6 Feb
2015
6 Feb
'15
7:20 p.m.
On Fri, 6 Feb 2015, Jon Elson wrote:
On 02/06/2015 11:42 AM, Chuck Guzis wrote:
These are single-ended-power type retrofit tubes, so a rapid start ballast
really shouldn't harm them (the two pins on one end are not connected to
the circuit). The older double-ended-power type retrofit tubes are the
ones to be afraid of...they are a shock hazard (well documented) if both
ends of the tube aren't fully seated. The double-ended-power types are
also now banned in many countries.
Are you sure those tubes on Amazon require the ballast to be removed? Many
of these retrofit tubes do not, although some require the starter circuit
to be bypassed. [In the US, with 4ft T12 and T8 fixtures, the starter
circuit is built into the ballast, but that convention isn't universal,
and in many countries fluorescent fixtures use a separate starter module
in a socket.]
On 02/06/2015 09:35 AM, Jon Elson wrote:
These also scare me, because they look just like fluorescent tubes, but
will almost certainly get fried if put into a fixture with a rapid-start
ballast. These drop in to the FIXTURE and socket, but the ballast needs
to be removed and rewired. Also, if somebody ever put a standard
fluorescent into one of these modified fixtures, it might be messy. These things are NOT cheap, but I'm expecting
to get better life than most
of the commercial units, which I think have crummy thermal design. I think
they work out well.
Commercial drop-in replacements have been available for some time. E.g.
http://www.amazon.com/LEDwholesalers-Brightest-Fluorescent-Replacement-Appr…
Not a bad price (comparatively) either.