Fluorescent replacement LED tupe light connections

Thread Starter

AnalogKid

Joined Aug 1, 2013
10,987
After almost exactly 50 years, the ballasts in my basement ceiling lights are beginning to fail. It looks like I've put off converting them to 4-foot LED tube lights as long as I can.

Very few available options will drop in and work with *old* magnetic ballasts with zero wiring mods. Rewiring the fixtures is simple, and there is lots of room. The question is about the feed.

There are two options for ballast bypass, single-end and double-end. I've fought my way through phone systems for both manufacturers and vendors, and ***nobody*** will take a stand on which is "better"..Better could mean more reliable, or a higher probability of shaking out to be the preferred method. It feels like a return to the VHS-vs-Beta days, except then everyone had a strong opinion, and today no one does.

So, any y'all got experience, war stories, whatever on this topic. I'm rewiring around 40 tubes, and don't want to do it twice. Which feed method is least likely to bite me 10 years down the road? Here is a vendor image of the woring options.

Thanks.

ak
Bypass Wiring.gif
 

dendad

Joined Feb 20, 2016
4,452
The versions I used were single ended. Just take out the old tube and starter, put the new supplied "starter" and LED tube and that is all.
The pack came with a sticker to apply warning that the fixture is not to be used with the old flouro tubed any more as the starter is not suitable.

There was no wiring changes were needed.
 

Thread Starter

AnalogKid

Joined Aug 1, 2013
10,987
Rapid start fixtures: two tubes per magnetic ballast, no starters.

The issue is not the ballasts. All of the ballasts are coming out and being recycled. I'm hoping that someone with a connection to the lighting industry has an industry projection or some other data about the long-term prospects for each connection option.

ak

Moderator: please correct the typo in the title. tupe should be tube.
 

MisterBill2

Joined Jan 23, 2018
18,176
The claim that I got about the "bypass" LED lights is that only the single end powered ones, with both sides of the power on one end, are safe.
The explanation given was that if some fool is changing the LED tube with the power on, and puts the one end into the socket and puts their hand onto the pins on the other end, they would get a shock. This presumes that the LED tube presents a low impedance , which may or not be valid.As for which is better, putting a tube with both ends tied into a socket with mains voltage across the pins will do damage. Putting a single ended LED tube into a two ended socket will do nothing.
So my claim is they are incompatible and non-interchangable. Neither is better.
 

Thread Starter

AnalogKid

Joined Aug 1, 2013
10,987
Replacing the fixtures (light pans) is not an option. They are part of an acoustic tile drop-ceiling, and cannot be removed without massive effort. Basically, the 2-foot x 4-foot light pans were installed first, almost touching the floor joists above them. Then all of the runners for the tiles were installed and leveled. The light pans sit down inside the runners just like the tiles do, except they are completely unmovable.

As above, the rewiring effort is trivial. The only question is about the long-term pros and cons of each of the two wiring options, especially in terms of compatible tube availability down the road.

ak
 

Thread Starter

AnalogKid

Joined Aug 1, 2013
10,987
If color index isn't important (I'm guessing it is not since you were ok with Fluorescent tubes),
Incorrect on several levels. I never was ok with the fluorescents, but they were part of the house when we bought it and as above, changing them was not feasible. And, I worked in broadcast television for many years, so color accuracy always has been important to me. Which is why I never use standard cool white bulbs. I couldn't do anything about the fixtures, but I replaced the bulbs with something better a week after we moved in.
 

MisterBill2

Joined Jan 23, 2018
18,176
The one thing that should affect your choice would be replacement availability, and I find that the version with power at only one end is more common.
And as for those bargain, all in one fixtures that are so very cheap? Both reliability and electrical noise are usually compromised on them. They may be OK for garage lights used 15 minutes a day, maybe, but don't expect long life from them. And do not think that you will be able to repair the electronics when it fails.. They are not built to be repairable.
 
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