Icecap 660 alternative

[Amnestia]

I was planning to buy an icecap 660 to overdrive my t5 bulbs but before I did I tinkered around with my current setup which is on a workhorse 7 ballast. I basically combined 2 endcaps into one (power wise) and this indeed did overdrive the bulbs. I used two actinics side by side and the overdriven one was noticeably brighter and gained more of a white hue to it. On ebay WH 7 ballsts run for $35 and you only need 2 to overdrive 4 bulbs which is about half the price of a icecap 660. Just sharing the love.

 

[chipmunkofdoom2]

Interesting.. now, I'm not all up on overdriving T5s, but how long can you typically get away with between bulb changes if they're overdriven? I'm curious to see how your remedy will compare to the standard overdriven bulb changing interval. Keep us updated.

 

[Amnestia]

Bulb life should be the same whether it is overdriven by the wh or the icecap if wattage is the same. I have a meter today so i'll post up exactly how much the overdriven bulb is pulling from the unit.