Replacements for T8's

[cybrdyke]

So I have 9 year old eight foot T-8s. There are two rows of four in a 24 by 48 pole barn shop. There are four 4 foot two pin bulbs per light. The mounting height is 16 feet. What I need to know is what sort of conversion to LED is the most durable as I cannot just use a step ladder but will be renting a scissor lift. I do not want to be changing bulbs

Just so we get the lingo right, to avoid confusion....
You have 8' tandem strip fixtures with 4 x 4' T8 lamps.
You should get an LED tube that wires up "double-end" powered, emits about 2000 lumens and is either 4000K or 5000K (your choice). 4000K is slightly warmer than 5000K. You'll be bypassing the ballasts and doing a bit of very easy wiring.
Good luck,
CD

 

[Rod N]

Got the job done. Can't really tell from the pic, but the old ones are on the right.
It's funny how you get use to old and new lights. Different colour for sure.
I'm very pleased.

 

[lund]

It makes no sense at this point to buy new fluorescent tubes outside if you have one obviously bad bulb with life in a full bank and want to keep them going and matched till they are all close to done or done. LED has a better light spectrum (choose your temp pref), higher efficiency, are safe (no high voltage circuit, or problematic ballast). You can replace with LEDs designed to work with the ballast, making it trivial to replace, but it is better to do a little rewire work and remove the ballasts since they can go bad, drop efficiency a bit, and can make noise (though less so at low LED loads).

Additionally, there is another effect if one is responsible. The stuff in fluorescent light tubes is toxic and they should not be broken or mixed in the trash. So you should find places to deal with them responsibly. As the volume went down this became a special ask and less and less places are taking them and might also charge a lot to responsibly dispose of them for you. So the junk gets more and more expensive to deal with. Old ballasts can be put in metal recycling with no issues.

Really, none of us should keep using fluorescent tubes or compact fluorescent lights. There is no reason for them any more. The light is much worse, they are less efficient, they are problematic, and they are toxic. I am not a fan of big government and excessive regulations, but I can understand why states are starting to ban them. It makes no sense to keep them and you do not want them in the waste stream.

 

[BroncoAZ]

I have eight T8 fixtures with ballasts and GE 15 watt LED bulbs (4000K, 2200 lumens) in the 34x21’ shop and three in the 34x21’ garage (All 10’ ceilings). I could use more light in both places. I’m trying to do some detailed work on my bench in the middle of the shop and am supplementing my bench with a M18 work light so I can see everything clearly. I saw some type B 24 watt 3000 lumen T8 replacement bulbs for little money, but I’m wondering if it will be enough to just remove ballasts/swap bulbs or if I need to swap fixtures for something better. Certainly 1600 more lumens per fixture, 36%, should be an improvement for $100 and the time to remove ballasts.

I was looking at 8’ fixtures that hold four T8 bulbs each to swap the three in the garage and double the number of tubes.

 

[mikegt4]

I just replaced the t8 and t12 bulbs in 7 old shop lights that I bought back in the 1990's and 2000's with new type "B" 4' LED bulbs eliminating the ballasts completely (all burned out or otherwise inoperative). It was an easy process and removing the ballasts sure made them considerably lighter in weight. I chose the "single ended" option which really cleaned up the wiring.

wiring diagram from the Parmida bulbs installation manual, for more wiring options look under "T8" in this link

Manuals & Docs.

Experienced American Company Supplying Great Value, Fully Certified LED lights. Shop our selection of Recessed Lights, Tubes, Under Cabinet Lightings and more. Get Free Shipping.

www.parmida.com

 

[The Cobbler]

I like hearing when people swapped LED's in to old fixtures . ( over replacing with new LED fixtures )

 

[sgrammel]

I have 12 two bulb fixtures in my garage. They are wired in sequence. Can I have some LED and some fluorescent bulbs in the string>. I would plan on keeping both bulbs in a fixture either both LED or both flourescent...

 

[The Cobbler]

Can I have some LED and some fluorescent bulbs in the string

sure you can . electricity doesn't care what it's feeding , basically as long as it's wired right

 

[Rod N]

That’s what I did in the end. The LED came in cartons and I was too cheap to buy another carton for two bulbs.

 

[Fav Onefour]

I like hearing when people swapped LED's in to old fixtures . ( over replacing with new LED fixtures )

Same here.
I will add another portion.
Do not swap over to integrated LED fixtures. Those junkers do not live up to the life claims. It's hard to find an exact matching replacement. The whole fixture needs to be replaced when they burn out.

I guess that added up to more than one item but you get my point. Those integrated jobbers are a pet peeve.

 

[Fav Onefour]

I have 12 two bulb fixtures in my garage. They are wired in sequence. Can I have some LED and some fluorescent bulbs in the string>. I would plan on keeping both bulbs in a fixture either both LED or both flourescent...

I swap out the florescent guts when the bulbs or ballasts burn out. I bet my main shop is half and half with old florescent and new LED. The biggest challenge is making sure you use LEDs that color match so you don't notice new vs. old.

 

[Sumboodie]

Just replaced a bunch of T8 bulbs in the office.

The buzz now is driving me nuts. Between the tinnitus and lights buzzing im going to go looney.

I would have done LED, but the supply guy sent T8 bulbs. Asked for 20 and got 8. ... I swear some days!

 

[Bert_]

Saved these from the dumpster last week. I think I've replaced a single ballast at my house in the last 10 years so these should last me a while. No more led's in my future. Spent too much money and got a case of F40T10's too.

Mainly wanted the preheat ballasts. I've haven't had one fail yet but it's not easy to find new ones.

The bottom box are just rapid start from 1999 so not really that good but they are new.

 

[u2slow]

Just replaced a bunch of T8 bulbs in the office.

The buzz now is driving me nuts. Between the tinnitus and lights buzzing im going to go looney.

I would have done LED, but the supply guy sent T8 bulbs. Asked for 20 and got 8. ... I swear some days!

Must be old style ballasts.

The T8 electronics made in the last 20 years don't typicaly buzz/hum or flicker.

If they are the old style, then I would suggest the ballast-delete LED replacement tubes.

 

[Sumboodie]

Must be old style ballasts.

The T8 electronics made in the last 20 years don't typicaly buzz/hum or flicker.

If they are the old style, then I would suggest the ballast-delete LED replacement tubes.

Building is about 20 years old.

 

[BroncoAZ]

Saved these from the dumpster last week. I think I've replaced a single ballast at my house in the last 10 years so these should last me a while. No more led's in my future. Spent too much money and got a case of F40T10's too.

Mainly wanted the preheat ballasts. I've haven't had one fail yet but it's not easy to find new ones.

The bottom box are just rapid start from 1999 so not really that good but they are new.

That is some dedication to paying a higher electric bill . My eyes despise fluorescent lightning and get rid of it in favor of LED wherever possible.

 

[u2slow]

My eyes despise fluorescent lightning and get rid of it in favor of LED wherever possible.

My fluorescent experience is very different between mag ballast (60Hz flicker) and electronic ballast (typical of T8 and T5).

Good LED seems on par with the latter. If crappy LED, I'd rather have my T8 electronic fluorescent.

 

[Bert_]

That is some dedication to paying a higher electric bill . My eyes despise fluorescent lightning and get rid of it in favor of LED wherever possible.

I think my last electric bill for my house was $42 or $43.

Good fluorescent is nice light. The F40T10's I got are advertised as 88 cri and 3600 lumens per bulb.

I get no flicker with older non energy saving ballasts.

Leds are kind of the same way. If you buy the cheapest stuff you are going to be disappointed. I have seen a lot of LEDs with visible flicker. Better stuff doesn't have that problem

 

[BroncoAZ]

I think my last electric bill for my house was $42 or $43.

Good fluorescent is nice light. The F40T10's I got are advertised as 88 cri and 3600 lumens per bulb.

I get no flicker with older non energy saving ballasts.

Our electric bill without solar would average $500+ per month. Fortunately we made the investment in panels and I haven’t seen a bill since. ROI is 5.1 years, so well worth it for us.

I still haven’t relamped my shop, but I have been looking at 90 or better CRI options.

 

[Norcal]

Saved these from the dumpster last week. I think I've replaced a single ballast at my house in the last 10 years so these should last me a while. No more led's in my future. Spent too much money and got a case of F40T10's too.

Mainly wanted the preheat ballasts. I've haven't had one fail yet but it's not easy to find new ones.

The bottom box are just rapid start from 1999 so not really that good but they are new.

Good there was only one 277V clunker in the lot.

 

[Sumboodie]

That is some dedication to paying a higher electric bill . My eyes despise fluorescent lightning and get rid of it in favor of LED wherever possible.

We leave the bay lights on 24x7. That's probably a few hundred $$ a month. 250watt x 15 or so.

 

[Bert_]

I lied, last months bill was $37.58. 308kw/hr

In all seriousness when I put fixtures up in my garage I used RAB 8' led retrofit bulbs in salvaged strip lights. They work good, they just aren't very interesting.

Good there was only one 277V clunker in the lot.

Supposedly they run ok on 240v. If I had a bunch maybe I'd try it.

Guessing this one was mis ordered when new. The building these came from used to be 120/240 single phase and is 120/208 Y now

 

[Norcal]

We leave the bay lights on 24x7. That's probably a few hundred $$ a month. 250watt x 15 or so.

I lied, last months bill was $37.58. 308kw/hr

In all seriousness when I put fixtures up in my garage I used RAB 8' led retrofit bulbs in salvaged strip lights. They work good, they just aren't very interesting.


Supposedly they run ok on 240v. If I had a bunch maybe I'd try it.

Guessing this one was mis ordered when new. The building these came from used to be 120/240 single phase and is 120/208 Y now

With magnetic ballasts 265V is out of spec for 277V ballasts.

 

[Bert_]

With magnetic ballasts 265V is out of spec for 277V ballasts.

No doubt

I've never seen it done or tried it but supposedly they will run that way, in spec or not. I imagine they would not start well in anything less than ideal conditions because the open circuit voltage would be 13% low.

 

[KenC]

I know this is a resurrected old thread, but I have a similar but different question.
I have several 8' fixtures with f96T8 bulbs. Those are single pin per end and long dudes. I bought several T8s a few years ago to replace the original T12s but I've run out of replacements.

Not a lot of LED replacements that I've found. Anybody have a reasonably priced source?

 

[dscheidt]

No doubt

I've never seen it done or tried it but supposedly they will run that way, in spec or not. I imagine they would not start well in anything less than ideal conditions because the open circuit voltage would be 13% low.

I used to have shared shop space in an old old factory building. At some point, the three phase got pulled out, and a single phase supply put in. I think the people that did that fixed the lights in the part of the building they used, but left the rest, so there were a bunch of 8' tubes in the shop, that had originally been 277 but were now connected to 240. The lights were slow to start -- they buzzed for a few seconds, then they'd flash briefly when the starter opened, buzz again, flash, repeat. and eventually stay on.

 

[Bert_]

I used to have shared shop space in an old old factory building. At some point, the three phase got pulled out, and a single phase supply put in. I think the people that did that fixed the lights in the part of the building they used, but left the rest, so there were a bunch of 8' tubes in the shop, that had originally been 277 but were now connected to 240. The lights were slow to start -- they buzzed for a few seconds, then they'd flash briefly when the starter opened, buzz again, flash, repeat. and eventually stay on.

I've never heard of an 8' fluorescent that used a starter

 

[sparky 1971]

I know this is a resurrected old thread, but I have a similar but different question.
I have several 8' fixtures with f96T8 bulbs. Those are single pin per end and long dudes. I bought several T8s a few years ago to replace the original T12s but I've run out of replacements.

Not a lot of LED replacements that I've found. Anybody have a reasonably priced source?

It depends on what you consider to be a reasonable price. They are out there, I've used them once on a job for the county where the lowest bidder was the winner and they rejected my bid to do what I thought was best but accepted the bid for the junk. To be perfectly honest, I thought the 8' long lamps were pieces of ****. They sagged in the center to the point I thought it might fall out of the fixture so I put a conduit clamp in the middle to give it some support. I usually use a conversion kit that changes the fixture from two 8' lamps into one that has four 4' lamps but that adds to the cost.

 

[Bert_]

I know this is a resurrected old thread, but I have a similar but different question.
I have several 8' fixtures with f96T8 bulbs. Those are single pin per end and long dudes. I bought several T8s a few years ago to replace the original T12s but I've run out of replacements.

Not a lot of LED replacements that I've found. Anybody have a reasonably priced source?

Rab makes a 5500 lumen line voltage led lamp for both fa8 and rd17 sockets. I did my garage with salvage 8' fixtures and these lamps. They were $20 a piece then which was very cheap for the light output. Now they are about $30.

These lamps have a glass tube so they do not sag.