Fluorescent Lights Question

Have a 4’ two light shop fixture in the laundry room, and about a month ago it showed all the symptoms of a ballast dying. Replaced the ballast (it looked to be old as shit so guessing the original - house is from 1988) and it worked for a few weeks. Last week the same issue happened, and so now I’m wondering what the eff is going on.

For some context, the electrical in this house has always struck me as a little wonky - hard wired timers never seem to last, etc. Also, it seems like there’s a sizable delay (a few seconds) from when I turn on the light in the foyer to when it lights up (I believe it’s the same circuit as the laundry room).

Any ideas what the cause could be?

 

Your place is haunted, best to just move.

 

H’aint haunted.

I suspect you replaced a T12 ballast with a T8 ballast.

Are the lamps as fat as your cock, or fatter?

T8 lamps are about 3/4” diameter while T12 are about 1-1/4”. They don’t use the same ballasts and they will behave really fucked up when they’re mixed and matched (get ready for strobing headaches).

Best solution is to replace the lamps with triple mode LED lamps, bypass the ballast and wire the tombstones to line voltage.

 

Ask @Metalhead to come weed out the haint

 

As ballast have been going out in my shop I replace the bulbs with LED
Way brighter and should be way less trouble in the long run

 

I wish I made that mistake, but years of growing grass indoors makes me somewhat of an expert in lighting - just confirmed and it’s T12 on both (and the ballast is rated for 2 bulbs).

Doing some Googling and it seems like there’s probably feedback in my neutral (would explain some of the other wonky shit that happens like timers crapping out quickly, etc.). Have zero interest in trying to fix the root problem so really just curious of what the best replacement fixture would be - would those triple mode LEDs be able to handle a neutral with some feedback?

 

Neutral issues cause all sorts of wonky shit.

If you’re comfortable enough, pull your panel cover and meter and clean/torque your terminal connections. If you have aluminum service feeders, make damn sure you use an antioxidant.

Then make sure you have a good bond to your grounding electrode as well.

If after that you’re still getting weird problems, call the utility to come and check your connections at the riser and the pole.

 

Smokin' dope ain't gonna get 'er done Phil.

 

I did that with half the lights in my shop. Now, 18 months later all of the LED bulbs have crapped out and only the fluorescent still work...
So much for them lasting forever.

 

My fluorescent lights in my basement were going a bit wonky as well, they're old and figured the ballasts were getting long in the tooth. I can't remember if it happened more often in the winter or in the summer, I want to say the winter?

Anyway, I replaced all the bulbs with LEDs I got from Costco. Not a single problem since....been going for about a year and change now.

 

Replace whole fixture with LED, not just bulb.

 

I replaced all of my 8ft 2 bulb fluorescents with 4ft LEDs. Much brighter and way easier to mount .

 

I never recommend this.

If a lamp fails, you throw in a new lamp. If a fixture fails, you’re back to square one shopping for a replacement fixture — and if you have multiple fixtures, you’ll never find the exact same fixture.

4’ bi-pin tubes are ubiquitous and will always be available.

 

Sorry Im with TWF2 on this. Just replaced son in laws garage fluorescent units with the new thin LED units (not bulbs) much more light and much better looking. We have these same units in our safe room and are going to replace our garages lights with these same units.

 

Um sure. $167 for a 10 pack vs $104 for 1 4 bulb fixture

https://smile.amazon.com/gp/product/B0748YTDMK/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_search_asin_title?ie=UTF8&psc=1

https://www.lowes.com/pd/Metalux-HB...tual-48-44-in-x-2-47-in-x-19-53-in/1000111363

 

Psst — he already had a fluorescent fixture, he doesn’t need to buy one. Just LED tri-mode lamps, which I get for about $6/ea for 15W.

And a high bay fixture is what you install in a 16-24’ ceiling height warehouse, not a 7.5’ high basement.

 

Psst my ceilings are 12 ft
So in order to change a ballast you are going need to have what a 20ft A Frame ladder or rent a lift to change bulbs or ballast ?
I bought 3} 10 packs of the same type when I only needed 12 lights total.
If they go bad, which they have not in 2 years I toss and replace.

 

Please video you opening a 20' ladder in a 12' room.

 

Read much ?

Psst — he already had a fluorescent fixture, he doesn’t need to buy one. Just LED tri-mode lamps, which I get for about $6/ea for 15W.

And a high bay fixture is what you install in a 16-24’ ceiling height warehouse, not a 7.5’ high basement.

 

Hey @racree, you wanted to see the kinder, gentler egg?

Psst — we weren’t talking about you.

And psst psst — best practice is to deballast for tri-mode lamps retrofits. So there’s no needing a 20’ ladder to replace a ballast after LED retrofitting a fixture.

Last, but certainly not least...yay! You win!

And Huffy is the only kind of bicycle anyone should ever own.