Fluorescent Tube Light replacement

CaptSmethwick wrote: ↑ Chances are that your fixture was designed to accommodate a 40w bulb and "energy saver" bulbs were used to replace them (that's how I remember the 34's being marketed. Today's equivalent energy saver tubes are 32W and you can find those everywhere - so your choices are to go down 2W or up 6W.

Are you worried about overheating the ballast? Is this a dual tube fixture?

SeanJ194 wrote: ↑ I would just get the LED tubes from Costco and convert it to LED. I did this at my office and the power savings was HUGE.

jrbb0309 wrote: ↑ What do you have to do to convert it?

CaptSmethwick wrote: ↑ Chances are that your fixture was designed to accommodate a 40w bulb and "energy saver" bulbs were used to replace them (that's how I remember the 34's being marketed. Today's equivalent energy saver tubes are 32W and you can find those everywhere - so your choices are to go down 2W or up 6W.

Are you worried about overheating the ballast? Is this a dual tube fixture?

jrbb0309 wrote: ↑ PXL_20220306_202932027.jpg

I was able to remove the centre cover from the ballast and expose another label on the main part. Can you tell me from this picture whether it can take two 40W tubes? From what I see on the left hand side, it looks like it can but I don't know if I'm reading it correctly, especially since it has 3 specifications.

CaptSmethwick wrote: ↑ You're good to go with 2 40W bulbs. That grid shows what the minimum ambient temperature must be for the ballast to be able to start various bulbs but it's clear that the ballast is rated to handle two (2) 40W bulbs.

SeanJ194 wrote: ↑ As was said above. When I did mine I could leave the ballast in or remove. It is best to remove since you gain more energy savings and you never have to worry about a failed ballast.
Just follow the directions on the box. If you don’t feel comfortable doing it then call an electrician.

Catnippy wrote: ↑ I have a similar problem so please help. Live in old condo building, kitchen has 6 fluorescent tubes fitted parallel. The current tubes are 34W, T12 (1.5") and 46" long. I can only find T5's in 46" with 54W (seems to be a weird unpopular length). What can I do to fix this as I'm not handy at all - 2 of the tubes are blown. I want to find out first so I can buy the right items before calling the electrician (if required).

Thanks for all suggestions and advising what to buy.

ChicoQuente wrote: ↑ Are the 2 tubes in the same fixture? If so it’s likely the ballast is fried as well and needs to be replaced. If you consider yourself to be “not handy at all” you would be better off calling an electrician for a ballast change.

Catnippy wrote: ↑ I have a similar problem so please help. Live in old condo building, kitchen has 6 fluorescent tubes fitted parallel. The current tubes are 34W, T12 (1.5") and 46" long. I can only find T5's in 46" with 54W (seems to be a weird unpopular length). What can I do to fix this as I'm not handy at all - 2 of the tubes are blown. I want to find out first so I can buy the right items before calling the electrician (if required).

Thanks for all suggestions and advising what to buy.

jrbb0309 wrote: ↑ For now we've gone with the universal fit plug & play Philips LED bulbs but I would definitely like to replace the fixture completely at some point. Luckily it's just the laundry room but fluorescents give me migraines.

Catnippy wrote: ↑ No, each tube is in its own fixture. I changed the tubes several years ago and it worked fine, but can't find them to fit the T12 at 46". I can't even upgrade to 48" because this is recessed into my kitchen ceiling, recess area that is only 46" wide. And I just read that T8's and T12's are being phased out next year.

If I decide to upgrade to LED (maybe government will require this soon), what do I need to buy? Are the fixtures/fittings the same for LED as for fluorescent, and how does one calculate the amount of light? Right now I have 6 x 34 W tubes (dark because 2 are blown). Kitchen is 10x14' - perhaps I could get them installed along the length of the recess rather than across which they are now (giving me more than 46")? Is the tube fixture separate from the ballast so I have to buy 2 x 6 items for full upgrade?

Seems like the more articles I read, the more confused I get! I want to pop into Homedepot or Rona with the current tube and ask for advice, but want to be somewhat educated before I go in - perhaps they can tell me what to buy and arrange installation. Have no idea what fees an electrician charges per hour/complexity of work (GTA), but I'll probably be fried if I do it myself.

Scote64 wrote: ↑ Traditional florescent fixtures have pairs of 2 x 48" T12 (1.5" diameter) tubes, 40w each or a little less for power-saving tubes. Standard tubes are cold white color, but you can get warm white. The fixtures is equipped with a ballast that provides the high-frequency needed to start and maintain the light from the tubes. Older ballasts were usually "magnetic" type, i.e., using inductance, newer ones are usually the more efficient "electronic" type, i.e., using capacitors. When the tubes fail to start or flicker and die, the problem could be a bad contact, a bad tube, or a bad ballast - you have to test each in turn to be sure. Rotate the tubes and re-seat them, try a replacement tube in each position, and only assume the ballast is bad last. The electronic type often have an easy-replacement capacitor.

Narrower 1" diameter T8 tubes fit the same fixtures as T12.

If you want to replace the florescent tubes with more efficient LED replacement tubes, there are a few things to be aware of. Some LED tubes are made to fit right into a traditional fixture with a ballast, and will work just fine as a direct replacement, although a little extra power will continue to be wasted in the no-longer-needed ballast. Some of these replacement tubes are a bit finicky, and will not work in every existing fixture. In particular some don't like a magnetic ballast. All you can do is read the specs or just try it. You can use T12 or T8 size as a replacement, but keep in mind that LEDs are likely to be cold white only. Price point: Costco is selling a pair of Feit 48" T8 LED replacement tubes in-store for under $15. They would cut your power consumption approximately in half, taking into account the power wastage in the ballast.

It's possible to remove the ballast entirely and just rewire the fixture to connect directly to AC power for LED tubes. Of course be careful to understand what you are doing if you choose to do this. The fixture may be wired as single-ended or double-ended. You have to put a label on the fixture to clearly mark it as modified. Keep in mind that some LED tubes are designed to work with or without ballast, while others are one way only.