Burned out 2 ballasts on new fixtures in 1 month - guy at Lowes said newer fixtures must be grounded or ballasts will blow. How do you ground a fluorescent light when old wiring doesn't have a ground?

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A ballast can only burn out because it has been overloaded. It has nothing to do with needing a Ground wire!

There may be some other fault within the lighting fixture that is causing it to draw too much current, which would cause the ballast to burn out.

Or maybe the fluorescent lamp tube you are using needs a higher rated ballast unit than the ones you have installed? The fluorescent tube - or its packaging - should have some rating information on it, stating what size of ballast unit it needs to limit the lamp's current to its rated running Amps. If you cannot get any proper advice from a lighting store then its best to ask a licensed electrician to assist you.

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If you asked this question because you have no experience of working on the latest household power circuits and you hope to get enough information on this site to be able to do the job properly and safely, it is best to warn you not to rely on getting accurate information from this site about such a potentially dangerous subject.

By asking this question you probably aren't quite ready to take on this particular task.

Really, don't do this one yourself. Electricity is far too dangerous to handle if you don't already know your local Wiring Codes or Regulations or you have not been trained how to do this work.

How to do this job depends entirely on the Wiring Codes or Regulations for the locality (Town/State) and on the exact location of the appliance you wish to hook up. If it is anywhere that is subject to water splashes or spray - such as in any room supplied with running water pipes, like a kitchen, bathroom, shower room, etc., or in a pool-side area - in many places nowadays it is actually illegal to attempt to do this kind of work unless you are already a licensed electrician.

For your safety and that of anyone else who may to use the appliance, ask a professional licensed electrician to advise you or to do the work for you.

IF YOU ARE NOT ALREADY SURE YOU CAN DO THIS JOB

SAFELY AND COMPETENTLY

REFER THIS WORK TO QUALIFIED PROFESSIONALS.

If you do this work yourself, always turn off the power

at the breaker box/fuse panel BEFORE you attempt to do any work

AND always use a meter or voltage indicator

to insure the circuit is, in fact, de-energized.