NanaInVirginia

I had an Ottlite floor lamp that wasn't working and upon searching for replacement parts I learned that they are NOT easy to come by. I called Ottlite directly but they did not have the ballast in stock. They did offer me a super deal on a replacement light, but I opted to continue my search for a ballast instead.

I finally found an old thread on a DIY site where a man listed the ballast he used to repair his Ott desk lamp. I ordered my ballast and it shipped the very next day. I paid $10 for the ballast and $7 shipping. Overall I am extremely pleased with the vendor so I thought I would share the info here. I had to do a little McGyvering to make the replacement ballast fit into the limited space in my lamp head but with my husband's wire strippers, wire nuts and a little bit of "I will make this fit attitude" I am happy to say that my lite is now functioning again!

The vendor's site is prolighting.com. The light I was repairing was an 18 watt version so this is the ballast I used. SC-120-118-CTW. It was a very tight fit but by breaking off the plastic mounting ears I was able to fit this in the lamp head. I didn't want the ballast to be mounted externally and I am not sure that the ballast for the 24 watt lamps will fit inside the lamp cover. This is the 24 watt ballast. NPY-120-126-CFL

dakotamaid

I'm glad you got your light working. However I would watch that light very carefully. In some lamps generic ballasts do not perform well. JMO.

Geri B

...so the mfg does snell replacement ballast, but they were just out of stock are the time of your phone call? Did they quote a price for replacement.....be careful with the one you " jimmied" to fit.....

NanaInVirginia

The only modifications I made was to plastic tabs on the case of the ballast and some plastic inside the head of the light. The ballast is sealed so the actual ballast was not modified at all. The wire stripper and wire nuts were just used to connect the wires. There is nothing special about an Ott ballast, it is the bulb color that sets them apart from other lamps.

As for Ott selling replacement ballasts the website says that they now offer replacement parts but they didn't have them in stock for this light. The person who helped me just offered to sell me a new one very cheap, like 25% of the MSRP. I got the impression that they do not have parts available and he was just to keep me from having a negative opinion of their products. No price was discussed because he stated that they "May have the parts available in early to late summer"

mjhaess

Thanks for the link..

marcycn

I'm confused. The definition of ballast is 'heavy material, such as gravel, sand, iron or lead placed low in a vessel to improve it's stability.'

I have an Ott floor lamp that the bottom has fallen apart. It appeared to be cement like and just broke up all over my carpet. :-( I get the impression you are talking about something other than this part? Right now I have kitty litter in bags on top of the shell to keep it steady so I can use it.

I ordered the OTT light new floor model and there was no way of changing the height of it. I would have had to sit on a bar stool to be able to use the magnifier so I sent it back.

Any ideas on how to fix mine?​

quiltingshorttimer

I have the Ott floor light with 18watt bulb. Recently had to replace bulb for first time and seemed like JoAnne's took forever getting that wattage bulb in-wonder if they are trying to phase out the 18 watt?

When talking about lights, ballast is used differently--it means a component of the fixture that basically keeps the light from flickering--not the same thing you are dealing with at all.

Kitty1963

I also have an Ott light that stopping working. The ballast you are thinking are what submarines use to submerge. The ballast in your Ott is what electronically provides power to the bulb. The cement you are referring to is a weight in the base of your lamp that keeps it from tipping over. It seems that over time it either fell apart or was dropped or damaged in some way.

You can use stepping stone cement to make a new weight. Just adhere it to the casing in the bottom of your lamp. Very smart to use bags as weight, however if you are like me, I need all the floor space I can spare for my treasures. Good Luck.