Type P Ballast Replacement

[SilverSS1969]

Never switched out ballast on fluorescent light fixtures before but seems straight forward. My dads friend wanted us to switch out a few ballast in him basement because the lights flicker or wont come on at all. We switch out bulbs with no luck so leads me to think it is the ballast.

Anyways, Im having trouble finding the same ballast that he has. Every site I find they either look uses or state they are out of stock/discontinued. Any way to figure out what ballast will swap?

On the fixture its self fixture itself, its stamped with the following:
"CLASS P" BALLAST, IF REPLACED USED
CLASS "P" THERMALLY PROTECTED TYPE
OF EQUIVALENT THERMAL PERFORMANCE

See attached pictures. So what will work with what I have?

 

[kd3pc]

you should be able to match up the wiring diagram with a new one. I am pretty sure that if you head out to the local electrical supply house, they will have a replacement.

Those are fairly old, potted with "tar" - a pretty much dead technology. Newer electronic ballast are the norm now. Pacific makes a replacement for this style in the residential market as does Universal in the commercial space, I would go with a residential ballast, if you want to listen to the stereo FM radio while the lights are on. You will need some small wire nuts to splice them in place.

best of luck

 

[SilverSS1969]

Thanks. I figured they are old, I'm guessing 80's? I will head to the store this weekend and see if the wiring matches up. Found a few online with wiring that matched.

 

[sterw]

That is old technology. That ballast was for operating older F40T12 lamps. The newer lamps, F32T8 are brighter and better. Get an electronic ballast for 2 F32T8 lamps. Pick the color of the lamp that you like. Standard cool white lamps will end in 741 or 841 (newer technology). The lower the last two digits, the warmer the lamps. 735 or 835 is closest to true color. As for wiring, the colors match up the same - connect one blue to a blue, a red to a red, a yellow to a yellow, white to white and black to black.

Electronic ballast do not have the humm of the old magnetic types. Make sure all screws are tight and the fixture is grounded (if available)

 

[cybrdyke]

Find an Advance ICN2S40N. It will have the exact wiring diagram as the one that you have and you can continue to use the T12 lamps that you have. You can definitely find it at the local electrical supply house for less than $20.

Class P was an old designation for thermal protection. New ballasts are inherently thermally protected, so you dont have to worry about that.

As Sterw said..if it was my house, I'd change the lamps and ballast to the newer T8's. However, the wiring diagram on a typical T8 ballast is slightly different than the one you have. The benefits are many. The biggest benefit is that you will be able to get T8's for many years to come while the T12's are already getting harder to get. Why put in new ballasts today for lamps that you can't find in the near future?
Good luck.
CD

 

[SilverSS1969]

So, say I go to a generic T8 ballast as my replacement. I just follow the new ballast wiring diagrams and I should be good? Just discard the wiring on the ballasts I have?

Although its not my house, this is a friend of my dads that will pay us to help him out with things around the house. He isn't very handy and I know in a year or two he will be calling to have us change out burnt lights. I don't ready want to explain at that point that we cant get them and have to swap out ballast again. Rather spend a light extra time wiring the new ballast for the T8 for future use.

 

[tfi racing]

Nice.That ballast contains PCB's-I'm sure you are aware of the many regulations governing the removal,transportation and disposal of that ballast...Once that is out of the way,any modern T8 ballast and lamps will be adequate after the appropriate permit,paperwork and inspection is complete!

 

[jon72vega]

Never switched out ballast on fluorescent light fixtures before but seems straight forward. My dads friend wanted us to switch out a few ballast in him basement because the lights flicker or wont come on at all. We switch out bulbs with no luck so leads me to think it is the ballast.

Anyways, Im having trouble finding the same ballast that he has. Every site I find they either look uses or state they are out of stock/discontinued. Any way to figure out what ballast will swap?

On the fixture its self fixture itself, its stamped with the following:
"CLASS P" BALLAST, IF REPLACED USED
CLASS "P" THERMALLY PROTECTED TYPE
OF EQUIVALENT THERMAL PERFORMANCE

See attached pictures. So what will work with what I have?

That is old, likely to be from the 60's.
Note on the label: "Chicago 18, Ill."

 

[SilverSS1969]

That is old, likely to be from the 60's.
Note on the label: "Chicago 18, Ill."

Wow, didn't think they would be that old. Pardon my ignorance but what does "Chicago 18, Ill." mean?

 

[SilverSS1969]

Nice.That ballast contains PCB's-I'm sure you are aware of the many regulations governing the removal,transportation and disposal of that ballast...Once that is out of the way,any modern T8 ballast and lamps will be adequate after the appropriate permit,paperwork and inspection is complete!

No, I wasn't aware of them containing PCBs. Guess I will have to look into that and see if its even something we can tackle. He might have to call an electrician in to take care of this one if its something we don't want to mess with. Thanks for the heads up. Guess I have some reading to do on this subject.

 

[Charles (in GA)]

The "18" is a postal zone code used prior to zip codes. Introduced in 1943 and replaced by Zip Codes July 1, 1963. It is a zone within the city, and in 1963 the same two digits were used as the last two of the zip code.

My company recently distributed brand new Milton tire tread gauges to us, and oddly, Milton has never changed the design, as it has their old pre 1963 postal zone address on it still to this day!!!!!!!!!

 

[Charles (in GA)]

http://www.epa.gov/epawaste/hazard/tsd/pcbs/pubs/ballasts.htm

Excerpted from the above.............

The following criteria are provided to help identify FLBs that may contain PCBs:

FLBs manufactured before July 1, 1979 may contain PCBs.
FLBs manufactured between July 1, 1978 and July 1, 1998 that do not contain PCBs must be labeled "No PCBs".
If an FLB is not labeled "No PCBs", it is best to assume it contains PCBs unless it is known to be manufactured after 1979.
FLBs manufactured after 1998 are not required to be labeled.
If the FLB does contain PCBs, they are located inside the small capacitor located within the FLB or in the potting material (a black, tar-like substance that encapsulates the internal electrical components). There would be approximately 1 to 1.5 ounces of PCBs in the capacitor itself and lower amounts in the potting material. If a FLB fails or overheats, the capacitor may break open and both its oil and the potting material may be released from the FLB. PCBs may be present as a yellow, oily liquid or in the tar-like potting material that leaks from the FLB. The capacitor does not always leak when the FLB fails, nor does a leaking capacitor always cause the FLB to fail. Leaking or ruptured FLBs may increase the level of PCBs in the air. Measures should be taken to limit or avoid personal exposure in all cases.

Disposal

If no leaking or staining is identified on the light fixture, but there was asbestos-containing material (ACM) such as coated wire present, the fixture shall be disposed of as ACM waste. Otherwise, the fixture is not regulated PCB waste and can be recycled or disposed of as municipal solid waste.
Identify and properly manage PCB waste streams, including, where appropriate, the use of approved DOT containers , approved storage facilities ( 40 CFR section 761.65), manifests ( 40 CFR part 207), and records ( 40 CFR part 180), as provided below:

 

[Charles (in GA)]

Nice.That ballast contains PCB's-I'm sure you are aware of the many regulations governing the removal,transportation and disposal of that ballast...Once that is out of the way,any modern T8 ballast and lamps will be adequate after the appropriate permit,paperwork and inspection is complete!

You might want to read up on this............ If they are not leaking, they are common trash according to the EPA.

 

[alfredeneuman]

It would be easy to convert to use T8 instead the soon-to-be-obsolete T12s.

Just splice one of the blue wires from the ballast to the blue wires on the fixture,
The other blue to the red wires on the fixture,
The red on the ballast to the yellow wires at the other end of the fixture.
And you're done.


http://www.homedepot.com/p/Philips-...orescent-Replacement-Ballast-496802/202977064

Only the ballasts manufactured before 1979 have PCBs. After that they were outlawed.

 

[cybrdyke]

You might want to read up on this............ If they are not leaking, they are common trash according to the EPA.

This is correct. If they're not leaking, just pitch them.
However....the lamps are probably considered hazardous waste because of mercury.

SilverSS-
FYI, there will be a date code stamped into the metal on the base of the ballast if you're curious about the date of manufacture.
Your ballast has two wires going to each socket. And there are some jumper wires, normally white or yellow, that jump from socket to socket.
The new ballast has one wire going to each socket, with no jumpers.
It's easy enough to do if you just follow the new diagram. The sockets that you have are fine as long as they are not in bad shape.
I have the re-wire diagrams if you want them.
CD

 

[Charles (in GA)]

This is correct. If they're not leaking, just pitch them.
However....the lamps are probably considered hazardous waste because of mercury.

Not any more than the millions of other fluorescent lamps disposed or each year. Households are exempt from the EPA hazardous waste rules for fluorescent lamp disposal.