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Properly employed components underpin quality work.
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By Dan Hale
Programming a product’s lifespan is part of the modern manufacturing process. In any field – tires to neon-sign transformers – marketplace pressures drive programmed obsolescence. Buyers want a quality product at a low price. Such demands drive manufacturers to produce quality appliances, at a reasonable cost, to meet their customer’s expected standards. These policies dictate that the produced items, if operated at 100% capacity, will survive slightly longer than the manufacturer’s warranty period.
If you employ a ballast or transformer at its highest load rating, you may reduce the appliance’s life expectancy to the manufacturer’s lowest expectation. Think about it. Manufacturing engineers design their products to meet certain specifications and then offer accompanying warranties to meet the specifications. Sign ballasts and transformers, when employed at the maximum load, tend to function slightly longer than the manufacturer’s warranty period. In the manufacturer’s view, this produces an acceptable product while reducing warranty returns.
So, how do you get more life out of a transformer or ballast? Stay within the designed load range, that is, load the transformer or ballast at roughly 80% of its stated maximum rate.
If you study a standard neon chart, for example, you’ll read that, using a 15,000V transformer, the maximum footage (load) for 15mm, mercury-filled tubing is 72 linear ft. Meaning, without fail, a 15,000V transformer will light up 72-ft. of this type tubing. However, if you apply the entire 72-ft. load, you’re maxing out the transformer and thereby limiting its lifespan to the warranty term.
Similarly, if you install a six-lamp ballast for six, 96-in. (48-ft.) fluorescent lamps, expect the ballast to meet its warranted life expectancy, but, like the neon example above, maximizing the load shortens the ballast life.
Some sign company executives prefer to maximize transformer and ballast use. They view it as a designed obsolescence factor and plan for profits from future service calls. I don’t agree with such policies and ask if such a company would hold the same view when negotiating a lease or maintenance agreement.
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