Power draw

[Roadblock]

I had a tripped 32 amp circuit breaker this morning and did the numbers on my draw ,,,,,, going through the Ablite figures they list Line start current and Line run current as well as Lamp start and Lamp run ,,,, are these added together ? to get your total draw , if so a 400 watt sodium would draw 7.30 amps at startup and 6.19 amps running ,,,,,, which means Im running 8 x 400 = 49 amps and 58 amps at startup ,, bit scary ! ,,, its been sailing along no problems on the 32 amp breaker untill this morning ,,,, just abit confused on how they work thier numbers concerning line and lamp .

 

Ablites ratings

http://www.ablite.com/templates/abl/page/p...d.php?secID=170

 

Interesting that a 1000 watt Halide lamp draws less than a 400 watt lamp but the line draw is nearly 3 times more .

 

Also can you get at unit that will stagger start up on an array of lights ?

 

Thanks RB

[Al B. Fuct]

Im running 8 x 400 = 49 amps and 58 amps at startup ,, bit scary ! ,,, its been sailing along no problems on the 32 amp breaker untill this morning ,,,, just abit confused on how they work thier numbers concerning line and lamp .

 

The 'line start' figure is what the lamp and ballast are drawing from the AC mains once the lamp has warmed up. The start current applies for about the first 3-5sec of operation until the tube begins to conduct fully. These are the only figures you need worry about

 

The lamp currents are the current between the ballast and the lamp. The currents may be higher or lower depending upon the voltage applied to the lamp by the ballast. Useful information if you are a light fixture designer or are considering replacing the cable from your ballast to the lamp socket, but otherwise generally useless to lamp users.

 

Each 400 will be drawing about 1.89A from the line when warmed up. 8 of them will draw about 15.1A from the line, nowhere near 49-58A.

 

Also can you get at unit that will stagger start up on an array of lights ?

 

Yep, just use an individual timer for each light. Even for 400s, it's good to use HD timers rated for heater and aircon use. Set them to sequentially start about 2 mins apart.

 

It's possible for ckt bkrs to wear out. After checking all your connections are clean and tight, consider replacing the ckt bkr. Not terribly expensive. Even all eight 400s coming on at once should not trip a 32A bkr. Yours could be wearing out.

[Roadblock]

Thanks for that ,,,,, what tripped the breaker was was the second room over lapped by about an hour , so 8x4 would be running and then another 8x4 would have started adding to much hit to it .