Any reason to hold onto T12 fixtures?

[atgcpaul]

So far I've swapped out 2 of my 4' T12 fixtures with the 4' LEDs by Feit from Costco. They're about to go on sale again and I'm going to pick up 4 more. Is there any reason to hold onto my old T12 fixtures (or even T8,? I thought I'd retrofit them to LED but those bulbs cost more than the $25 Feit fixtures so it doesn't seem worth it. The only good thing about the rEtro fit is that I can change out the lamps but by the time I'll need to change out lamps, something even cheaper should have come around.

Paul

[blackhat]

Only one I can think of is they don't fit in your trash cans and you haven't built up enough for a trailer trip to the dump.

[Herb G]

Keep them for me to harvest the ballasts out of, if they still work. I can't afford to buy new lights.
I need T12 ballasts. Not the transformer things they put in the super cheap lights years back.
I have to keep my old ones going as long as possible.

Matter of fact, I can use the whole fixture, as long as they work.

I'm serious, BTW.
Let me know.

[MarkSingleton]

I have old lights, T12 or the like in my attic, they don't get used much obviously.
But as they go, I will replace them with the T8 ones that are in my wood shop now. Because I can see the LED ones coming eventually.

I only throw stuff away when I am darn sure it is no longer of use. For me, or anyone else. And that does NOT mean I am a pack rat. If I have no use for it, a relative, friend or neighbor probably does. Or it can go the the habitat reStore.

[Bryan11]

I have 8' T12s in the garage/shop and was looking to add more light. The 4' LEDs have great reviews,but I'm a bit concerned about lifetime. Adding some T8 fixtures for 30% the cost made sense for now.

[Cooler]

MarkSingleton said:

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I have old lights, T12 or the like in my attic, they don't get used much obviously.
But as they go, I will replace them with the T8 ones that are in my wood shop now. Because I can see the LED ones coming eventually.

I only throw stuff away when I am darn sure it is no longer of use. For me, or anyone else. And that does NOT mean I am a pack rat. If I have no use for it, a relative, friend or neighbor probably does. Or it can go the the habitat reStore.

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T8 bulbs run in my T12 fixtures fine. Test before you toss.

[arthropod98]

what kinda fixtures are those feits??

we've got a drop ceiling in the basement with a good flippin' many of the T12 2' X 4' lights in 'em. gonna have to start swappin' those at some point, and am leaning towards the ballast-LESS LEDS -- i've seen those down to $8.99 / each.

[atgcpaul]

arthropod98 said:

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what kinda fixtures are those feits??

we've got a drop ceiling in the basement with a good flippin' many of the T12 2' X 4' lights in 'em. gonna have to start swappin' those at some point, and am leaning towards the ballast-LESS LEDS -- i've seen those down to $8.99 / each.

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https://www.earthled.com/collections/t8-...ant=13929188100

I think these are the ones you're talking about. I saw those, too, yesterday. I might order one set, but I also need to buy the non-shunted tombstones which then puts me about the same as Feit. I have some a 4' fixture in my kitchen. I might start there with these or the slightly more expensive ones rated at 2400 lumens.

As far as I know, the Feit are the ballast-less ones.

Herb, when I take apart the old fixture, I'll let you know what I find regarding the ballast. I know the 2 in my shop are the el-cheapo Lights of America fixtures from Lowes. You probably don't want those ballasts.

[arthropod98]

yep, those are the ones.

i was just curious what the actual fixture is from feit that you found.

a full LED drop-in trough kinda replacement for our drop ceiling is pricey, so i'd go the bulb route with the direct wire. kinda nice the tombstones i've been checking out are for both T8 & T12.

[Bope]

No need to buy non-shunted tombstones. These are single side power lights. Cut all the wires to the non power side. They are only plastic stubs on the light so who cares if the tombstones are shunted. Cut the wire shunt on the other side and rewire directly to the power. I should say check to see if the towbstones are internally or externally shunted.