Greetings. I am in the process of converting my Garage light fixtures to LED & although there are many videos available, I haven't seen any that that will tell you which end of the LED T8 bulb gets plugged in to the power source in a single ended install. Too, when I shop for LED bulbs, how do I know if I am buying a double ended bulb or a single ended bulb. Thank You for any help.
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What end do I plug in
- Thread starter Zuko
- Start date
walta
Well-known member
I have seen different manufactures of the conversion LEDs use every imaginable pin configuration.
Each brand was marked in some way but not always clearly.
Some of the single ended ones could be power from ether end. The ones made to fit in fixtures that used starters sometime had a wire shorting the pins on one end. You could put it in ether way if you install the starter with a shorting bar but if you rewired power to one end and put it in wrong it was very exciting.
Seems to me the conversion idea is fading away as if your time and effort have any value it will cost less money to simply replace the fixtures with new ones. Unless the old fixtures are sentimental or you are going for a historic look consider a full replacement.
Walta
Each brand was marked in some way but not always clearly.
Some of the single ended ones could be power from ether end. The ones made to fit in fixtures that used starters sometime had a wire shorting the pins on one end. You could put it in ether way if you install the starter with a shorting bar but if you rewired power to one end and put it in wrong it was very exciting.
Seems to me the conversion idea is fading away as if your time and effort have any value it will cost less money to simply replace the fixtures with new ones. Unless the old fixtures are sentimental or you are going for a historic look consider a full replacement.
Walta
If the fixture(s) are replaced, you end up replacing the whole fixture when a failure occurs, which is incredibly wasteful.I have seen different manufactures of the conversion LEDs use every imaginable pin configuration.
Each brand was marked in some way but not always clearly.
Some of the single ended ones could be power from ether end. The ones made to fit in fixtures that used starters sometime had a wire shorting the pins on one end. You could put it in ether way if you install the starter with a shorting bar but if you rewired power to one end and put it in wrong it was very exciting.
Seems to me the conversion idea is fading away as if your time and effort have any value it will cost less money to simply replace the fixtures with new ones. Unless the old fixtures are sentimental or you are going for a historic look consider a full replacement.
Walta
Shiftless
Well-known member
That’s a good point.If the fixture(s) are replaced, you end up replacing the whole fixture when a failure occurs, which is incredibly wasteful.
Except for the super low priced LED fixtures, how many of us have experienced a significant failure? How many years did that take? Approximately how many operating hours?
billconner
Well-known member
I built a new garage so didn't have fixtures. Looked at buying fixtures for retrofit LED tubes. Ending up buying LED fixtures for a lot less than cost of just retrofit tubes.
I designed lighting for a part of my career. Never had an actual LED fail - of hundreds in maybe a hundred projects - but drivers - yes. And they can be replaced in at least spec grade fixtures.
I designed lighting for a part of my career. Never had an actual LED fail - of hundreds in maybe a hundred projects - but drivers - yes. And they can be replaced in at least spec grade fixtures.
walta
Well-known member
Help me understand what is wasteful.If the fixture(s) are replaced, you end up replacing the whole fixture when a failure occurs, which is incredibly wasteful.
The retrofit LEDs have all the same parts as the fixtures they are just crammed inside of the old fashion tube form factor. In order to fit in the form factor, the electronics are made smaller run hotter and are more likely to fail.
It is the way of the world today. Almost nothing is designed to be repaired. You buy something use it until it no longer works and upgrade with something new better. In real dollars the new item generally costs less uses less energy and works better.
I bought a lot of $50 retrofit LEDs and plugged them in place of the old tubes to avoid rewiring the machines.
Walta
MAD
Well-known member
Read the documentation for the tubes you are considering to know for sure.Greetings. I am in the process of converting my Garage light fixtures to LED & although there are many videos available, I haven't seen any that that will tell you which end of the LED T8 bulb gets plugged in to the power source in a single ended install. Too, when I shop for LED bulbs, how do I know if I am buying a double ended bulb or a single ended bulb. Thank You for any help.
The single ended, ballast bypass "type B" tubes I used were powered from the side with the brand logo printed on it, and came with the non-shunted keystones necessary to power the tube from one end. If they were installed backward, nothing happened except the tube did not light up. I marked the fixtures with a little diagram so if the tubes needed replacement it would be apparent how the fixture was wired.
walta
Well-known member
Help me understand what is wasteful.
The retrofit LEDs have all the same parts as the fixtures they are just crammed inside of the old fashion tube form factor. In order to fit in the form factor, the electronics are made smaller run hotter and are more likely to fail.
It is the way of the world today. Almost nothing is designed to be repaired. You buy something use it until it no longer works and upgrade with something new better. In real dollars the new item generally costs less uses less energy and works better.
I bought a lot of $50 retrofit LEDs and plugged them in place of the old tubes to avoid rewiring the machines.
Yes, you do end up recycling heavy gage sheet metal coated in porcelain and installing plastic in it place but the plastic fixture points the light directly where you need it the LEDs are spaced to spread the light better and run cooler so they last longer. The driver circuits are away from the hot LEDs and run cooler.
Walta
LED replacement bulbs are marked as to what is what with respect to power end(s) , whether it's by pass ballast or not etc.
There's no standars, except @sparky 1971 has referenced several times a universal bulb that I think covers all combinations, including ballast by pass or not.
There's no standars, except @sparky 1971 has referenced several times a universal bulb that I think covers all combinations, including ballast by pass or not.
Single end tubes are not common anymore since double-end are the most preferred method. However, a lot of the newest tubes are capable of being wired in either single-end or double-end configuration. If you choose to use single-end, be certain you have non-shunted sockets.Greetings. I am in the process of converting my Garage light fixtures to LED & although there are many videos available, I haven't seen any that that will tell you which end of the LED T8 bulb gets plugged in to the power source in a single ended install. The end with the label on it. Too, when I shop for LED bulbs, how do I know if I am buying a double ended bulb or a single ended bulb. It will be clearly marked in the spec sheets and on the box.Thank You for any help.
Good luck,
CD