Shed lights - LED tubes

Hi all

The lighting in my shed is very dim and so, as per this thread https://www.woodworkforums.com/f245/shed-lights-227830 I thought I would replace the fluoros with LED Tubes.

Down to the local Green Shed and I bought these:
Osram 16W 230V 4000K LED Tube Light - 2 Pack | Bunnings Warehouse

Got home and I knew I was in trouble when I couldn't get past Step 1 - Remove the current starter. What starter? I didn't even know you could get fluoros without starters but I have them. Great.

Apparently those tubes only work with mechanical ballasts and I have electronic ballasts.

Back to the Green Shed I go, but do you think I can find any there that work with an electronic ballast? Nope.

tldr; does anyone know which item at Bunnings is the one I need, or do I need to go to a specialty lighting store (sounds expensive)

TIA

I don't think any LED tubes will work with the electronic ballasts.
LED tubes don't actually need a ballast to operate but for maximum efficiency, longevity and safety, there are special LED ballasts that they can be used with.
Most LED tube replacements have ballast (for LEDs its just a resistor) built into the drivers as do most LED drivers.
You will see these advertised as "bypass ballast" LED tubes.
eg 4FT T8 LED Light Tube Single-Ended Power Bypass Ballast Milky Lens 4500K AU RO | eBay
No idea of the quality of these but for $6 a tube there's not much to lose. No warranty period stated.

If you decide to install separate LED ballasts make sure you are sitting down when you price them :oo:
see The Complete Guide To Lighting Ballasts | RS Australia

FWIW I had corroding disintegrating magnetic ballasts in my 40 year old twin fluoro fittings but the ballasts were chewing 3x the power of the tubes so I removed the starters and ballasts and they have worked fine for many years.
These are the ones I used 10X 25X GermanAEG LED T8 glass tube fluorescent Light 9W 18W 60 120cm COOL FROST | eBay
These come with a 3yr warranty. I installed around 20 of these I'm my shed about 5 years ago and I just recently had to replace one tube.
However, please be aware of what I said above.
Please be careful about fiddling with these and check with your sparky before trying this on your fittings.

By the time you replace the ballast and the tube on an old fluoro light fitting to convert to it may be safer and cheaper to buy completely new LED lights. Then you'll know it should be a safe, efficient light.

It appears from a Youtube vid I watched last night, that I can just bypass the ballasts and wire straight to the LED tubes.

I will look into this more before doing it though.

My experience working with an electrician - you can replace your standard fluro tubes with LED tubes BUT the regular starter is replaced with a special LED type starter fuse and it can have an iron core ballast (or no ballast) but not an electronic ballast. They will not work in a situation where two tubes work off one ballast.

There are a variety of LED tubes available and they must match the fitting.
If in doubt seek qualified assistance.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Wongdai

The lighting in my shed is very dim and so, as per this thread Shed lights I thought I would replace the fluoros with LED Tubes.

Down to the local Green Shed and I bought these:
Osram 16W 230V 4000K LED Tube Light - 2 Pack | Bunnings Warehouse

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1800 lumens is not very bright -- even if it's an "upgrade"

I'm currently using LEDs that deliver 4000 lumens at 4000K.

Perhaps swap the Osram LEDs for something like this Deta 36W Twin Fluorescent Bare Batten Light With Cord And Plug Light output is 6700 lumens

Ignoring cost, is there a technical difficulty in replacing a neon tube light fitting with the newer LED tube fitting?
One would think that the respective "footprints" would be identical and it would only be a matter of wiring up the new fitting?

Yvan

As I said above, for standard fluoro LED conversion the starters must be removed.
If the old fluoro fitting contains a magnetic ballast these can be left as is and LED tubes installed and they should work.
However the mag ballasts will chew power, usually more than the LED tube.
Electronic ballasts cannot be used and need to be removed and then the tube fitting needs internal rewiring.
Apart from removing the starter these mods can be fraught with danger and are not recommended for DIY unless you know what you are doing.
For most DIY folk it’s safer to buy completely new fittings.

I'm starting to think this is more a job for my electrician, than an upgrade for me to do, which is a bit of a shame.

Wongdai have you seen this thread - LED Lighting Panels - where to buy? - and specifically the link in post #5 - Philips SmartBright LED Batten 11W (600mm) or 21W (1200mm). Could be a good way to go.

Go to Alltools in Collier road they have LED tubes that only require the starter to be removed and they work a treat. I replaced the twelve fluoro's in my shed with them along with replacing the dozens of em where I work when the existing fluoro's blow.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by rod1949

Go to Alltools in Collier road they have LED tubes that only require the starter to be removed and they work a treat. I replaced the twelve fluoro's in my shed with them along with replacing the dozens of em where I work when the existing fluoro's blow.

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Hi Rod, are you able to confirm that they work with electronic ballasts?

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Quote:

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Originally Posted by Wongdai

Hi Rod, are you able to confirm that they work with electronic ballasts?

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As I said all that needs to be removed is the starter. Go and get one and ask if it doesn't work will they take it back.... simples

When I bought mine they were supplied with replacement LED starters (which may have been to ensure that I removed the flouro ones).

Quote:

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Originally Posted by rod1949

As I said all that needs to be removed is the starter. Go and get one and ask if it doesn't work will they take it back.... simples

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Maybe a call would be better as he’s already done this once and probably doesn’t want to keep doing this. However, given the poor state of staff knowledge in stores these days maybe that would be just as much a waste of time. I don’t understand why the manufacturer can’t specify this as I’m sure it would save folks a few headaches.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by rod1949

As I said all that needs to be removed is the starter. Go and get one and ask if it doesn't work will they take it back.... simples

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Yes, but I have electronic ballasts which don't have starters. I think I said that somewhere above. Plus, the instructions specifically say (on the ones I bought at least) for use with mechanical ballasts - their bolding.

Not likely to work with electronic ballast.

With iron core ballast, you will need to change the starter to an LED starter (which is more like a fuse). If you just remove the starter you will have an open circuit.

There are a variety of LED tubes available, make sure you have the correct one for your situation.

Just changed some fluro tubes at home with LEDs.
Note how the LED tubes come with substiTUBE starter. This replaces the fluro starter.
Also in the packaging is a sticker (one for each tube) to say that it has been changed to LED to stick on the fitting.

Now the lights don't flicker when you turn them on.