Replacing T12 fluorscent tubes with led ones

[JohnB]

Mum's rickety old house has 4' flourescent strip lights in kitchen and bedroom dating from the 1970s, I think they are starterless, as all we ever did is replace tubes, no sign of starters. 2 tubes have failed, and I wondered if I could replace them with led equivalents. The problem is they seem to only be the thinner T8s, though aesthetics don't matter, and talk about replacing the starters with dummys.

Could they be used in our starterless fittings? Rewiring anything would be very unpopular, as we want to let sleeping dogs lie with our electrics.

All this would be easier if I didn't have a frozen shoulder that prevents me reaching overhead at the moment...

[Watis]

I've replaced a fluorescent tube with a LED equivalent and can confirm that it is a very worthwhile upgrade - no more flickering and a useful saving in energy costs.

Bear in mind you'll likely need to make some wiring modifications to isolate the ballast and, as you say, the choke is replaced with a dummy. In my case the LED tube came with a choke-shaped fuse.

Any supplier should be able to advise what the necessary wiring modifications are for your fitting.

I use LedHut - no connection and other suppliers are available.

Watis

[sg31]

Here you go, have a look at this.....

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kK0GflJLpUc

If you are up for it you should find it easy enough.

Sorry to hear about the shoulder.I had the same problem and it can be excruciating. It clears up after 18 months of it's own accord. It's usually 6 months of getting worse, 6 months of staying stable and 6 months of gradual improvement. I had my left side operated on, which helped a bit but didn't cure it. Physio can help. My other shoulder started a year later, that's quite common apparently, I didn't bother having the operation on that one.

If you haven't seen the doctor I suggest you do, a frozen shoulder can result in some movement restriction going forward.

[JohnB]

I've seen a GP and had an ultrasound, its the physio today. Whenever I mention it, its amazing how many other people have had it too.

Doesn't it look easy in the video. Much harder when you have design of unknown ballast, probably magnetic, well above your head, and you are a short-arse with a bad arm!

[csearle]

Here you go, have a look at this.....

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kK0GflJLpUc

If you are up for it you should find it easy enough.

Oh my word. I am all for DIY but really these kinds of videos should come with a health warning. It was like one of those pictures kids get to spot ten dangerous things that are being done by a family around the house.

From memory: The check if it is really isolated was missing, no mention that circuitry varies enormously from fitting to fitting, conducting tools, wrong disconnection order, fitting flipped horizontally only during close-up, demo makes it simpler because he's not working off a ladder with his arms above his head, no check of the Earth connection (probably the most important bit),...

C.
[Edit: Oh and perhaps the most common discrepancy to real life is that there is often more than one cable presented at the fitting rather than just the one (flex!) shown. This might flummox the uninitiated.]

[jfgw]

To clarify:
The choke and the ballast are the same thing. The small replaceable item is a starter (not a starter motor as some people like to call it).

If you have an old starterless fitting, you will have to rewire it before replacing the fluorescent tube with an LED. You may need to either do this or replace the entire fitting when a tube fails anyway as T12 tubes are obsolete. Starterless ballasts were not designed for use with T8 tubes and you may encounter problems (such as flickering) if you use a T8 tube in this type of fitting.

Newer fittings without starters use electronic ballasts. The Philips instant fit tubes mentioned in the video are compatible with most but not all electronic ballasts so rewiring may still be needed.

Julian F. G. W.

[Slarti]

The plastic end cap on the fluorescent strip in our kitchen decided that it had had enough and broke, luckily not dropping the tube, so I needed a new unit.

What I have now is a tube shaped LED unit with 2 strips. It is quick, bright, silent and saves electricity and was much easier to fit than trying to bodge an old strip fitting.

Just a thought.

Slarti

[JohnB]

Thanks for all the advice. As any changes to fittings are going to be horrid, I've ordered more T12 flourescent tubes. The last 5 lasted 5 years, which is poor, but still better than re-wiring the house.

And I've got an injection for my shoulder, and hope my tall brother can come round fit them.

[jfgw]

Thanks for all the advice. As any changes to fittings are going to be horrid, I've ordered more T12 flourescent tubes. The last 5 lasted 5 years, which is poor, but still better than re-wiring the house.

Did you get spares? From here, https://www.lampshoponline.com/fluoresc ... tubes.html (click on "INFO"),

T12 fluorescent tubes have been obsolete since 2012 due to new government laws banning the production of them. Here at Lampshoponline we still have sufficient stock in all sizes ranging from 2 foot to 8 foot fluorescent tubes.

If you need to replace them again in 5 years, you might find them either very expensive or impossible to obtain.

Julian F. G. W.

[JohnB]

Amazon, 36 for 5, so those prices are keener.

Mum is 89, so 5 years is a long time now, but we said that 5 years ago. I might get some more from their from a different brand, I don't think the Brite Source I'm getting are very good.