4 foot LED'S

[skeets]

Question when I built my garage I installed 16 banks of T8 lights and they have been outstanding,,,,,, Until about 4 weeks ago. One bank went out, in the far end, no biggie, then 2 more and so on until this afternoon I hit the switch and only 2 T8's fired, leaving me pretty much in the dark. And I figure the ballasts went south after almost 20 years. So the prices are pretty high on ballasts around here at Lowes and HD, I thought about the 4 foot LED replacements. Did some lookie lookie on you tube and they look like they might out live me. Has any of the collective replace them or use them, any problems ect?
i

 

[dlsmith]

Last year I replaced all the bulbs in my nine 8 foot fixtures in the shop with LEDs. I pulled out the ballasts, cleaned up the fixtures and rewired the fixtures for the LED bulbs. It was a great upgrade, lots more light with 25% of the power consumption. I had a mix of single pin and rectangular pin fixtures, and replacement LEDs were available for both types.

 

[PoTreeBoy]

Question when I built my garage I installed 16 banks of T8 lights and they have been outstanding,,,,,, Until about 4 weeks ago. One bank went out, in the far end, no biggie, then 2 more and so on until this afternoon I hit the switch and only 2 T8's fired, leaving me pretty much in the dark. And I figure the ballasts went south after almost 20 years. So the prices are pretty high on ballasts around here at Lowes and HD, I thought about the 4 foot LED replacements. Did some lookie lookie on you tube and they look like they might out live me. Has any of the collective replace them or use them, any problems ect?
i

I did the 4 footers in my garage several years ago. I wanted to eliminate the ballasts, but the stores around me just had the ballast type, so I ordered online. I don't remember where, but they were reasonable.

They give much better light and none of the old problems when humid, cold, etc. I like 3000 or 3500 degK color.

 

[KKBL]

You can buy 4 ft LED shop lights for less than $10 each that give more light for less electricity.
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B06XGBKDKZ?ref_=ppx_hzod_title_dt_b_fed_asin_title_0_0&th=1

 

[Russell King]

I suggest you think of replacing the fixtures not just the tubes with led tubes.

I replaced just the bulbs but had to remove the ballasts, Doing that is additional work and you also have to do some wire connections. It is all easy but time consuming. I recall that the led tubes did not fit well into the fluorescent tube holders and that caused some minor problems.

Research costs and time of replacement tubes vs replacement fixtures. You may find it easier to get the complete fixture than the LED tubes.

 

[Bee-Positive]

The beginning of my 30-year career as an Energy Engineer included lighting research with NYS and conducting lighting seminars training NYS building code officials. Don’t buy cheap, buy once – cry once (said many times here on OTT). Prioritize quality over price, get another 20 years from your LED lighting.

While there are great deals on Amazon and other websites, cheaply made products are not the best long-term value. Manufacturers cut corners by using substandard materials to reduce production costs. Poor quality components play a significant role in the premature failure of LED lights, resulting in early burnout and/or diminishing brightness over time.

Other issues that affect LEDs;

• Exposure to extreme cold, the lifespan of the LEDs will be reduced, become fragile and fail early.
• LEDs need a steadier, higher voltage power supply than incandescent bulbs. If the power supply fluctuates or isn’t strong enough, it can damage them.
• LEDs are susceptible to power surges, a spike in electricity could cause the light to fail. Use a surge protector in the breaker box.
• LEDs are sensitive to moisture and can be damaged by high humidity levels.
• While not as hot as incandescent bulbs they can overheat causing early failures (especially base-up screw-in units or totally enclosed units).
• LEDs fail faster where they are constantly switched on and off.
• LEDs generate harmonics that may be an issue in very large installations.

 

[Runs With Scissors]

As per normal, good advice above.

Lighting has always been a problem for me, and especially as I get older….I need more light.

Ballast lights “suck" (especially in the colder areas), and older “curly Q” florescent ones seems to be too “soft” and they seem to fade out quickly.


A few years ago, in my “pole barn”, I installed some “high bay” lights that work very well. I went to their website and typed in some information, and they gave me recommendations on placement and numbers needed.

(placement and number, depending on square footage, and height above ground.)





It worked out well, except for the fact that they draw so much current, if you plug in so much as a “night light”, it pops the breaker….So I will have to revisit that part.


In the “shop”…(aka my basement) I put about 1.23 billion (hahah 25’ish ) of these little 4 footers, at about 45 bucks each now….. (10,000 lumens and 4000K light)




https://www.homedepot.com/p/Metalux..._-337086439-_-3-_-n/a-_-n/a-_-n/a-_-n/a-_-n/a




They work well and don’t pop the breaker….(yet)

In the basement, I “daisy chain” about 6 per outlet so I can turn on certain portions of the shop and leave other parts off.

I have had them for about 3’ish years and recently added some more of the same brand “Metalux” (?)