I bought these yesterday, from Costco, on sale.
The price was $7 per tube:
All is done, except for the last most problematic lamp, which has a buzzing ballast out of the two ballasts (and the other one is only lighting one lane).
So, now, my only decision is to repair or replace the one bad fixture.
Thanks for that advice.
I took off that center plate and found two old (made in usa!) ballasts, one of which was buzzing badly, the other of which I'm not totally sure if it's working because I could only get 1 lane to light up consistently.
I'll test the second ballast more thoroughly today as I couldn't figure out which two lanes went to each ballast, so I was getting confused as I put bulbs in and out.
If it turns out just one ballast is bad, can I just cut it out of the equation? I would think all I have to do is cut the black and white power to the bad ballast, and then cap it off with a wire nut.
Then I could either use the fixture with just two bulbs on the good ballast, or, I could pick up one of those T8 "electronic" ballasts, and run the T8 LED bulbs in them.
Does the fixture work fine with one ballast power line cut?
Thanks for the T measurements. After noting that the 16 bulbs were all 40 watts, and that the ballasts all said T12, they're the 12/8ths of an inch type, although they sure don't seem to be an inch and a half in diameter. They're about an inch, but they're definitely T12 lamps, so, that 12/8ths has to be taken with a grain of salt.
Likewise, the LED replacements are not a half inch either, but they're certainly smaller than the bigger fluorescents, so, I now know that I definitely have T8 LEDs replacing T12 fluorescents.
In each fixture there are apparently two ballasts:
Both ballasts were of the same type, with a sticker on each saying Universal Therm-o-matic rapid start ballast For two F40W T12/RS lamps, high power factor Cat No 446-LR-TC-P, 120V, 60Hertz, 0.8Amp line Universal Mfg. Corp, Paterson NJ, Made in USA Class P Automatic resetting thermal protected
One ballast is humming badly, so I have identified that one bad ballast. However, the other ballast must also be bad though, because only one lane lights up well in that humming fixture, so, that entire fixture is bad it seems.
I think I have these options:
Recommendations on how to proceed on the one bad fixture is asked.
If they are one inch in diameter they are T-8, not T-12
AFAIK, the offset phase doesn't offer protection from surging power/lightning strikes and/or component failures with the power company that causes incoming current to exceed what your appliance is rated for, no.
The LED T8 bulbs were almost exactly 1 inch based on measuring with a ruler.
The T12 fluorescent bulbs were definitely NOT 1-1/2 inches, but they were
1-3/8ths inches, which, I guess, is either a T11 or close enough to be a T12 (since they say they are 40 watts).
According to your package photo, the light output of your bulb is 1700 lumens.
A standard T8 fluorescent bulb provides about 2800 lumens.
So, you may notice a bit less light from your fixture after installing the LED replacements.
LED bulbs usually don't need a ballast at all. You might read through the bulb instructions to see if you can do away with the ballast.
Anthony Watson
No, it's due to industry demand for improved efficiency and longer life. The lighting industry is constantly developing new lighting to meet that demand, and it eventually makes it onto the retail/residential market.
When you're running an airport, or shopping mall, or manufacturing plant, or doing the lighting for miles of roadway, reducing cost and increasing service life are paramount concerns. To meet that demand, the lighting industry came out with improved-efficiency fluorescents, halogen lights, compact fluorescent bulbs, and now LEDs.
Thing is, as with everything, the quality of the product is only as good as its manufacturer. If you're buying generic Chinese manufactured lights, they will not perform as claimed. There's no 'company' per se. It's just a bunch of rebranders marketing the same cheap light under their own labels, but the lights all come from the same knockoff factories.
My brother was in the commercial/industrial lighting division of GE his entire career, so for decades I've been stuck with listening to him on this subject. On the other hand, he also supplied me with retail versions of the different kinds of new lighting in their earliest stages, which was interesting. But in the end, it's the same ol' same ol' - cost concerns drives innovation.
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