Direct replacement tubes for T-8 to LED

[Bryan Lisowski]

Has anybody used the direct replacement LED tubes in T-8 fixtures? I have a T-8 fixture in my shop and it takes forever to turn on and flickers a lot. I am not good at electrical and don't want to rewire a new LED fixture, so these are appealing. Has anyone used and are you happy with them?

[Todd Hyman]

I've used the Phillips brand that HD sells. I think they are about $6.50 each. I use the 5000k.

[Bryan Lisowski]

I've used the Phillips brand that HD sells. I think they are about $6.50 each. I use the 5000k.

Those are the same ones I noticed today, they also had Feit Electric at more than double the price. Todd do you like the Phillips brand you tried?

[Ole Anderson]

If the problem is with your ballast, likely continue with the same problem.

[Jim Becker]

My replacements are all Feit Electric acquired from Costco and they simply installed in both T8 and T12 fixtures.

[Curt Harms]

Has anybody used the direct replacement LED tubes in T-8 fixtures? I have a T-8 fixture in my shop and it takes forever to turn on and flickers a lot. I am not good at electrical and don't want to rewire a new LED fixture, so these are appealing. Has anyone used and are you happy with them?

Lowes has Utilitech tubes at $5.58 per that can be used either with or without a ballast. Direct replacement would include the ballast. I removed the ballast from fixtures I've converted, If it ain't there it can't fail and the ballast wastes electricity in this case because it's not required. The tube when used in 120 volt mode just has one end hot.

https://www.lowes.com/pd/Utilitech-3...ulb/1000083437

[Bryan Lisowski]

Lowes has Utilitech tubes at $5.58 per that can be used either with or without a ballast. Direct replacement would include the ballast. I removed the ballast from fixtures I've converted, If it ain't there it can't fail and the ballast wastes electricity in this case because it's not required. The tube when used in 120 volt mode just has one end hot.

https://www.lowes.com/pd/Utilitech-3...ulb/1000083437

Curt. Thanks for the link. I guess this would make the most sense, I could try as the plug and play option and then if the issue persists, then bypass the ballast. It doesn't look hard to do the bypass, just don't like doing electrical work on this house.

[Curt Harms]

Curt. Thanks for the link. I guess this would make the most sense, I could try as the plug and play option and then if the issue persists, then bypass the ballast. It doesn't look hard to do the bypass, just don't like doing electrical work on this house.

How hard it is to rewire depends on the fixture. Some are straightforward, others not so much. One thing that directions mention is that some tombstones are shunted. That would be a problem. I had a couple cheapo shoplights that didn't use a conventional ballast, the electronics were built into the end. I bought some tombstones from an Ebay vendor where the tombstones didn't rely on being slotted into sheet metal but had little ears with holes in them so the tombstone can be bolted into place. I then gutted the fixtures and attached the new tombstones. Would it have made more sense to just buy a new shop light? Probably, but where's the fun in that?

[Bryan Lisowski]

Well to sort of close this thread out, I was at BJ's this afternoon and bought 2 4 FT LED shop lights. Each light was $27 so I'm happy with that price.

[Brian Bumpers]

I'm new here but thought I'd chime in. I just installed 10 pair of led replacement bulbs, bypassing the ballast. Install was very simple. About 10 minutes per fixture. My only regret is I did not do it sooner. I think I paid about $7.50 per bulb shipped from 1000bulbs.com.

[Jim Becker]

Costco currently has the Feit LED Shop Lights on sale for $19.95 through about 28 December or so...