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I removed the ballasts in some of my 4' lights and direct wired the tombstones to 120V. I have replaceable 4' LED tubes in those.
The price of the all-in-one units at Costco are now almost cheaper than the replacement LED tubes so now I haven't bothered to convert any more lights. I just buy those Costco ones.
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02-23-2017, 08:58 PM
(This post was last modified: 02-23-2017, 09:03 PM by oscarMadison.)
(02-23-2017, 05:53 AM)Patsfan Wrote: ...
by the time they burn out in ten years I won't feel bad about replacing the entire unit. i wasn't worried about the cost but was just looking to avoid having to eventually take them down when just slapping in a tube is easier. Although sounds like it isn't worth worrying about. I'll just put them up.
mark
Ignorance is bliss -- I'm very, very happy  
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Those Feit LED fixtures are so light they include 2 small cable to suspend them. I can't tell you how much easier it is to hang these compared to the flourescent's with the weight of the ballast. If you choose to use the cable instead of screwing them to the ceiling, changing them out would be as simple as replacing a tube.
I started with absolutely nothing. Now, thanks to years of hard work, careful planning, and perseverance, I find I still have most of it left.
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(02-24-2017, 07:05 AM)fredhargis Wrote: Those Feit LED fixtures are so light they include 2 small cable to suspend them. I can't tell you how much easier it is to hang these compared to the flourescent's with the weight of the ballast. If you choose to use the cable instead of screwing them to the ceiling, changing them out would be as simple as replacing a tube.
cool, I've got one that I'm going to put up to replace a fluorescent in the basement, but I hadn't looked one way or the other to see how heavy they were.
mark
Ignorance is bliss -- I'm very, very happy
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02-27-2017, 07:12 PM
(This post was last modified: 02-27-2017, 07:17 PM by paulmaine.)
Whatever you do I would not get an LED light that has built in switches. They can be awful to change. My shop was set up to have high quality separate switches ($2 ?) which even bozos like us can change easily. Though LEDs last forever switches last only a few years.
Paul from the beautiful mid-coast of Maine (USA)
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Amazon has 24 packs of bulbs, replacement for florescent bulbs, read the questions and answers to make sure it's what you want.
https://smile.amazon.com/24-Pack-Hyperik...EPTG4Q608F
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mouse jockey
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are any of these shop 4' fixture mountable by any other way than hanging chain? I'd love to get more, but ones that screw right into the ceiling structure above-- not with hooks and chains.
I keep hearing on home improvement shows "these LED bulbs and fixtures will last 15 to 20 years"... i call BS! As someone else mentioned, sure the LEDs themselves will last a LONG time, but the junky electronics will most surely die before that... i've had a few LED replacement bulbs go already... so annoying!
Colin
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03-03-2017, 11:11 AM
(This post was last modified: 03-03-2017, 11:11 AM by woodmats.)
(03-03-2017, 10:08 AM)Cdshakes Wrote: are any of these shop 4' fixture mountable by any other way than hanging chain? I'd love to get more, but ones that screw right into the ceiling structure above-- not with hooks and chains.
I keep hearing on home improvement shows "these LED bulbs and fixtures will last 15 to 20 years"... i call BS! As someone else mentioned, sure the LEDs themselves will last a LONG time, but the junky electronics will most surely die before that... i've had a few LED replacement bulbs go already... so annoying!
Colin
Colin,
I've replaced about 25 CFL's with LED bulbs and re-wired 7 of my 9 4' shop fixtures to accept LED tubes with no failures yet. Replacing old bulbs with CFL's a few years back was a great disappointment to me. I installed 11 can lights elsewhere in my basement and used the higher wattage CFL's and 7 burnt out in less than 6 months. All CFL's in my home are now getting replaced by LED bulbs.
In my 12 x 16 basement shop, with an open ceiling, I have 9 4' shop lights, a couple are former chain shop lights where I removed the chains and screwed them to cleats between the joists to get the right height. As I said, I've rewired 7 of the fixtures, removed the ballasts and installed 23W, 5000K tubes from Green Light Depot ($7/ea) and they really put out a lot of light, perfect for my old eyes.
Mats
Mats
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(03-03-2017, 11:11 AM)woodmats Wrote: I installed 11 can lights elsewhere in my basement and used the higher wattage CFL's and 7 burnt out in less than 6 months. All CFL's in my home are now getting replaced by LED bulbs.
I suspect heat killed the ballasts, especially ballast-up orientation. I have some low-wattage CFLs in my office cans, and they're still going strong after many years, but they look funny (lotta open space around them), and when they eventually go, I'll replace them with LED par-type bulbs. I have a test LED 'bulb' directly over my main work space, which looks good also as it's actually a par-30 form factor that fits the reflective trim can well, and it's been working for a couple of years now, 11 hours a day, 5 days a week. I was concerned about the heat killing the electronics in that one, too, but it's been a couple of years, so I guess it's ok.
Tom
“This place smells like that odd combination of flop sweat, hopelessness, aaaand feet"
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(03-03-2017, 11:45 AM)TDKPE Wrote: I suspect heat killed the ballasts, especially ballast-up orientation. I have some low-wattage CFLs in my office cans, and they're still going strong after many years, but they look funny (lotta open space around them), and when they eventually go, I'll replace them with LED par-type bulbs. I have a test LED 'bulb' directly over my main work space, which looks good also as it's actually a par-30 form factor that fits the reflective trim can well, and it's been working for a couple of years now, 11 hours a day, 5 days a week. I was concerned about the heat killing the electronics in that one, too, but it's been a couple of years, so I guess it's ok.
Tom,
I think you are right, the ceramic bases discolored quickly. I used the "100W equivalent" CFL's in an open socket and those did not last much longer. Those CFL's were 23W and if the efficiency is supposedly so high, how can there be so much heat? The bases get smoking hot, unlike LED bulbs that stay nice and cool.
Mats
Mats
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