8FT fluorescent light retrofit to LED

[Nukeman7]

@Donald, lots of good discussion on this thread from a year ago:

Fluorescent Light Fixture Upgrade to LEDs

Don't get the LED tubes that rely on a ballast as they will fail/flicker/dim in a couple of years. The direct wire to 120V AC current is the only way to go. I learned the lesson the hard way, but upgraded to direct wire LED tubes ~6 years ago and they have performed flawlessly. An added advantage is that they are instant-on without the 1-2 second delay of the ballast powered LEDs.

 

[2002 Maxima SE]

I replaced my T8 with Phillips LED that do not require rewiring. Those work fine as long as the existing ballast are good. One of mine failed so I had to switch to toggled. The rewire is simple and bypassed the ballast. I've used toggled before and if I had to do it again I'd use toggled the first time.

toggled 24 in. 8-Watt 6500k Bright Daylight Linear T8 or T12 LED Light Bulb

 

[Donald]

T12? I used these on my old fixture.

Feit Electric 40-Watt 8 ft. T12 FA8 Single Pin Type A Plug and Play Linear LED Tube Light Bulb, Daylight Deluxe 6500K (2-Pack) T1296/865/A/LEDG2/2 - The Home Depot

Feit Electric's 40-watt (60/75-watt Equivalent) Direct Replacement (Type A) Non-Dimmable Linear LED Tubes replace F96T12 or T12 fluorescent and LED tubes. They work with most existing ballasts for quick

www.homedepot.com

How can these fit when my T12 have two pins?

 

[y_p_w]

How can these fit when my T12 have two pins?

I haven't seen the single pin design before. Most homes use two pin per tombstone. I believe those are designed where one end is spring loaded.

467

leviton.com

2536

leviton.com

There are two pin versions for 8 ft tubes. I've used toggled, and they only have two pin ones where the power is on one end, but they include tombstones in the package as a dummy end to hold up the non-powered end. The non-powered end has these hollow pins for some reason.

toggled 64-Watt 4 ft. Linear LED Tube Light Bulb Retrofit Conversion Kit Replaces 8 ft. T8/T12 FluorescentBulb 8000 Lumens 6500K FC8TO4-D416-65321 - The Home Depot

This Toggled 8 ft. conversion kit with Dimmable direct-wire LED tubes (6500K/Daylight Deluxe color temperature) converts all T8 and T12 model 8 ft. fixtures from two (2) 8 ft. fluorescent tubes to four

www.homedepot.com

 

[twouvakind]

https://www.grainger.com/product/MAXLITE-Linear-LED-Bulb-8-ft-Nominal-799KX5

Learned of Maxlite on Garage Journal, 100% satisfied.

 

[thescreensavers]

I have the sockets that are 20 years old. Not T8. Before that. Largee diameter florescent tubes. I don't think I can get LED bulbs that will fit in the sockets I have.

They sell new sockets for cheap.

+1 on bypassing the ballast (wire 120 directly to bulbs) and buy some 5k
Bulbs.

Id rather have fixtures with bulbs than light strips that are not serviceable.

 

[tmorris1]

https://www.grainger.com/product/MAXLITE-Linear-LED-Bulb-8-ft-Nominal-799KX5

Learned of Maxlite on Garage Journal, 100% satisfied.

You can probably get them for half the price anywhere else. I have found Grainger to be insanely overpriced.

 

[Donald]

I looked up at my old 8' T12 lights and maybe they do have a single pin on each end. If so I can get the LED tubes at Home Depot but might need to order. I will get the ones where one guts the fixture and remove the ballast.

 

[y_p_w]

I looked up at my old 8' T12 lights and maybe they do have a single pin on each end. If so I can get the LED tubes at Home Depot but might need to order. I will get the ones where one guts the fixture and remove the ballast.

If you don't want to, it's usually OK to just leave the ballast in place. I've seen some isntructions that leaving the wires/tombstones in place and then reconnecting the wires is OK, but I've preferred to install new tombstones if at all possible and rewire where it's clearly black and white wires.

One fixture I couldn't figure out how to remove the tombstones, so I left it in place with the existing wires and just connected direct AC.

 

[Nukeman7]

If you shop Amazon, here is a dozen for ~$132 after applying the coupon. Reviews are pretty decent.

 

[Donald]

If you shop Amazon, here is a dozen for ~$132 after applying the coupon. Reviews are pretty decent.

View attachment 222423

Amazon seems to have quantities larger than what I need. Given that they say they last decades and I need only 6, I would end up storing 6 spares for a long time.

 

[mattd]

Don't know what you mean by retrofit. Just remove and bypass the ballast. Simple wiring instruction online. Takes 5 minutes. Then replace the florescents with LEDs. No need to hassle with replacing the whole fixtures. Just did that to the far fixture in the photo and will do the same for the near one as soon as the tubes go bad.

View attachment 222105

This. No need for a retrofit kit. Remove ballast and wire direct

 

[Nukeman7]

Amazon seems to have quantities larger than what I need. Given that they say they last decades and I need only 6, I would end up storing 6 spares for a long time.

Most of the sellers offer them in multiples of four; however, this seller has a 6 pack, but in 6000K color.

 

[Donald]

Most of the sellers offer them in multiples of four; however, this seller has a 6 pack, but in 6000K color.

View attachment 222512

I need 6.

 

[JTK]

I know no-name ebay and amazon cheapies didn't last for me. I converted a bunch of old 4ft T12 shop lights over to ballast bypass LEDs 3-4 years ago and all but a few have failed at this point. The drivers and all the associated electroncs are garbage in the cheapies. The LEDs themselves aren't the problem. I've had similar luck with name brand LED screw in light bulbs. Many of them haven't lasted nearly as long as CFLs I've had over the years.

 

[y_p_w]

I know no-name ebay and amazon cheapies didn't last for me. I converted a bunch of old 4ft T12 shop lights over to ballast bypass LEDs 3-4 years ago and all but a few have failed at this point. The drivers and all the associated electroncs are garbage in the cheapies. The LEDs themselves aren't the problem. I've had similar luck with name brand LED screw in light bulbs. Many of them haven't lasted nearly as long as CFLs I've had over the years.

I’ve has pretty good reliability with toggled. Had one fail due to a mechanical problem with the pins, but their warranty service was excellent.

 

[Nukeman7]

I need 6.

Yep...that is why I provided the pack of 6 LED tubes in Post #33.

 

[JTK]

I’ve has pretty good reliability with toggled. Had one fail due to a mechanical problem with the pins, but their warranty service was excellent.

I'm not sure what toggled means. I'm familiar with the "plug-n-play" lamps that can be used in an existing ballasted fixture and those where you bypass the ballast. The ones I used were ballast bypass lamps. I removed the ballasts. Good point on warranty. I probably could/should have looked into that. I would suggest that to anyone who buys these lamps. Hang on to your receipt, bar code, etc. You might get replacements mailed to you for free if you have duds.

 

[y_p_w]

I'm not sure what toggled means. I'm familiar with the "plug-n-play" lamps that can be used in an existing ballasted fixture and those where you bypass the ballast. The ones I used were ballast bypass lamps. I removed the ballasts. Good point on warranty. I probably could/should have looked into that. I would suggest that to anyone who buys these lamps. Hang on to your receipt, bar code, etc. You might get replacements mailed to you for free if you have duds.

I meant the brand toggled. I've seen them sold at Home Depot, as well as on Amazon or direct sales. Their LED direct-wire tubes are a bit different in that they have a rounded triangular shape. They have a lifetime warranty for tubes that are used in residential installations but I think for commercial applications it's something like five years. I believe they actually design in the United States, but their manufacturing is primarily in China.

Toggled - Lighting Optimized™ | Networked Building Controls

Toggled specializes in engineering smarter, more energy efficient and easier to use LED lighting and building control systems solutions.

toggled.com

There are some brand names too, like Phillips, GE, and Sylvania, but I'm thinking they might not actually design them, but have their label slapped on something made for them by a subcontractor. However, there's a lot of stuff out there where the longevity of the seller may not be certain. I'm not even sure about toggled, but they seem to be stable for the time being.