Replace ballasts and upgrade to LED?

[bedn0009]

Hello,

I used to be an active member of this forum when I built my shop 2 years ago, and I thought the depth of knowledge here was amazing. I cannot believe Platonic Solid is still carrying the weight of the GJ lighting forum on his shoulders. Impressive.

In my attached "parking only" garage, I have 4 4x2' standard flourescent fixtures, like THESE. Maybe not exactly, but similar and from HD.

After about 5 years they are failing, and I want to swap them all out for LED bulbs, and also get a softer white color (3000k or so). 4 lights for 600 sq ft isn't enough to light it up for task lighting, but it's more than enough to walk in there and grab some ice cream out of the freezer, which is what we do in this garage.

Should I be upgrading the ballasts and tubes, or replacing the entire fixtures here? Could someone (Platonic) point me in the right direction on what to buy? Again - I only have 4 fixtures, and I want these, between the LED bulbs and good ballasts, to be a longgggggggg term solution.

Thanks to all.

 

[dogdog]

I don't know what will be the normal standard in the future...
I did mine with ballast bypass and gotten the dual end powered LED t8 tubes...

First one was hairy, took about an hour, including searching for stuff, and stuff and stuff...., the rest took about 15-20 minutes each.....

If you wanted 3000K , keep in mine, when you buy, and check the temp of that led...

I got mine from amazon....the Hyperikon they only have 4000K as their lowest, I have the 5000K, a little white.


there are few good threads around, just search.

 

[Showkey]

There are three choices all have their merits and issues:

1.Replace the fixtures Cost, labor
2.Ditch the ballasts and new bulbs with rewire and maybe new tombstones. Cost labor and time.
3.Drop LED replacement bulbs. Low cost ballast still in the system

All three have heated debates on this forum. All three can improve available light and have long life and are very dependent on the choice and quality of the product purchased.

There is post talking about drop in direct replacement LED bulbs at LOWES that are on clearance of a $1.25 each with decent specifications. So the cost of the project can be dirt cheap with little labor or very high cost with many hours of labor or something in between..........maybe with similar results. Long term results is a wild is a bit of a wild card because it so dependent on the initial quality of the products........that quality variable.

OP is in Wisconsin......Menards has drop in Sylvania LED replacement bulbs on sale in case lots on sale often. They will not be $1.25 each. There can be compatibility issues bulbs to fixtures........ If they don’t work for your return them. T8 replacement drop in bulbs are far more common.

 

[bedn0009]

Thanks. So are there quality equal size ceiling mounted led fixtures, or am I better off replacing all the guts? If so, where to start in what to buy that works together?

Appreciate the input

 

[Lamakocklee]

I would think it all depends on a couple of factors.

One being do you want to keep the fixture and 2 does it have an electronic T8 ballast. Here are 3 options that I see.

1. If you the answer is yes to both, the the easy way is to drop in a T8 replacement LED like the ones that were mentioned (Lowes or Sylvania).

2. If you want to keep the fixture and it does not have an electronic ballast, then you either buy an electronic ballast and use drop in T8 replacement LED tubes, or buy direct wire LED tubes and rewire the fixture.

3. If you don't want to keep the fixture, then you just buy new ones that say LED.. wire it up and let there be light!

With regard to your question about what works together.. The direct wires LED should work as long as you wire it correctly. The T8 replacements on the other hand are sometimes picky about which ballast they will work with and like Showkey says, there may be compatibility issues. If you go that route, you almost have to buy a set to make sure it works before going hog wild.

 

[ccgeedy]

I just did this with my garage. Kept the fixtures, removed the ballasts and installed these lights.

www.lightup.com/t8-4ft-led-tube-22w-ballast-bypass-50w-equiv-2640-lumens-lumegen.html

Did not take a lot of time and the difference in light is significant.

 

[Platonic Solid]

Hi bedn0009. I'd reuse existing fixtures and lamp holders - cut out the ballasts - install LED bypass lamps.

If your existing fixtures are F32T8 instant start then your lamp holders are shunted (internally electrically connected) and you will need double end powered LED lamps.

If existing fixtures are F32T8 program start or older F40T12 then your lamp holders are non-shunted and you can use either single or double end powered LED lamps.

Post 1 of the best light fixture sticky (link in sig below) has good lamp options. Some are universal single/double end wired so shunted or non-shunted makes no difference. Even though you have a wrap lens, I still recommend using frosted lamp lens unless you like the psychedelic effect LEDs have with prismatic fixture diffusers.

OT: Just went to look at your build thread. I assume it was a photobucket victim as the pictures are gone.

 

[bedn0009]

Thanks. So should I just replace the lamp holders all together, or simply re-wire bypassing the ballast? How would I know if existing lamp holders are shunted or non-shunted, and if I buy one of the universal bulbs, does it matter? Seems like these work for almost any situation:

https://greenlightdepot.com/collections/led-tube-lights/products/4ft-18w-led-linear-versa-tube-ul-dlc?variant=3706824580

 

[Platonic Solid]

No need to replace lamp holders. That's a universal lamp so shunted or non-shunted lampholders makes no difference.

This link details the difference in lamp holders:
https://insights.regencylighting.com/shunted-vs.-non-shunted-sockets-tombstones-lampholders

If your lamp holders are shunted you must run hot to one and neutral to opposite end.
If your lamp holders are not shunted then you can either run power as above or hot to one side and neutral other side of same socket.

 

[Falcon67]

My fixtures are 7 years old. I just used drop-in replacement LED 6500K "T8" style 48" bulbs. 60 bulbs.
No muss, no fuss, no rework.

 

[aka Larry]

My fixtures are 7 years old. I just used drop-in replacement LED 6500K "T8" style 48" bulbs. 60 bulbs.
No muss, no fuss, no rework.

IIRC, Falcon67 and I used the exact same retrofit tubes from Lowes. The cost could not be beat, and I've been every happy with mine thus far.

 

[bedn0009]

Thanks. So what's the general thoguht of bypassing the ballast? If I recall, do standard cheap, big box ballasts tend to fail?

Are these the bulbs you bought?

https://www.lowes.com/pd/Utilitech-2-Pack-32-W-Equivalent-Bright-White-T8-LED-Tube-Light-Bulb/1000083433

 

[stonesg]

And they are not kidding about some drop in the LEDs being picky about ballasts.

I have two of the exact same fixture save being bought about six months apart and the first one worked right away and the second one I had to bypass the ballast.

No big deal to do. Just make sure to put the warning sticker on the so they next guy doesn't try to to put in all florescent bulb.

 

[aka Larry]

Thanks. So what's the general thoguht of bypassing the ballast? If I recall, do standard cheap, big box ballasts tend to fail?

My fixtures are the 8'-0" quad bulb Utilitech ones from Lowes, which have been in service for 6 years now. No outages of ballasts thus far.

Are these the bulbs you bought?

https://www.lowes.com/pd/Utilitech-2-Pack-32-W-Equivalent-Bright-White-T8-LED-Tube-Light-Bulb/1000083433

Not the exact bulbs as mine are 6500K, but otherwise they are the same AFAIK. When I initially decided to replace my fluorescent tubes with LED, I wanted to go with a bypass-style, but I ran into problems finding the color temp I wanted, and for a price I could afford. All of the bypass LEDs I found at the time were 5000K, and at least double the price I paid for the retrofit 6500K ones I bought from Lowes.

 

[Platonic Solid]

bedn0009 - Just be aware if you choose the linked Utilitech LED bulb route, when the ballasts fail, you will either need to replace the ballast or the LED tubes. Strongly recommend trying 1 fixtures worth before bulk purchase.

 

[cspcrx]

anyone try these conversion kits?

https://www.homedepot.com/p/ETi-Whi...ght-LED-Tubes-with-Sockets-54296168/303435474

 

[bedn0009]

I ended up ordering 16 of the tubes Platonicc recommends in his main thread - 3000k universal LED @ $7.99. FYI, the 5% code doesn't work

 

[Platonic Solid]

FYI, the 5% code doesn't work

Discount code removed from post 1 sticky. Thank you.

 

[Vernmotor]

So I have 4' T8 . all the ballast are going bad. so what do I need to buy. to make them LED I like to keep the fixtures

 

[Platonic Solid]

Vernmotor - Ballast bypass LED Opposing End Wired tubes. Post 1 of best light fixture sticky (link in sig below) has recommendations.

 

[PAN FRIED]

Anyone looked into the LED's from big *** fans?

 

[cybrdyke]

Anyone looked into the LED's from big *** fans?

At $399 each, it cant be taken seriously.
CD

 

[bedn0009]

Hello

I purchased some new LED tubes as recommended in "The best light fixture ever" thread. They are universal and can be used with ballasts or wired for ballast bypass. I will say - they don't seem AS bright as the traditional tubes that I had in there, but that may also be because I moved from traditional "Fluorescent" colored tubes to 3000k led tubes.

A couple pf questions:

1. Of the 4 fixtures I have, only 1 has a bad ballast. The new LED tubes are plug and play for the other and they all work fine. Is there benefit to bypassing them all, or should I simply replace the single bad ballast. I don't want a mix of ballast/ballast bypass in the same garage.

2. Below is a picture of my current ballast. If I AM going to replace this single ballast, should I just order the same one?

Thank you

 

[Platonic Solid]

Why would you replace a ballast when you can just bypass it? If you don't want a mix of fixtures, then bypass all the ballasts. There is a small energy savings benefit to bypassing the ballast.

I was going to say something about the 3000K, but figured you knew what you wanted and I shouldn't stand in your way. What CCT were your fluorescent tubes?

Edit: Efficiency with ballast = ~110 L/W, without ballast = ~125 L/W. You may get more lumen output bypassing the ballast depending on the ballast factor of that Accupro.

 

[cybrdyke]

I don't want a mix of ballast/ballast bypass in the same garage.

Why? OCD?

Your 2 best options are:
Bypass the dead ballast and leave the others. Bypass them when they die.
or
Bypass them all now.

Good luck,
CD

 

[bedn0009]

Why? OCD?

Yes, most likely.

I just sleep better at night knowing they're all the same. I only have 4 to do, so it shouldn't be too difficult.

Thanks all for your advice. I'll post a pic when I'm done. I do like it looking like a living room when I open the garage door (3000k).

I put an occupancy sensor on my garage light switch last year - as soon as the door opens or I walk into the garage it lights up. Works well for me.

 

[Need more space]

anyone try these conversion kits?

https://www.homedepot.com/p/ETi-Whi...ght-LED-Tubes-with-Sockets-54296168/303435474

These look like a good option, have 4 old 8ft fixtures that could use converting.

 

[bedn0009]

All 4 fixtures bypassed - took about 15 mins per.

One beauty of using the truly universal LED tubes is that you don't need to worry about meeting a specific wiring configuration in the event you have short hot/neutrals, etc. Very simply process - cut out the ballasts, wire one end hot, the other neutral and done. Very simple - fingers crossed I never have to open these fixtures again!

Thanks

 

[Platonic Solid]

Excellent! Was there any noticeable increase in lumen output?

 

[bedn0009]

Excellent! Was there any noticeable increase in lumen output?

Yes. They are brighter after removing the ballasts