Slightly off topic Florescent lights.

[nailshooter41]

led-linear-tube

I wouldn't buy a bulb from ebay, but those other prices are pretty good. I am on a maintenance schedule with a warehouse and I replace their floresce nt bulbs with LEDs now.

The way we do it, we use the same fixtures as the florescent bulbs. We dis connect the ballast, and direct wire the fixture bulb ends. We buy a new e nd connector to replace the florescent style ends ($2 ea.)that pops in afte r you remove the old end. My electrician can do a complete retrofit of a 4' , 4 bulb fixture in about 20 minutes.

That being said, there are direct replacement/retrofit LED bulbs available for many fixtures these days that could keep you from having to have an ele ctrician. Plus, there are many good videos and websites out there that sho w many options and methods to upgrade to LED.

I am getting more and more interest in that technology due to its long last ing bulb technology. In the warehouse, the savings of time/men/material is obvious. But in a client's home, earlier this year we took out all the fl orescent fixtures because he is an older gentleman and doesn't want him or his wife getting up to a 10' ceiling anymore, or take the chance of breakin g a bulb in his face when trying to install it. Smart guy!

My only thoughts here would be to check your local lighting supply before y ou buy. I have had terrible luck with HD's model of LED which is a Phillip s bulb. Some bulbs I bought from Lowe's were fine, but they quit carrying them. So I go to the local LightBulb Depot and purchase there. They have been in business for a long time, and have their own house brand that has a replacement warranty of 5 years. You take it to them, they hand you a new one. And at least locally, they have good prices and they deliver free of charge for orders over $65. Had to use the warranty once, and they gave me no static.

I don't want to ship a bad bulb purchased at HD to the Phillips assessment location and have them issue a store credit, then go back to the store to b uy a bulb, etc. When I had a couple of Phillips bulbs go bad in 6 months a fter installation and Phillips told me that I had to ship them bulbs to the m for inspection I haven't put a Phillips product in since.

Robert

[DerbyDad03]

All 3 of those bulbs have single pin ends. The tombstones on the existing T8/T12 fixtures will need to be replaced. I've run across a few sites that include single pin tombstones with their single pin LED's.

Buyers need to read the specs. If they don't come with tombstones, they will need to be purchased separately.

[Scott Lurndal]

But not for $5 ea. Or even $50 ea.

[Leon]

FWIW, the Home Depot brand bulbs have been replaced for me on a couple of occasions. They never wanted them back, they simply shipped me a new one.

[Leon]

Snip

LOL I have found that cleaning the friggin bulb helps dramatically with the decision to replace or not. It is shocking how much brighter the shop gets when I remove the dust from the bulbs.

[Sonny]

e for many fixtures these days that could keep you from having to have an e lectrician. Plus, there are many good videos and websites out there that s how many options and methods to upgrade to LED.

I recently retrofitted Mom's kitchen sink 2' T-12 bulbs to LEDS. It was ea sy, if you have a little electrical savvy. The worst part of this job was the awkward positioning of myself, half on the ladder, half on the cabinet and reaching up under the upper cabinet crown area.

I was unaware of how to retrofit, as I had planned to get a replacement bal last, but the salesman, at the dedicated electrical supply outlet, advised otherwise and described the retrofit procedure, thoroughly. Besides, Mom' s fixture was so old, the ballast for that fixture wasn't available, anymor e.

Sonny

[Keith Nuttle]

This has me interested. Since the lamps are at the end of an 8' ladder, I don't know if they are worth 2.5 times the price of a standard fluorescent light.

[Casper]

This is old news and they are called Dark Absorbers.

Just Wondering was heard to mutter:

[Spalted Walt]

Wrong! They are *EIGHT FOOT* - single pin is the norm.

Those with T8/T5 *instant start ballasts* (shunted tombstones) will need to be replaced *IF* they go the direct wire method.

[Scott Lurndal]

However, note that those at 1000bulbs are F96T8 compatible. It's not clear that they'll work with a standard F96T12 ballast. The compatible ballast list is short (9 entries).

The greenlightdepot does claim most fixtures (they bypass the ballast and thus require rewiring) and offers a 5000k color temperature - I just had an F96T12C50 fail, perhaps I'll try a pair of these and see how they look.

[Spalted Walt]

If the "standard F96T12 ballast" is the old (heavy) magnetic style, I'd say no, plug & play will not work. Only the more modern T8 'instant start' ballasts. I don't know if any of the T12 magnetic-to-electronic ballast retrofits would work or not.

more choices from 1000bulbs:

[clare]

Here in Canada COSCO carried the "direct fit" or "plug'n'play" LRDs at $18 and change (canadian) PER PAIR. US pricing is generally 20% lower in American greenbacks

[clare]

The 4 foot plug and plays I have installed are on a combination of magnetic and electronic ballasts - and both work just fine.

[Spalted Walt]

Yes, Feit Electric is the only company I'm aware of that offers a truly universal plug & play (including magnetic ballasts). I didn't include the Feit because for the 8ft it's still VERY pricey

$60 ea

[nailshooter41]

ent location and have them issue a store credit, then go back to the store to buy a bulb, etc. When I had a couple of Phillips bulbs go bad in 6 mont hs after installation and Phillips told me that I had to ship them bulbs to them for inspection I haven't put a Phillips product in since.

I believe you. But as a contractor, cost me money once with no effort to w ork out a good solution, and I am finished with you.

Phillips bulbs from HD has joined Olympic paints, GAF shingles (screwed one of my clients very badly), Thompson's Water Seal and a couple of others th at I won't use again.

Robert

[Scott Lurndal]

COSCO (China Overseas Shipping Company) is a shipping firm.

CostCo is the warehouse retailer.

[woodchucker]

Don't use Phillips bulbs!!! POS. I just replaced a sylvania that was years, old, and a phillips that was months old. They were in troffers in the basement, 2 adjacent troffers.

I've got to find Sylvnia, or GE bulbs. I won't do another case of Phillips. All the crappy Phillips died in months, I had 2 cases fail in a relatively short time. A total waste of money.

[woodchucker]

I won't buy a phillips bulb anymore. They don't last.

[clare]

All the current production stuff seams to be crap.

[Leon]

Agreed, at least the ones you find at the big boxes.