessary. In Europe, maybe also the US, a "double insulated" unit has a symbol on it which is a small square with a larger square around it.
 
NO i dont see that symbol on my ballast. As well it is written on the ballast that it needs to be grounded, so i assume if it didn't need to be it wouldn't say so.
 

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