LED conversion

[67 455 Bird ragtop]

I've been following a few of the threads on this topic. Starting to have some of my 4' T8 bulbs burn out along with one ballast. So looking to convert to LED bulbs. But not sure which way to go. I have 11 4 bulb fixtures and 3 2 bulb fixtures for a total of 50 bulbs. SO I was considering a couple of different plans

1. Replace all bulbs with bulbs that can work with or without a ballast. THen do a direct wire conversion as each ballast dies.

or

2. Just bite the bullet and do a complete direct wire replacement of all bulbs. Replacing the ones that have already dies now. Then the rest one fixture at a time.

Any thoughts or comments would be appreciated.

 

[Chucktin]

Seems to me you've going to replace all FL fixtures with LEDs eventually. So if your budget and plans could stand it I'd consider that way.
On the other hand the LED tube replacement idea has its merits in that you can do the replacement piecemail.
The LEDs do tend to be brighter (and might be glaring) so you might, doing one for one, find you've then got a few too many fixtures.

 

[jeffmattero76]

Sorry to jump in, but are there directions on how to remove the ballast wiring and convert to direct wiring for the LED tubes? I would love to convert to LED's also, but without the ballasts. Thanks in advance.

Sent from my SM-G530T using Tapatalk

 

[67 455 Bird ragtop]

Sorry to jump in, but are there directions on how to remove the ballast wiring and convert to direct wiring for the LED tubes? I would love to convert to LED's also, but without the ballasts. Thanks in advance.

Sent from my SM-G530T using Tapatalk

All over you tube.

 

[67 455 Bird ragtop]

Seems to me you've going to replace all FL fixtures with LEDs eventually. So if your budget and plans could stand it I'd consider that way.
On the other hand the LED tube replacement idea has its merits in that you can do the replacement piecemail.
The LEDs do tend to be brighter (and might be glaring) so you might, doing one for one, find you've then got a few too many fixtures.

Thanks. If you have the standard cover over the bulbs like in an FL fixture shouldn't that lessen any glare issue?? Also I have 12 foot ceilings and it's 30 x 40 in size. Will that help also??

 

[Chucktin]

Ceiling height certainly would ameliorate glare and a diffuser would also. I don't know that you'd need both.

 

[Falcon67]

All over you tube.

And direction packaged with the direct wire bulbs.

FWIW - I did 100% drop in, total 54 bulbs, then 8 more in the race trailer. Left the ballasts. Going on two years, haven't replaced a ballast yet. All exposed bulbs, no diffusers. Doesn't look that much different than the 6500K T8s that got replaced.

 

[Platonic Solid]

Recommend frosted diffuser on bulb to reduce sharp point light source and eliminate psychedelic effect through fixture lenses. Which order you do it in depends how OCD you are. It'll look significantly better if you do all at once.

 

[theoldwizard1]

Pull the fixtures out and replace them with dual "bulb" LED fixtures. If you shop around you can find them for under $20. Most of theses can be "daisy chained" together (i.e. built in 2 prong outlet at the end opposite of the cord). They also typically have a pull chain.

If you already have ceiling boxes installed, cover the ones you will not be using and install a adapter plate and duplex outlet. Cheap, easy.

Replace half of the fluorescent fixtures you have and keep the tubes and ballasts as spares to keep the rest going. This will probably last you another 5 or 10 years.

 

[bwringer]

Fixtures on sale are often a lot cheaper than farting around with bulbs.

 

[Falcon67]

Fixtures on sale are often a lot cheaper than farting around with bulbs.

Unless you get lucky and walk into Lowes when they are closing out a line, and you're later walking out the door with 64 bulbs for $80 whistling Freebird.

 

[GRB]

If you have good fixtures laid out properly, bulb conversion will make a LOT of sense.

Draw a diagram of the space with the fixtures and show how high they are hung.