VHO wiring

[joshh81]

I was given 2x Work Horse 5 ballasts. I have 2 VHO bulbs and waterproof endcaps for both.

Can I hook only 1 bulb per ballast? Or should I have 2 bulbs per ballast?

I googled wiring diagrams and wasnt quite sure of the wiring. It has 4 red wires and 1 single yellow on one side, and 1 white and 1 black on the other side of the ballast.

Any tips or instructions on wiring this up?

[joshh81]

To specify the model is a wh5-120-L.

I would like to hook 1 ballast up to 1 light (110w VHO 46.5 inch). Any help on how to wire this would be greatly appreciated.

[WharfRat]

Fulham inc is the place that makes those ballasts and they have every wiring diagram for each ballast on the site.

[joshh81]

this is going to sound stupid but I have read every single one and cannot find the one that applies to me. I might have to take the ballast in to my LFS and have them explain it to me.....

Its funny, I have over 10 years experience in electronic and radio design and electronic circuitry and yet those diagrams look like greek to me. I guess I didnt eat my wheaties today...

I have 4 red wires and 1 yellow wire coming out of 1 end. All i need to do is figure out how those 4 red wires connect to 2 waterproof endcaps with 2 wires coming out on each end.

[Mike31154]

When I have a little more time I'll check the Fulham site and see if I can zero in on the diagram you need for your VHO. I have two WH8 ballasts running T5HO at the moment, but I cannibalized them from an older fixture which used them to run VHO lamps. Each WH8 ran one FR20T12/VHO. The WH8 has six red wires & IIRC it was wired up using 3 red wires per lamp. Essentially the red wire goes into one endcap and the yellow goes into the other. Each endcap requires a jumper wire as well. That should be about it, other than knowing how many red wires to use and if multiple reds are required, you need to connect them together with a wire nut and run a single wire to the endcap. The WH8 can provide up to 220 watts I believe, not sure about the WH5.

The white and black wires are your connection to line, ie household plug, black is hot, white is neutral. You'll also need a ground wire to be safe.

[Mike31154]

Ok, I have a couple of links that may help and checking one of them it appears a Workhorse 5 is not able to run a T10 or T12 VHO lamp. Have a look, the VHOs are at the end of the document and require either a WH7 or WH8. WH5 will run a T12 HO though, diagram 12, uses 3 red wires per lamp. Cap the unused red. What's the part number of the VHO lamps you need to run?

Fulham Ballast & Lamp Chart (http://www.1000bulbs.com/images/PDF/Fulham-Lamp-Chart-brochure.pdf)

Here's another link with most of the diagrams and some wiring tips in one document.

Diagrams (http://www.naturallighting.com/pdf_files/workhorse_wire_diagrams.pdf)