Best video I've seen on this topic! I was nervous about tackling this project because so many times the situation I'm facing never looks like what the RU-vidr is showing. Fortunately, my wiring was exactly like yours so I just ran the video through each segment, paused it, did what you just did, resumed to the next segment and repeated your actions. I was so confident in each step that I put the cover over the wires, installed the bulbs, turned on the circuit breaker, turned on the light switch and voila... light! Thank you for making this job easy!
Good God, you are the 4th ballast bypass video I've watched and you are the first one to show without over explaining that ALL of the wires on one end go to hot and ALL on the other end go to neutral. I realize now every other video was doing this but explaining way too much. My guy 👊🏻
Not all connect in that manner. Some of them you can connect that way but you can also connect on one end to the two pins. One being marked "L" for load would get the hot wire. The other pin being marked "N" for neutral. Before one undertakes such a project it would do them well to do some research on the subject to achieve the best way of completing this.
I finally decided today was the day to give up my career as a professional procrastinator and tackle the flickering laundry room light. I had been determined to leave fluorescent behind and make the switch to LED. The LED bulbs I had ordered a couple of weeks ago were starting to gather dust in the corner so finally watched a few videos this morning and picked your video as my guide. Your instructions were perfect and I feel like I have a whole new fixture. Thanks for posting such great instructions.
Great viedo! I am a woman, 76 years of age. Your viedo was so clear and simple to understand! I can't believe I did it! Thank you so much, especially after watching so many other confusing videos.
I knew nothing about converting Fluorescent lights to LED lights prior to watching this video. If this is all there is to it, you made it super easy to understand, and super easy for me to do. I see there is no need for me to hire an electrician to do, especially since I'm a DIY person myself. Thank you for explaining exactly what to do with all the wires, and how to bypass the ballast (seems very simple). Others watching this video and who have already done the conversion: * Is it really this easy??? * Is there nothing else that has to be added (equivalent of a new LED ballast, or similar) for the conversion? * Are there different type of LEDS bulbs (like with and without ballast)? What's best? Cheapest? Most energy efficient? Thank you all and Johnny DIY 🙂
Very helpful. Your camera angles and description of how to remove the cover over the ballast saved me time. I converted a kitchen fluorescent fixture to LED Hybrid Type A+B today, and everything worked very well. No one locally sells the kind of LED tubes you recommend in the videos. I checked Lowes, Home Depot, ACE, and BatteriesPlus. But when I talked to a clerk at a local light bulb specialty store, he had heard of these kinds of bulbs and respects the product. He called them Smart bulbs instead of hybrid. I ordered from amazon, and installation steps were straightforward, just as you explained. I don't normally do electrical DIY. I rewatched your video many times to make sure I understood the steps. Thank you!
good job. clear and concise. at time of approx 5:17 your comment when splicing the neutral to the neg side was that, "like I said, it doesn't matter which ones go to which side." I was at a bit of a loss regarding that comment. but overall, the best fluorescent-to-LED switch out/ballast bypass directive I could find, Thanks.
You're very welcome, happy I could help you out 👍 Ohh I meant the black wire and white wire could connect to either side, interchangeable. Wouldn't matter which side was connected to which 👍
I had seen another video on this conversion and it was so confusing I didnt even try. The method was different too. This just caused me to add this back onto my list. Thanks for your video!
Fabulous! Can’t wait to do this over the washer/dryer! Side note. The second time you said “twist it clockwise” I was totally thinking “why would he make a point to turn it clockwise?”. Then, Bam! You totally explained it.
Thank you for your clear directions I did this to the two fluorescent fixtures in my closet. Using the LED Tubes in your links I found that I didn't need 4 tubes in each fixture like the original fixture had. With just 2 tubes per fixture I would say that I'm getting the same amount of light as I did when I moved into my house.
@@JonnyDIY Jonny, I also want to use just one bulb. (I have two blub fiictures. )Either florecent or LED. I haven't decided. Do I need to disonnect one of the blubs electric connection. If so, which one? Thank you, Mike
This may have already been said, but their are two types of LED Tube replacement bulb, Type B (which is what is being used here) and Type A (commonly call Plug & Play) which you don't have to bypass the ballast. Simply remove the old tubes and put the new ones in. Note: if the ballast is bad then the Type A won't work. You would replace the ballast, in which case you can use Type A or bypass the ballast, as shown here, and use type B.
To me it's kind of pointless to do what you call Type "A" because you would still have a ballast consuming electricity and producing heat. Trust me when I say those ballast transformers can get VERY HOT.
@@williamjones4483 Yeah, what usually kills the ballasts is when they run really hot, overheat, and shut down due to overheating. Also if you hear that the ballast is buzzing, it means the windings inside the ballast are starting to vibrate, again not good as it could fail at any point. When going for LED conversion you're really much better off not bothering with the ballast. After all, keeping the ballast and using Type A is only useful if you want to go back to fluorescent again at some point, which is pointless as fluorescent uses more power (and in some countries, they are even banning fluorescent bulbs). You really want to be taking out the ballast, taking out the starter (or using a LED specific start) and going Type B.
@@TheSpotify95 That's what I did. It was more time consuming but I completely gutted the fixture. Took down the tombstones and examined them to see if they could be reused. Removed ALL of the old wires going to them and for the conversion itself I ran black and white wires to only one tombstone as the LED lamps I used had pins on one end that were marked "L" for load and "N" for neutral. The tombstone at the other end was solely to support that end. One LED lamp produced enough light to replace both fluorescent tubes.
@@williamjones4483 I have all Type A because I replaced my fluorescent tubes before these fluorescent conversion videos became popular. It could be many years before my plug-and-play bulbs go bad for me to be able to change over to the type B tubes.
Just beware of one major item. There are two types of led replacement bulbs. One type like the one shown in the video, and another with a different wiring requirement. The other type only powers one end of the bulb, while the other tombstone is just a bulb holder. The bulbs are not interchangeable without rewiring the fixture to match the bulbs. Just pay attention to the directions on the package. Also, there are shunted and non shunted tombstones used. This style of bulb can use either,but the bulbs requiring wiring on one end only require non shunted tombstones, and usually come with the bulbs. I has converted over 1,200 bulbs at our church’s school and highly recommend LEDs
Yes you have to read the instructions and pay attention to the tombstones to be sure if they are shunted or not depending on application, there are also some LED replacement lamps that are ballast dependent and you will smoke the lamp if you direct wire them to line voltage and another type that can be used with or without a ballast. I do maintenance at a major airport and we have so many different types of lamps and fixtures (technically they are now called luminaries but I still refer to them as fixtures) there that it isn't even funny not to mention the new ones from the factory that come with an LED driver and LED strips instead of a regular ballast and those seem to go out or start strobing on a regular basis (the drivers are the weak link), we still have some T-12 ballasts in the older sections that haven't been converted yet and some still work since originally installed from the 70's.
@@AreaThirteenThirteen ohh nice so you know all about all the different types, that's cool. Yeah the integrated led panel lights don't seem to last long in my experiences so far. Hopefully they get better. Probably just a matter or making higher quality and selling for more money
Exactly right. Double ended LED bulbs can use the same shunted tombstones that the fluorescent bulbs used. Shunted tombstones have both contacts on each tombstone shorted together. The single ended wiring requires non shunted tombstones, where the contact on each pin is electrically isolated from the opposite one. If a person does not know, and uses single ended wiring with a shunted tombstone, they will be wiring a short from hot to neutral, with an immediate short and wires burning up as soon as power is turned on.
Thanks to your video and explanation I was able to remove my ballast and replace the bulbs with LED. My wiring looked exactly like yours although I have 4 bulbs. Thanks.
Jonny, once again, perfect timing. Have replaced every bulb in my house with an LED. Except the two big florescent fixtures in my laundry/mud room. Now those will be changed sooner thanks to your video. Didn't think to look for LED bulbs that would fit in existing fixtures. Have a great weekend and thanks again!
Awesome, glad I could help Chuck! Nice job, yeah I think I've switched to all LEDs now too, but I still have bunch of good but old CFLs in a box I need to use or recycle. You too, have a great weekend 👍
Johnny, removing the balest is the best way. The direct to balast conversion still has the tubes taking that initial spike to start regular florescent tubes.
Thanks for a non-boring video. I am a retired electrician and did my can lights to Led but now the 4 tube garage florescent just went bad again. Looking into replacing and they want a fortune for a 4 lamp fixture, With your video I am going to retube to led, Thanks for a good video.
Great video and spot on with the instructions. I referenced the video as I replaced the lights in one of my bathrooms. Much appreciate the video and how-to instructions.
I had no idea this bypass method existed, but this worked like a charm at my house. Now we can see in our basement! The fixtures are recessed into a dropped ceiling, so I appreciated how simple this was.
This looks so easy. I got 24 used LED T8 double ended Type B lamps from Amazon for about $1 each. It’s way cheaper and easier for me to do ballast bypass than to try and replace the fixtures. In this case I can simply leave the fixtures in place. They are hanging from the ceiling joists inside of a drop ceiling in a finished basement. They would be hard to remove and reinstall.
I have wondered how to do that but haven't been asked by anyone to do it. Very good presentation! Added benefit: that weird fluorescent mercury color is gone.
Thanks Jonny - I have been sitting on LED bulbs J bought in Jan 2022… have been looking for LED ballasts for a long time. I guess I can’t find them because I don’t need them. Much appreciated.
This is an excellent video brother, simple and easy to follow. As a hospital maintenance mechanic, I changed hundreds if not thousands of tubes and ballasts in my 20 years there. This would have been a huge improvement in energy consumption costs, not to mention tube costs! Thank you for making this video. God bless. Rev. D.
Thanks. Bummer, ohh well they seem to last a long time. You can get led bulbs that'll work with ballasts too, if you want to enjoy some of the led benefits like brighter light and usually a bit lower energy use
I have LEDs over my pool table. My fixture is hard to get into. I used the plug 'n' play version 4ft bulbs. I can go back to fluorescent if I want to. At least now, I know how to wire them if the ballast ever goes bad. Thanks for the video. 💡
Awesome, yeah I'm pretty sure one of my ballasts was out so I went ahead and did this method. You're welcome, happy to help. Enjoy the new brightly lit pool table! 💕🎱👍
I've gone down a similar road. I recently replaced all my 4' T-12 fixtures w/ 4' LED integrated fixtures. 50000 hrs life for those fixtures which at 5hrs/day use translates to 27.4 yrs of life. That's long time without changing bulbs. 😎
I've been converting some of mine to LED. The wiring diags. in the package a pretty fehken simple. I've salvaged a couple of 40s era fixtures, got replament ends from AMZN as the bakelite ends were cracked. Also, just make sure to mark fixtures at to what they require if you are going to mod some over time.
@JonnyDIY Yep, indeed. Heavy AF. steel. There are 2 ballasts that weigh about 20lb. They are now object d'art on the wall. :) the bonus with the LED tubes is no more toxic glass shards .
Thanks bro I converted mine with ease with your directions. The hardest part for me was stripping the wires lol . Thanks again and keep up the great content.
It’s funny that two videos that did great are a before and after, this and the toilet video, i would keep doing that. I am going to try it for one of my solar videos,. I started using a new setup for diy videos, a GoPro, media mod, lume cube light, mini dead cat mic, plus DJI mic 2 lav on me. The audio is split right and left so i have two options int he edit. The light on the go pro really helps in dark tight places like this video.. love your stuff. Larry
Thanks so much Larry 🙌 That sounds like a great set up, I like the 2 audio choices. My audio isn't the best cause I'm just using the gopro internal mic. I'm thinking about getting the Rode wireless pro to up my game, guess I've just been dragging feet because I didnt know how much more difficult it makes editing and setting up.
Ok he is working on a fairly new fixture, that little clip he shows guess what it can be easy to loose. The tombstones, the pieces the lights actually fit into over time become brown and brittle so you need to pay attention to those,plus the bulbs can be a tight fit outside of that the long run it is a better light and you don't need that ballast making it a win win
Nicely made video with good info and thanks for that. One small item - you didn't tighten your wire nuts enough, should continue to turn until the insulated portions of the wires twist together once or twice as well.
Their real beauty is that there are tubes that will just go right into the existing fixture without having to deal with the ballast. Great for DYI projects for those who don't want to deal with wiring. Home Depot accepts used fluorescent tubes for recycling.
Here in Nevada, they took about 20 tubes that I had. I do have one fixture that the ballast hums and will require a replacement but will probably just replace the fixture with something completely different and not an integrated LED unit but something that takes screw-in LED bulbs. What really galls me are these "recessed" wafer LED units. When one fails in a few years good luck finding a match. Big believer in using conventional fixtures with replaceable LED lamps (bulbs).
@@kennixox262 nice, yeah I heard you on the integrated leds. I try to only use the screw in bulb fixtures too, but when I install wafer ones I always get a couple spares because you're right, they sometimes don't last very long
5:55 I'd like to correct your statement about power coming in from both ends on your double ended bulbs. Power can ONLY be connected to one end or you'll probably blow the bulb up. At the other end is the neutral line, It's white. The other type of bulb is single-ended, which means there are connections only at one end, while the other end has no electrical connections. On those you connect the power and neutral on the same end.
I'd like to add or reinforce some points to undertaking such a project. It is not overly complicated but it will pay off in dividends to do your research first. I undertook such a project in a hotel I worked in and made some mistakes along the way. Fist off, the ballast transformers can get VERY HOT. They can get hot enough to cause serious burns if not careful. Second thing is one LED tube is usually quite sufficient to replace BOTH fluorescent tubes saving even more energy. Thirdly, get the LED tube that does not require the ballast as the ballast itself uses much of the electricity and producing heat. Because 110 volt circuits are usually wired with black and white I chose to gut the entire fixture except for the tombstones if they were in good condition. I completely rewired the fixture using only black and white wires with black being "hot" or load and white being the neutral.
Nice video, and I'd always recommend getting the ones where you can bypass the ballast. Reason being that the ballast will eventually give way and fail. I think this might have happened to a few of the remaining fluorescent lamps at work, though I know some are just the starters (and bulbs) as the bulb was flickering, followed by going completely black at the end. Another failure is when the ends glow dimly - both of those are dead starters.
Exactly, and when the ballast does eventually fail, you'll have to either: 1) replace the ballast which will be "Bigly" expensive and hard to find by then, or 2) bypass the ballast and replace the bulbs again with LED bulbs that don't use the ballast.
The energy difference between a T8 fluorescent and T8 LED is about a $1.50 per YEAR if used for 3hrs/day/everyday. When you factor in the much higher cost of LEDs, and the significantly higher failure rate, florescents are much more cost effective. But overall, I still prefect incandescents to LEDs because incandescent bulbs have no flicker, are made of glass and metal rather than plastic and computer chips, and are just easier on the eyes than LEDs.
I'd write "BALLAST REMOVED, UPGRADED TO LED , 2023-01-15, JDIY", in Sharpie, under where the bulb goes as otherwise, once that trim cover goes back on, there's way to tell if the fixture is set up for LED or regular flourescent bulbs. Otherwise, great video, thanks!
Nice Video. Just wondering why you chose to cut the incoming power wires to the ballast, rather than simply undoing the wire nuts? In my opinion you left 2 unnecessary wire nuts in your wiring.
It’s often quicker and easier than untwisting old wires and nuts that have been together for who knows how long and have usually been over twisted. I often do the same thing he did especially when you are doing a whole buildings worth of these lights
I think you should say to test your voltage tester on a power outlet or similar, immediately before each use; a negative signal from the tester may be due to having dropped the tester (and its not working, bam!!).
Or just switch off at circuit breaker to be absolutely sure. Lights on........ all lights off. Or kill main switch as I did when extending kitchen ring circuit, fitting cabinet lights as well as adding 6mm oven radial etc. Everything on...... everything off!
Help! One of the two (connected to the same smart switch) fixtures in the kitchen went out. Put in plug and play LED bulbs. Didn't work. Found this video. Took out ballast. Still didn't work. Put new bulbs in other fixture. They work there. Do I need to take ballast out of both? Get a different type of LED bulb for the now ballastless fixture? Tell the wife to live with only one working?
Sounds like 1 of the ballasts may be out. I would take them both out and bypass both. Check your bulbs packaging to see if they are bypass compatible. If not will need to get those ones that say they are. Hopefully that will solve issue. That would be the only issue I can think of, unless something with the wiring was disturbed but shouldn't have been with a simple bulb change.
For anyone complaining about LEDs not lasting long. It is true BUT notice the warranty says (usually) 10 years. The manufacturer hopes you don't notice this, soooo keep your receipts and take tham back like i do, they warranty it so it is up to us to hold them to their word.😊
Never used those things. My buddy who's an electrician and I were just talking about them last nite. He said time will tell with them if good or not 🤷♂️ they fall apart over time you think or just not as good of connection?
@@JonnyDIY yeah man,been doing electrical work for 35 years,masters license,wagos are shit,make a good tap,use wire nuts. Good luck and good health to you.
This video was well done and informative. I wonder when the government will ban fluorescent bulbs in favor of LEDS. I also wonder who in government is getting a huge kickback from the LED manufacturers? Cheers!
Government phases out hazardous substance-containing bulb that requires special handling, expensive recycling practices, and can negatively affect cognitive ability. *huge conspracy*.
@@JonnyDIY my bulbs are 18w , have been for 30 years , I use 4 (should be 8 but I thought 4 were enough ) not sure if I'd use less energy if I bought led
@@smallfeet4581 they should be brighter for the same energy use or less. And also you can get dimmable ones. I think I'll put in a dimmer switch and see if the ones I have can dim. I like to be able to dim the lights.
@@JonnyDIY I've looked up led for the size I need to fit a 60 cm 18 w and they are running at 9w so a bit of saving I guess , it's my kitchen and I need the light there , for dimmable I'd need to get a different switch installed , but interesting video , the issue is the companies are charging a lot to get us to reduce our usage but bringing in more people to the country who will need energy 🤷, the need for nuclear energy to supplement green energy is wrong imo , I hate nuclear , I'd rather have solar but don't get enough sun for that
I've done hundreds of these, but none were this way. The ones I did had one end of the bulb that was dead and did not require any wiring connection. The other end had one pin for the hot and the other pin for the neutral. The bulbs would not work if you connected the wiring the way shown in this video. In my case, you would disconnect all the wires on the dead end and connect the hot wire to one side of the lampholder and the neutral wire to the other side. The bulb is marked with "L" for the hot side and "N" for the neutral side. If you installed the bulb the wrong way, either by turning it around so the live side is on the dead end or by installing the ends correctly, but turning the bulb the wrong way, it would not hurt anything, but the bulb would not work. Make sure you know what kind of bulb you have in order to wire the fixture correctly.
A good concise video on installing two bulbs. I need to see how to wire with 4 bulbs. I had a jack-leg electrician when I had my house built years ago so I don't trust all my electrical connections. At each end of my fixture, the tombstones on the outside bulbs are wired together with only one wire going to one pole. You said the bulbs don't care which end is hot or which end is neutral and I get that. What I need to know is: should I have two wires going to each tombstone at each end or can I get away with only using one each on the bulbs added with the hot or neutral wires? Using 2 wires each that would give me 9 wires to nut together. Or is there a better way?
Thanks! I absolutely hate fluorescent lights. They tend to give me headaches or make me sleepy, as well as just having an ugly tone of color. LEDs are much better!
Thank you for the video. But, I'd taken the wing nuts off that came with the fixture since you have enough wire, don't need any extra connections. That's just me, on what I'd would have done.
My kitchen fluorescent lights have been flickering for years even after buying dozens of new tubes. So I gave up using my kitchen lights. Maybe this will be a solution, but I don't think my units come apart like yours do.
It is wise to take your voltage tester to a known "live" source first. Once you establish your tester works and indicates "live", proceed to check the wiring you intend to disconnect. Next, make certain those wires are in fact "dead". Tester should NOT indicate live if you properly turned off the correct breaker. Once you check the "wiring" to be in fact "dead", go back with tester to that known source to prove tester still reads "live". Always prove your voltage tester works against a known live source before and after your safety check.
Pretty straightforward video but I have one complaint. That tester you used to determine whether the fixture was still powered or not should have been tested with a known live electrical circuit before trusting that your ballast was truly unpowered. You can do this by just sticking the little tab on the end of the tester in the hot side of a known good receptacle to see if it sounds. Not testing that electrical tester prior to using it is a good way to get yourself seriously hurt if the tester batteries were dead or it was just not working.
I always test on known good before and after (in case it happened to die during the few seconds after testing the first - might be overkill, but better than electrocution ).
I thought the voltage coming from the ballast output is stepped up (>120VAC). In any case, I would just change the fixture, it would be easier and less expensive to use E27-socket LED bulbs than any that are made to fit into a fluorescent tube fixture.
A great explainer video; thank you! Is there a less powerful LED bulb that works the same way? I installed this in a 4 socket fixture, and it was so bright we thought we were being beamed up!
There should be, either that or get dimmable bulbs and an led dimmer switch. Some will work with regular dimmer switch depending on power output, but if have to install a new switch just get the led compatible ones. I have a video installing switch too ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-rmWeao_yt3k.htmlsi=8PJJwweHAkbg0BNj
@@somaday2595 Current LED light bulbs are far superior to the first one I bought in 2011! ... Filament LED are particularly good, having a very incandescent-like light quality!
