Has anybody replaced T12 Flourescent bulbs with T8 LED Bulbs in their shop/garage ?

[Hobbytime]

Yeah I know, it's hard to find actual led's that aren't made by the chicoms though... so far I have had decent luck with the 4 foot integrated I got straight from china... I know it was a lot cheaper than buying the same exact thing here at HD for 4-5 X the cost You can certainly tell that even though there will be hundreds of different sellers on ebay,amz,etc... offering the same thing that there are differences in them... depending on who's little 3 and 4 year old chinese kids are building them and where they are sourcing the components... so for about the same price as a single lightbulb at the hardware store that is probably made overseas anyways I can have one of these shorties... not sure I'll be getting more of these as it was just a test order of a few cases anyways they might be decent lights for stock shelves and down aisleways... but like I said not for actual working under... at least how I like it lit for working conditions

I ran these for at least 12 years at these shops and the old ones, these are the HO highoutput 8 foot 112watt flourescent tubes. i liked them at the time just because they would start when it was cold inside the buildings , they were way brighter than the typical 40 watt 4 foot tubes and they had the cool spring loaded slide in socket to change em' out... not the funky quarter twist two pin crap some retarded monkey invented!!!
Attachment 1724136

But a few years ago I started using these 4 foot integrated led fixtures because they were halfway cheap and had decent light compared to the fixtures I was replacing... one downside is they were pretty noisy in RF the newer ones seem better but hard to say if they're just moving the noise to a different band or if they're using more energy wasting linear powersupplies???

Attachment 1724137

I have dozens of 4 ft florescent light fixtures, Ive just been cutting the ballasts out and wiring for the LED replacement bulbs..works great...

[ronsii]

I have dozens of 4 ft florescent light fixtures, Ive just been cutting the ballasts out and wiring for the LED replacement bulbs..works great...

I've seen plenty of guys do that and the replacement led tubes that work with the ballasts... I just don't like the look of the fixtures anymore I have dozens of them laying on the scrap pile and have gotten rid of hundreds from the old shops!!! it was like a never ending regime of changing out bulbs every week

I was talking to a guy on the radio just the other morning was doing that with 4 foot led tubes, I think he said he got at the tractor supply... sounded halfway cheap too

[Hobbytime]

I've seen plenty of guys do that and the replacement led tubes that work with the ballasts... I just don't like the look of the fixtures anymore I have dozens of them laying on the scrap pile and have gotten rid of hundreds from the old shops!!! it was like a never ending regime of changing out bulbs every week

I was talking to a guy on the radio just the other morning was doing that with 4 foot led tubes, I think he said he got at the tractor supply... sounded halfway cheap too

so far amazon has the best pricing..

[Willie B]

Incandescent light has an orange tint to it. The box has a code printed on the side of it. Red and yellow ink are more orange spectrum light. The light blue and dark blue are more white spectrum. I like the light blue spectrum for shop lights. You can see better with it.

Yes, but if you are a little color deficient, don't hope to tell red from green in 6000K. I have to carry something outside to sunlight to tell red from green.

[ronsii]

Ordered some boxes of these 12 watt ~7 inch square surface fixtures in 3000K too, again I don't think they have the good extra bright light I like for working but some of the girls don't like the 5-6000k stark white lights so I figured these have a more softer tone to them would be good for workstation lights and just all around supplemental lighting in dark areas. The main issue I have is trying to stay halfway 'code compliant' with them... one of the reasons I got em' was they're just a hare over an inch thick so surface mounting them would be ideal... but then you'd be wiring 120 outside of a box....I could pancake them and only add a little height but I still have the feed wire issue??? unless I lamp cord them all....but that has it's own issues plus I kinda wanted some in one of the cans... on the ceiling.. and that will most likely be 1/2 emt... or I could just redneck it and be done

28bux a case so just 2.80USD per fixture


They are actually pretty bright for only 12 watts!


Their driver module/stepdown device fits conveniently inside of the fixture so no worries about extra room in a box or whatever for that.

[Willie B]

Razor makes a fixture that looks like a recessed. Holesaw a hole in the ceiling, wire the driver with NM-B or MC cable. Stuff it into the ceiling & snap the luminaire in place. Some offer selectable color temperature.

[ronsii]

Razor makes a fixture that looks like a recessed. Holesaw a hole in the ceiling, wire the driver with NM-B or MC cable. Stuff it into the ceiling & snap the luminaire in place. Some offer selectable color temperature.

I actually ordered a bunch of those types last week, but I don't know what they use for a junction box... if any... most i see just have a 3-4inch pigtail coming off the driver for hooking on to. I figured I'd just redneck these up since most of the areas wouldn't have sheetrock or similar on the ceiling and they were even cheaper than the surface mount ones.

[Shootr]

I have dozens of 4 ft florescent light fixtures, Ive just been cutting the ballasts out and wiring for the LED replacement bulbs..works great...

I did the same throughout the house where existing fluorescents were. Really pleased with them, after almost a year no failures yet.

[Willie B]

I actually ordered a bunch of those types last week, but I don't know what they use for a junction box... if any... most i see just have a 3-4inch pigtail coming off the driver for hooking on to. I figured I'd just redneck these up since most of the areas wouldn't have sheetrock or similar on the ceiling and they were even cheaper than the surface mount ones.

Driver is its own box.

[ronsii]

Driver is its own box.

Oh, I see... they just have a really big driver/junction box.

[forhire]

I just replaced 40 tubes in the shop with the some off Amazon. I was skeptical about the Plug & Play claim so I only bought two boxes. I removed the ballasts and used the bypass mode. Not exactly plug & play but I hate electronic ballasts. It has only been a couple of weeks but so far they are working great. Much brighter and a LOT cheaper than my first LED conversion a few years ago.

PARMIDA 20-Pack 4FT LED T8 Hybrid Type A+B Light Tube, 18W, Plug & Play or Ballast Bypass, Single-Ended OR Double-Ended Connection, 5000K, 2200lm, Frosted Cover, T8 T10 T12, Shatterproof, UL & DLC
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0..._title_o01_s00

[John T]

I just replaced 40 tubes in the shop with the some off Amazon. I was skeptical about the Plug & Play claim so I only bought two boxes. I removed the ballasts and used the bypass mode. Not exactly plug & play but I hate electronic ballasts. It has only been a couple of weeks but so far they are working great. Much brighter and a LOT cheaper than my first LED conversion a few years ago.

PARMIDA 20-Pack 4FT LED T8 Hybrid Type A+B Light Tube, 18W, Plug & Play or Ballast Bypass, Single-Ended OR Double-Ended Connection, 5000K, 2200lm, Frosted Cover, T8 T10 T12, Shatterproof, UL & DLC
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0..._title_o01_s00

I did the same ... But used the Hyperikon brand. VERY happy... it's been a year or more. probably at least 40 between the house basement/garage

Best thing is NO delay.... flip the switch- Instant light.

https://www.amazon.com/Hyperikon-Bul...96&s=hi&sr=1-4

[whtbaron]

I just replaced 40 tubes in the shop with the some off Amazon. I was skeptical about the Plug & Play claim so I only bought two boxes. I removed the ballasts and used the bypass mode. Not exactly plug & play but I hate electronic ballasts. It has only been a couple of weeks but so far they are working great. Much brighter and a LOT cheaper than my first LED conversion a few years ago.

PARMIDA 20-Pack 4FT LED T8 Hybrid Type A+B Light Tube, 18W, Plug & Play or Ballast Bypass, Single-Ended OR Double-Ended Connection, 5000K, 2200lm, Frosted Cover, T8 T10 T12, Shatterproof, UL & DLC
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0..._title_o01_s00

I'm not sure if it was this forum, or an ag forum I hang out at, but some people have had insurance issues doing that. All the appliances up here have a CSA stamp on them. The insurance company claimed that when you removed the ballast, you modified the product and the CSA stamp was no longer valid... I'm sure there's an American equivalent. I've never heard of anyone actually having a problem with the lights, just a bunch of insurance guys being pricks. I know when I put the 4 footers in the shop (complete units) the electricians were cursing about them being tight to wire too. Not much extra space in those skinny little guys.

[whtbaron]

I did the same throughout the house where existing fluorescents were. Really pleased with them, after almost a year no failures yet.

My basement is all suspended ceiling with 4 ft'rs too... I'll probably end up doing the same, I just won't mention them to my insurance reps.

[albrightree]

Whenever possible I replace the whole fixture. My crew has about 550 fixtures to replace, with about 300 left to do. I only use the by pass in metal and conduit mounted fixtures where replacing fixture labor exceeds cost of the fixture. New fixtures will have better illumination, and heat management, as well as UL FM, and NSF ratings. 2 ft x 4ft ceiling troffer fixtures with edge illumination can be had pretty cheap now ($50-$60) with a 5 year guaranty . Most of my high bay, and low bay fixtures (12k Lumens, and 18K Lumens) already have luminaire disconnects , so replacement is very quick. They are lithonia lighting fixtures, costing about $96, and $118 each. I have a conference room to do with 2x4 troffer fixtures, with low voltage wiring in the armored cable. I'm still looking for a good dimmer with remote. Lutron website isn't all that good, and my supply house guys go cross eyed when I ask about Wi-Fi/bluetooth ability.
For bypass bulbs I've been using Eiko, and Halco because thats what my supply house carries.
I have been through four lighting replacement cycles now. Changing all Metal Halide, and changing all T12 bulbs to T8 was the first change , then replacing all bulbs and ballast twice, to now replacing with LED. Almost all the outside sodium, and MH fixtures are now LED. Hopefully the LED's will last longer than the than all those Compact Fluorescent Lamps . Promised ten years service for $20 when first offered, never lasted more than 2-3 years in real service, and then were toxic waste to get rid of.
I have replaced some 4 ft t8's without removing ballast a couple of years ago in a fixture that was built into ceiling , it's still working , but I remember it being expensive at the time. The bypass bulbs are now about $8 for a 4ft. t8 .LED'S have definitely been a game changer in the last couple of years with prices dropping as low as they have. Sometimes replacing the whole fixture is worth it, sometimes its not. Just buy products from trusted sources, check for listsing (ul, fm, csa), and don't forget to read the instructions.
Any links to good remote dimmer would be appreciated.



Thanks

[danielplace]

leds are bright white regardless of wattage, I replaced a bunch of old florescent bulbs with the leds and am very happy, they are brighter, instant bright no need to warm up,many of the bulbs you can angle the leds inside the tube..also disconnect the ballast, you dont need it and to keep it in will use up more electric..

Hobbytime,
I disagree. They are not all bright white. I wanted bright white and got a dim blue when I bought some for my RV to save battery time.

They provide enough light to navigate the RV at night, but by no means are they useful for task lighting. I flip on my flourescent for that.

They definitely aren't all white for sure. The 4 -4 foot 12 volt LED strips I just bought for the trailer ceiling are very blue. Wanted to use just 12 volt but had to also install some 120 volt to get whiter light in there.

[bead-boy]

Had a ballast go out on one of the 8 footers, so decided it was a good time to try the LED's. Amazon had a damaged box discounted so ordered it. The tired old fluorescent bulbs (12+ years old) look pretty dim in comparison. Had replaced some on the other side with the newer brighter fluorescent so those won't look much different than the LED.

[Willie B]

LED technology has grown leaps & bounds over the last few years. Even fluorescents, now obsolete, had advanced to wide choices in color temperature & Color Rendering Index.

Plenty of new LEDs are now available with selectable color temperature ranging from 2700 Kelvin to 6000. Mostly, I prefer 3000.

[farmersammm]

In the Winter, I consider my fluorescents to be part of the heating system. In Summer, they're part of the misery index.

LED's used to have terrible results in cold environments...........is this still true?

[Woznme]

I have a couple of led flood lights in my shop that start flickering when it's stinking hot. The old 400w mercury vapor hi bay still powers on.

[John T]

LED's used to have terrible results in cold environments...........is this still true?

Not in my experience.
My garage lights come on instantly.

With the old fluorescents,
You would have to toggle the switch off and on in cold weather to get them to fire up.

LED is instant light.

Amazon/hyperikon brand.

[bead-boy]

The nice thing about removing the ballasts is that I don't have to turn up the radio after turning the lights on.
The colder it is the louder they hum. I don't notice so much 10 minutes after they warm up.

[whtbaron]

In the Winter, I consider my fluorescents to be part of the heating system. In Summer, they're part of the misery index.

LED's used to have terrible results in cold environments...........is this still true?

I have 2 of the LED yard lights.... one on the yard pole, one on the front of the shop. They both worked fine at -35C so I don't think you'd have any problems...

[bigb]

I just replaced all my T-8s with 5K LEDs, bypassed all the ballasts. I also added string pull switches to some of the fixtures that I don't need on all of the time, no sense lighting up the whole shop when working in one corner.

[Lis2323]

The nice thing about removing the ballasts is that I don't have to turn up the radio after turning the lights on.
The colder it is the louder they hum. I don't notice so much 10 minutes after they warm up.

Mine still hum. I think I’m just obvious to it.


Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk