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8ft T12 LED Retrofit advice needed

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mxtwo50r

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Searched and didn't find any solid recent information on options for guys with existing 8ft T12 fixtures. Does anyone have any suggestions for ballast bypass bulbs for these? I was looking into the retrofit kit to convert to (4) 4ft bulbs using the same housing, but where my lights are located it would be MUCH easier to bypass the ballast and drop in new bulbs. I have seen a few places say that the 8ft bulbs need a center support to prevent sagging. Haven't found many reviews or more info on them. I know shipping will be more, but with 2 8ft bulbs at over 5000 lumens, I don't mind the slight increase in cost for ease of installation.

Found some on 1000bulbs.com by Lunera (model 10100)
43W - 5500 lumens - Only sold in case of 10.

Apologies if this has been covered recently and I overlooked it.
 
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Capt Chrysler

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We have done a pile of them. Call & ask for Leo @ 308-380-5781. We bought the bulbs from him, direct wire / no ballast. I don't have the name of the company in my phone, sorry.

Capt. Chrysler
 
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Bert_

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Do you have slimline or high output lamps?

Slimline has one pin on each end, high output has a black base with two contacts.
 
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cybrdyke

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mxtwo50r said:
Searched and didn't find any solid recent information on options for guys with existing 8ft T12 fixtures. Does anyone have any suggestions for ballast bypass bulbs for these?
Click to expand...

You're right. The most common retrofit is to switch to 4' tubes. 8' tubes are far less common, shipping's a pain, the ballasts are generally old magnetic style and only one pin on each end makes them a PITA.
There are Type A tubes in 8' that run on newer electronic ballasts. And there are some 8' bypass tubes out there. You'll mostly find them on Amazon from no-name brands.
There's other solutions, too. You can get the fixture covers with LED bars on them. You would just swap covers. No tubes or sockets to deal with. You can get them with lenses, and chances are they'll even be dimmable. A little pricey, but some of them look like you bought brand new fancy fixtures.
Or you can just replace the whole strip with a new LED strip. Unless your existing fixtures are hard to reach or are piped in, this is an easy swap.
Good luck,
CD
 
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Bill's Auto Works

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I have had very good luck converting my T-12 fixtures. I have done about 35 of them in my shop. Take out the ballasts & reattach the wires. Here is a link to one of the companies I have purchased a bunch of bulbs from, shipping is free! He has the 38 watt that I use for the main parts of the building. I used another company for the 48 watt bulbs I used in the paint room.

https://www.ebay.com/itm/Single-Pin...hash=item2362a507ec:m:mqgRDj-4s-9iw9zR6Gsm3oQ

I have had almost no issues with these bulbs, out of more that 50 purchased, I only had 2 that only lit half of the bulb. The next time I ordered from him, he threw in 2 extra bulbs for free.

God Bless
Bill Squires(owner)
Bill's Auto Works
 
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mxtwo50r

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Bert_ said:
Do you have slimline or high output lamps?

Slimline has one pin on each end, high output has a black base with two contacts.
Click to expand...

I have single pin on each end. F96T12. Single pin FA8 ends.
 
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Bill's Auto Works

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mxtwo50r said:
I have single pin on each end. F96T12. Single pin FA8 ends.
Click to expand...

Mine are also single pin F96T12's My fixtures are just the cheapest ones from Home depot made by Lithonia Electric. Here is a picture of the ones I put up in the new building addition. I am slowly finishing the addition, it is 88x16 & there is 9 fixtures on the ceiling (8 are presently installed) the picture does not do the brightness justice. With the walls being bright white metal, you almost need sunglasses!
Bill
 

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mxtwo50r

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Bill's Auto Works said:
I have had very good luck converting my T-12 fixtures. I have done about 35 of them in my shop. Take out the ballasts & reattach the wires. Here is a link to one of the companies I have purchased a bunch of bulbs from, shipping is free! He has the 38 watt that I use for the main parts of the building. I used another company for the 48 watt bulbs I used in the paint room.

https://www.ebay.com/itm/Single-Pin...hash=item2362a507ec:m:mqgRDj-4s-9iw9zR6Gsm3oQ

I have had almost no issues with these bulbs, out of more that 50 purchased, I only had 2 that only lit half of the bulb. The next time I ordered from him, he threw in 2 extra bulbs for free.

God Bless
Bill Squires(owner)
Bill's Auto Works
Click to expand...

Who did you go with for the 48W bulbs?
 
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skipnay

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This is very interesting. Been wanting to convert mine.... Bill what is the height in that building? I have 16 bulbs to replace so buying 25 might do it for me and put a couple more lights up.
 
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Bill's Auto Works

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skipnay said:
This is very interesting. Been wanting to convert mine.... Bill what is the height in that building? I have 16 bulbs to replace so buying 25 might do it for me and put a couple more lights up.
Click to expand...

The part of the building pictured starts @ 13 feet & tapers down to 9 feet. I will take a couple of pictures of the ceiling in the other parts of the building tomorrow & post them.

Bill
 
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Bill's Auto Works

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skipnay said:
This is very interesting. Been wanting to convert mine.... Bill what is the height in that building? I have 16 bulbs to replace so buying 25 might do it for me and put a couple more lights up.
Click to expand...

Here are a couple of pics of the ceiling in the other parts of the building. the first 2 are the main part which is aprox 40x40 with a 13ft ceiling. I had 9 fixtures in there for years, when I had the electric door openers installed I had to move a few to clear the tracks. If you notice in the first picture I also added another row of 3 at the opening of the new addition (not wired yet)

The 3rd picture is the paint room, it is approx 24x40 with the same 13ft ceiling. I also had to move a couple because of the electric door opener track & while I was at it I added 2 more fixtures, again not wired yet

The center part of the building has the 2nd story above it, so I just put "pot lights" in that area. That is the workshop area as well as where I assemble engines & other smaller stuff

The LED changeover was definitely a good thing to do...More light & less money operating them. The pictures do NOT show just how bright they actually are. Hope this helps a bit.

God Bless
Bill
 

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kendogg

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I'm jumping in on this too, I'm about to do the same thing. I have (8) 8' T12 fixtures that I need to retrofit. Can I trust the ebay or Amazon bulbs to not short or cause a fire? What else do I need to know besides whats here?

Was there ever a consensus on sticking with 8' bulbs vs switching to multiple 4-footers?
 
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metlmunchr

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Hyperikon sells 4 packs of 8ft single pin bypass tubes on Amazon. Around $120 for 4, including shipping.
 
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Colin Len

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m3bs

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I was looking at those Hyperikon bulbs, but they make fewer lumens than my old fluorescents per the specs.
 
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kendogg

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Is that really about the cheapest brand worth looking at? They're $27/each on Amazon. I need 16 bulbs total.
 
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mxtwo50r

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Bill's Auto Works said:
Here are a couple of pics of the ceiling in the other parts of the building. the first 2 are the main part which is aprox 40x40 with a 13ft ceiling. I had 9 fixtures in there for years, when I had the electric door openers installed I had to move a few to clear the tracks. If you notice in the first picture I also added another row of 3 at the opening of the new addition (not wired yet)

The 3rd picture is the paint room, it is approx 24x40 with the same 13ft ceiling. I also had to move a couple because of the electric door opener track & while I was at it I added 2 more fixtures, again not wired yet

The center part of the building has the 2nd story above it, so I just put "pot lights" in that area. That is the workshop area as well as where I assemble engines & other smaller stuff

The LED changeover was definitely a good thing to do...More light & less money operating them. The pictures do NOT show just how bright they actually are. Hope this helps a bit.

God Bless
Bill
Click to expand...

Bill thank you very much for all of the info, hope you had a good turkey day.

I like the hyperikon bulbs listed on amazon as suggested in the replies, good reviews, and seems like a good solid brand. I would much prefer to spend a little more cash and have reliable lights than try and get the cheapest ones and burn the house down with poor quality lights. I am only concerned about the lumen output of the hyperikon. I was hoping to stay around 5000 per bulb, with a 5000k color and frosted cover. The hyperikon bulbs are only 3800 lumens. For around the same price (not including shipping) 1000bulbs.com has some 8 footers with 5500 lumens a piece by lunera (no clue on quality, and have to buy 10 minimum). That being said, there is maybe 4 of 10 lights working currently in the garage (Sad I know, its definitely time to tackle the light problem) so I know the hyperikons will make a huge difference, but if I can get 1200 more lumens per bulb, and stay with a good name brand bulb, I'd rather do that. Tough to find reviews on the 8ft stuff though.

I appreciate everyone's input and replies.
 
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Bill's Auto Works

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mxtwo50r said:
Bill thank you very much for all of the info, hope you had a good turkey day.

I like the hyperikon bulbs listed on amazon as suggested in the replies, good reviews, and seems like a good solid brand. I would much prefer to spend a little more cash and have reliable lights than try and get the cheapest ones and burn the house down with poor quality lights. I am only concerned about the lumen output of the hyperikon. I was hoping to stay around 5000 per bulb, with a 5000k color and frosted cover. The hyperikon bulbs are only 3800 lumens. For around the same price (not including shipping) 1000bulbs.com has some 8 footers with 5500 lumens a piece by lunera (no clue on quality, and have to buy 10 minimum). That being said, there is maybe 4 of 10 lights working currently in the garage (Sad I know, its definitely time to tackle the light problem) so I know the hyperikons will make a huge difference, but if I can get 1200 more lumens per bulb, and stay with a good name brand bulb, I'd rather do that. Tough to find reviews on the 8ft stuff though.

I appreciate everyone's input and replies.
Click to expand...

Best of luck in what ever you decide. The lumens of the ones I use is 6000& the color is 6500K, but they are clear lens for maximum brightness. This might be too bright for what you need. As far as the bulbs causing a fire...do you honestly believe with the kind of money I have in a fully equipped 88x56 shop, 5 classic/hot rod cars, 2 transport trucks & 2 trailers, etc that I would use something that would damage it? LOL

Merry Christmas & God Bless
Bill
 
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cybrdyke

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mxtwo50r said:
Bill thank you very much for all of the info, hope you had a good turkey day.

I like the hyperikon bulbs listed on amazon as suggested in the replies, good reviews, and seems like a good solid brand. I would much prefer to spend a little more cash and have reliable lights than try and get the cheapest ones and burn the house down with poor quality lights. I am only concerned about the lumen output of the hyperikon. I was hoping to stay around 5000 per bulb, with a 5000k color and frosted cover. The hyperikon bulbs are only 3800 lumens. For around the same price (not including shipping) 1000bulbs.com has some 8 footers with 5500 lumens a piece by lunera (no clue on quality, and have to buy 10 minimum). That being said, there is maybe 4 of 10 lights working currently in the garage (Sad I know, its definitely time to tackle the light problem) so I know the hyperikons will make a huge difference, but if I can get 1200 more lumens per bulb, and stay with a good name brand bulb, I'd rather do that. Tough to find reviews on the 8ft stuff though.

I appreciate everyone's input and replies.
Click to expand...

I'm not so sure I'd call Hyperikon a "name brand" seeing as how they really only sell thru Amazon. In the grand scheme of things in LED land, Hyperikon is a tiny company that really only caters to DIY-ers. Not that there's anything wrong with that, it's just that they might seem bigger than they really are due to their connection to Amazon.
Lunera, on the other hand, is a legitimate commercial lighting company that's fully engaged in the LED world and innovates some top notch products.
CD
 
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Jimthediyguy

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Bill's Auto Works said:
I have had very good luck converting my T-12 fixtures. I have done about 35 of them in my shop. Take out the ballasts & reattach the wires. Here is a link to one of the companies I have purchased a bunch of bulbs from, shipping is free! He has the 38 watt that I use for the main parts of the building. I used another company for the 48 watt bulbs I used in the paint room.

https://www.ebay.com/itm/Single-Pin...hash=item2362a507ec:m:mqgRDj-4s-9iw9zR6Gsm3oQ

I have had almost no issues with these bulbs, out of more that 50 purchased, I only had 2 that only lit half of the bulb. The next time I ordered from him, he threw in 2 extra bulbs for free.

God Bless
Bill Squires(owner)
Bill's Auto Works
Click to expand...



Bill,
Been following this post. At the church where I pastor, every fixture in the building is the old T12, 1 pin bulbs, and the original ballasts are fail 1 by 1. We are replacing them with a new electronic ballast that we are told are LED compatible but, they are costing us an arm and leg at a time. (We’re paying almost $50 per ballast!)

We would like to switch to the LED’s. Do we have to change every ballast or can we bypass?

Just curious as to what controls the voltage to the LED bulbs?

Jim


Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk
 
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Bill's Auto Works

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Jimthediyguy said:
Bill,
Been following this post. At the church where I pastor, every fixture in the building is the old T12, 1 pin bulbs, and the original ballasts are fail 1 by 1. We are replacing them with a new electronic ballast that we are told are LED compatible but, they are costing us an arm and leg at a time. (We’re paying almost $50 per ballast!)

We would like to switch to the LED’s. Do we have to change every ballast or can we bypass?

Just curious as to what controls the voltage to the LED bulbs?

Jim


Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk
Click to expand...


Jim,

All you have to do is remove the ballast & attach the wires with wire nuts back together. The LED bulbs do not require ballasts. If you would like to stay with the old style, I have plenty of brand new ballasts & lots of bulbs very cheap!

Bill
 
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kspwski

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On the bypass bulbs (most of them), the bulbs have drivers built into them that are designed to accept line voltage.
 
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rburke65

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I was at a health food store yesterday and the owner just changed over to 8' LED lights in her old fixtures. The new tubes had two rows of LEDs. She said they eliminated the ballasts and used the existing sockets. VERY bright.
 
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mxtwo50r

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cybrdyke said:
I'm not so sure I'd call Hyperikon a "name brand" seeing as how they really only sell thru Amazon. In the grand scheme of things in LED land, Hyperikon is a tiny company that really only caters to DIY-ers. Not that there's anything wrong with that, it's just that they might seem bigger than they really are due to their connection to Amazon.
Lunera, on the other hand, is a legitimate commercial lighting company that's fully engaged in the LED world and innovates some top notch products.
CD
Click to expand...

Appreciate the advice. I did some more quick research into LED manufacturers. Ended up pulling the trigger on 10 Lunera bulbs.

Lunera 43W 5000K 5500 Lumens Ballast Bypass

$235 shipped to my door. $47 per fixture cost to upgrade.

I will update with results once they are in and I get a chance to get them installed.
 
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mxtwo50r

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AP514 said:
you could also go this route.retrofit into 4ft scetions..if you want to save a few dollars

https://www.lightup.com/retrofit-kits.html

and these bulbs
https://www.lightup.com/t8-4ft-led-tube-22w-ballast-bypass-50w-equiv-2640-lumens-lumegen.html
Click to expand...

$8 a piece for the bulbs

$15 for the retrofit kit

That is 47 per fixture, with time spent dealing with one size fits all retrofit kit brackets, on a 14 foot ceiling, someone else can deal with that headache, not me though.

I am at the exact same price with drop in bulbs that require a 3 minute rewire. Worked out better for me to avoid the retrofit kits and stick with the 8ft bulbs.
 
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m3bs

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Just to follow up on this, I just installed the Satco S9919 bulbs in my garage. I’m really pleased with the results. Maybe 5 minutes per fixture to rewire, once I figured out how to get up to them. Box of 10 delivered from lightingnewyork.com $231. Unfortunately, I really needed 12, but wasn’t willing to spend $200 for another box and they were not available individually.
 
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m3bs

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The HD/Feit option puts out 42% LESS light than the Satco bulbs I chose at 3200 vs 5500 and are nearly twice the price per bulb. The flourescent tubes I took out were rated at 5300, so I didn't want to "upgrade" to less light. I don't know if those numbers are based on similar standards or not, but I do know that I almost need sunglasses in the garage now!


IMG_3299 by m3bs, on Flickr
 
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AP514

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Pearland, Tx
Rhoush said:
Has anyone used these??
https://www.1000bulbs.com/product/1...Wkgr_ZydDWLaLpXY5CStEA94zp9tMyWBoCbJEQAvD_BwE

All my t12s are starting to **** out ballast. Do these have knock outs on them all my existing light fixtures are wired thru emt and don’t really want to redo all of that.
Click to expand...

I have the 4' version and really love them. the tombstones are very secure(hold your lights in nice and tight.
There were Knockouts in center and on both ends See post #1072 Best lite fixture ever


I used theses bulbs.....

LUMEGEN LG-4T8-22WBB-SM50K(5000k)(4000K)(3000K) 48" 22W LED T8
2640 Lumens per bulb, 120° Beam Angle
Single Ended Power
5000K, 4000K or 3000K - 120-277V - 120 Lumens/Watt - Frosted Lens - Extruded Aluminum Body
$7.99 ea. (link) - no minimum - Free Shipping $50
$7.19 ea. after below discount applied at checkout.

Quote:
Originally Posted by xjfan View Post
Lightup.com 10% discount on your next purchase!
To redeem this offer, please enter the following coupon code at checkout:

NEWS10%
...........................................
REVIEW10
...........................................
Either code should work.
 
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