Electrical question

[1stGenSMIB]

Is there any place locally to source retrofit LED tubes? It seems silly to replace the fluro tube with an LED tube without bypassing the ballast..
I need both 4' and a handful of 2' T8 tubes.

 

[GWguy]

Is there any place locally to source retrofit LED tubes? It seems silly to replace the fluro tube with an LED tube without bypassing the ballast..
I need both 4' and a handful of 2' T8 tubes.

Probably cheaper to buy the whole fixture with LEDs, and less work. The current fixture would need to be rewired as the ballasts are not needed. And not aware of retrofit kits or vendors.

I remember seeing a two bulb 4 foot fixtures for less than $50, as low as $30.

 

[Chris0nllyn]

Is there any place locally to source retrofit LED tubes? It seems silly to replace the fluro tube with an LED tube without bypassing the ballast..
I need both 4' and a handful of 2' T8 tubes.

ACE has a sale right now. a 2-pack of 4' for $13, but they are T12.

Lowes has T8 tubes, but they are not line voltage.

Your best bet is either buying online, going to an electrical supply house (like Rexel), or doing what @GWguy recommended and buy the whole light from Lowes or other hardware store.

 

[Gilligan]

Is there any place locally to source retrofit LED tubes? It seems silly to replace the fluro tube with an LED tube without bypassing the ballast..
I need both 4' and a handful of 2' T8 tubes.

We bought four tubes at Lowes to test the conversion and see how we liked the light and installation complexity. Then we bought several cases of the tubes from an on line source for a little less money per tube. Rewiring the old fixture for the new direct-power tubes is super easy.

I just looked at a spare we have lying around; Brand is Utilitech. Rated as a "32w replacement"..draws only 18w.

 

[Goldenhawk]

I bought a box of direct wire 48” bulbs a couple years ago on Amazon for about $11 per tube. Bypassing the ballast took me maybe 15 minutes per fixture and was well worth it in my opinion; I had a number of ballast failures that cost far more per repair than the bulbs cost. So if you do move to LED tubes, you will save even more money by going to direct wire.

 

[Gilligan]

I bought a box of direct wire 48” bulbs a couple years ago on Amazon for about $11 per tube. Bypassing the ballast took me maybe 15 minutes per fixture and was well worth it in my opinion; I had a number of ballast failures that cost far more per repair than the bulbs cost. So if you do move to LED tubes, you will save even more money by going to direct wire.

With 24 4-tube 4' fixtures, we were constantly replacing tubes and ballasts. After converting them all almost 4 years ago, not a single one of the LED tubes has failed. I'm very impressed with these.

 

[GWguy]

I only suggested replacing the whole fixture because it's an easy thing to do, and if the fixture has been up there for any length of time, it can look old, tired, dirty. Replacing the whole thing gives it a fresh look.

However, if you're talking about a garage or something where that's not important, and you can splice a couple of wires, sure, do the tube replacement thing.

 

[itsbob]

I'm not using LEDs where incandescent bulbs are, but I replaced all my shop and office 4' flouro tubes with LED tubes and am loving the improved light and, especially, vastly improved longevity. We were constantly replacing flouro tubes and ballasts before the changeover.

Did the same. People before us put Tubes in the KITCHEN, and in the entrance hallway.. YELLOW nasty light. Replaced all of them with LED tubes. Easy to do, don't think I even got shocked once doing it..

 

[itsbob]

Did the same. People before us put Tubes in the KITCHEN, and in the entrance hallway.. YELLOW nasty light. Replaced all of them with LED tubes. Easy to do, don't think I even got shocked once doing it..

Think I still have 4- 8 LED tubes left somewhere.

 

[spr1975wshs]

With 24 4-tube 4' fixtures, we were constantly replacing tubes and ballasts. After converting them all almost 4 years ago, not a single one of the LED tubes has failed. I'm very impressed with these.

Ace Hardware sells LED tubes where you don't have to do any wiring of the fluorescent fixtures.
Replaced tubes in my mom's kitchen last August, now they are half and half.

 

[itsbob]

Ace Hardware sells LED tubes where you don't have to do any wiring of the fluorescent fixtures.
Replaced tubes in my mom's kitchen last August, now they are half and half.

But but but.. the biggest reason to go with LEDs is to get rid of the ballast?? The ballast is still wired in??

 

[Gilligan]

Ace Hardware sells LED tubes where you don't have to do any wiring of the fluorescent fixtures.
Replaced tubes in my mom's kitchen last August, now they are half and half.

We had to get rid of the ballasts. The shop is not environmentally controlled and the rate of both tube and ballast failures was high.

Takes all of 15 minutes to rewire a 4-tube light fixture for the line-powered LED tubes.

 

[1stGenSMIB]

By 'retrofit', I think I meant what we are all calling line-powered, what gilligan did..the retrofit term came from some dude on YouTube. In his case, retrofitting removed the ballast and re-wired the tombstones for one-ended LED tubes. This type of work is A-Ok with me. Some fixtures are 8' long in the shop (so two 4' LEDs), so I don't care what they look like, and some of the smaller ones (24"), are ugly cracking fluro tube fixtures under the kitchen cabinets. But I am reno-ing the whole kitchen someday..don't want to waste a lot of money on new fixtures that will likely get chucked. I am with Bob, it seems to make no sense to buy LED tubes and keep ballast in place, except maybe the ones I will chuck anyway.

I did see the 4 pack for $60 at Ace. Need to check the details next time I am up that way to see if they are line powered or not. Now, when I scan the pile at Lowe's, I know what to look for. I wonder if the tube manufacturers are labeling them as line powered or not, so the purchaser knows the details involved?
Another question about line-powered LED tubes is, do they place nice with dimmers?

 

[Goldenhawk]

Try this, or something like it. $6 per tube, direct wire (ballast bypass), only need to wire one end, 1/3 the power use of a fluorescent.

Assuming 6 hrs per day, the payback is just 8 months, and that doesn't include never having to replace a ballast again.

Amazon Sunco Lighting 10 Pack 4FT T8 LED Tube, 18W=40W Fluorescent, Frosted Cover, 5000K Daylight, Single Ended Power (SEP), Ballast Bypass, Commercial Grade - UL

 

[PrchJrkr]

By 'retrofit', I think I meant what we are all calling line-powered, what gilligan did..the retrofit term came from some dude on YouTube. In his case, retrofitting removed the ballast and re-wired the tombstones for one-ended LED tubes. This type of work is A-Ok with me. Some fixtures are 8' long in the shop (so two 4' LEDs), so I don't care what they look like, and some of the smaller ones (24"), are ugly cracking fluro tube fixtures under the kitchen cabinets. But I am reno-ing the whole kitchen someday..don't want to waste a lot of money on new fixtures that will likely get chucked. I am with Bob, it seems to make no sense to buy LED tubes and keep ballast in place, except maybe the ones I will chuck anyway.

I did see the 4 pack for $60 at Ace. Need to check the details next time I am up that way to see if they are line powered or not. Now, when I scan the pile at Lowe's, I know what to look for. I wonder if the tube manufacturers are labeling them as line powered or not, so the purchaser knows the details involved?
Another question about line-powered LED tubes is, do they place nice with dimmers?

If you don't get in before I work again Sunday, I'll check what we have available. I've bought both, but only the direct replacement type for two fairly new fixtures. If either goes, they're getting a rewire. The two I have are used very little, so energy cost isn't that much of a factor. We have the 48" t-12 replacement tubes 2 for $12.99 in warm white or daylight. This price is good through Sunday at both Leonardtown and Charlotte Hall Ace.

 

[1stGenSMIB]

PrchJrkr, thanks for checking. I don't mind driving up to L-town if you y'all got what I am looking for. All mine are T-8's though..even the 24"-ers. This is also not super high priority...until one of the current fluoro's' fails of course..right now, all are functional.