Fluorescent to LED Conversion

[Yellowtail]

I've replaced most all my fluorescent tubes with LEDs which seem to be great. 

 

I have to remove the starter for them to work.

 

With the starter removed, is the ballast no bypassed altogether and the tube not just getting 220V?

 

 

[sometimewoodworker]

6 minutes ago, Yellowtail said:

With the starter removed, is the ballast no bypassed altogether and the tube not just getting 220V?

That’s right, there is a power supply at one end that rectifies and controls the current, it may drop the voltage supplied to the LEDs but that depends on the exact way they are wired up. 

[Yellowtail]

4 minutes ago, sometimewoodworker said:

That’s right, there is a power supply at one end that rectifies and controls the current, it may drop the voltage supplied to the LEDs but that depends on the exact way they are wired up. 

 

Do you mean power on one end and neutral on the other?

 

The tubes are great, but I'm not getting it....

[bankruatsteve]

21 minutes ago, Yellowtail said:

With the starter removed, is the ballast no bypassed altogether and the tube not just getting 220V

LED just need the L & N from 220V AC. 

[Yellowtail]

2 minutes ago, bankruatsteve said:

LED just need the L & N from 220V AC. 

 

One on each end, yes?

 

[bankruatsteve]

1 minute ago, Yellowtail said:

 

One on each end, yes?

 

Yes.. 

[Yellowtail]

4 minutes ago, bankruatsteve said:

Yes.. 

 

Thanks!

 

[stubuzz]

46 minutes ago, bankruatsteve said:

50 minutes ago, Yellowtail said:

 

One on each end, yes?

 

Yes.. 

I believe some have phase and neutral on one end only.

 

[Yellowtail]

5 minutes ago, stubuzz said:

I believe some have phase and neutral on one end only.

 

 

I read that, but I don't see how they would work in a can with the starter removed...

[billd766]

Like the OP I am replacing all my fluorescent tubes with LEDs on failure.

 

I find it easier to kill the power, disconnect the old fitting complete, unscrew the brackets and replace them, connect the 2 wires from the new LED unit  and then switch on.

 

Perhaps 10 minutes work at most.

 

Then just buy 2 new LED units complete, 2 foot and 4 foot, ready for the next time.

[billd766]

3 minutes ago, Yellowtail said:

 

I read that, but I don't see how they would work in a can with the starter removed...

Me neither, which is why I replace the complete unit.

[Yellowtail]

1 minute ago, billd766 said:

Me neither, which is why I replace the complete unit.

 

I see how they work with the starter removes and hot and neutral at each of the tube.

 

My fixtures are nice, I did not want to replace them, and half of them are two stories high. 

 

 About twenty long and six short in two days. The tubes are only about Baht 120 each, a little less for the short ones and they work perfect.

[sometimewoodworker]

6 hours ago, Yellowtail said:

 

Do you mean power on one end and neutral on the other?

 

The tubes are great, but I'm not getting it....

The PSU is at one end only so if you have line at one end and neutral at the other then there will be a wire running the complete length of the enclosure ( you can call it a tube but its function is just to defuse the light from multiple LEDs

[sometimewoodworker]

5 hours ago, Yellowtail said:

 

I read that, but I don't see how they would work in a can with the starter removed...

The starter is only of value with a fluorescent tube. The LEDs only require a line and neutral supply. 
 

the old fluorescent fitting is just a convenient place for the new LED to be. 

[EricTh]

I'm not sure about you guys but I find the fluorescent tube & starter last longer than the LED and can also be brighter.

 

I don't see much advantage of LED...

[sometimewoodworker]

6 hours ago, Yellowtail said:

 

One on each end, yes?

 

Maybe. It depends on the LEDs you get. There is no standard yet. 
 

Internally they need line and neutral at one end only so they will run a wire inside the “tube” if they are supplied at different ends

[lodstewart]

the big downside for leds , particularly in Thailand, is power surge. they will all blow when the first storm comes or

the not very stable 230v surges, so unless you have good surge protection , they will be a problem.

[sometimewoodworker]

6 minutes ago, EricTh said:

I'm not sure about you guys but I find the fluorescent tube & starter last longer than the LED and can also be brighter.

LEDs are very much brighter than fluorescent if you match the power consumption. 
Yes a single LED “tube” is possibly less bright than a single fluorescent tube. But if you match the single fluorescent with enough LEDs so the power consumption is equal the LEDs win every time. 

[sometimewoodworker]

1 minute ago, lodstewart said:

the big downside for leds , particularly in Thailand, is power surge. they will all blow when the first storm comes or

the not very stable 230v surges, so unless you have good surge protection , they will be a problem.

Yours may do. None of ours do. And we get quite a few storms, a substantial thunderstorm has just finished. 
 

Sure we have failures but none in association with power cuts or storms. 

[lodstewart]

4 hours ago, sometimewoodworker said:

Yours may do. None of ours do. And we get quite a few storms, a substantial thunderstorm has just finished. 
 

Sure we have failures but none in association with power cuts or storms. 

thats good, but I am not talking about power cuts, only power surges

[Yellowtail]

I'm in Bangkok and the power is good.

 

The LEDs are much brighter than the old fluorescents, but the fluorescent get dimmer over time so not really apples to apples. 

 

Love the instant on.... 

[sometimewoodworker]

3 hours ago, lodstewart said:

thats good, but I am not talking about power cuts, only power surges

The thunderstorms with assorted lightning strikes will do the power surges. as will the restoration after cuts. 
 

But for anything longer my under over limit controller cuts them off at the knees. 
 

My point is that our power is anything but stable and the couple of hundred LEDs we have aren’t  bothered so your claims that they are too fragile is not supported by real word usage. 

[lodstewart]

3 hours ago, sometimewoodworker said:

The thunderstorms with assorted lightning strikes will do the power surges. as will the restoration after cuts. 
 

But for anything longer my under over limit controller cuts them off at the knees. 
 

My point is that our power is anything but stable and the couple of hundred LEDs we have aren’t  bothered so your claims that they are too fragile is not supported by real word usage. 

exactly sir, you have power surge protection that will safeguard the led lighting, I said this in my first reply.

but not everyone has protection in place, and whilst thier old flourecesents will stand the surge, LEDs will not.

That was my point. thus it is a downside to changing to Leds that was worth making the reader aware of.

 

[EricTh]

12 hours ago, sometimewoodworker said:

LEDs are very much brighter than fluorescent if you match the power consumption. 
Yes a single LED “tube” is possibly less bright than a single fluorescent tube. But if you match the single fluorescent with enough LEDs so the power consumption is equal the LEDs win every time. 

 

The developer of the house I am staying installed LED round lamps, I have to change the whole thing instead of just the LED which is costly. So I installed the fluorescent lamp to replace it.

 

From my experience the ballast/starter/tube will last longer than the LED and cheaper to replace. Sure, the LED light might consume less electricity but the cost of replacing LED tube and installation cost will offset any savings from electricity.

 

In Thailand, it's difficult to find electricians.

[sometimewoodworker]

4 minutes ago, EricTh said:

The developer of the house I am staying installed LED round lamps, I have to change the whole thing instead of just the LED which is costly. 

What kind of fitting are you talking of?

[billd766]

12 hours ago, lodstewart said:

the big downside for leds , particularly in Thailand, is power surge. they will all blow when the first storm comes or

the not very stable 230v surges, so unless you have good surge protection , they will be a problem.

Up here in rural Kamphaeng Phet we get a lot of power outages and the LEDs work OK and they do stay on at lower voltages.

 

OTH we don't seem to get many power surges.

[Andrew Dwyer]

49 minutes ago, EricTh said:

 

The developer of the house I am staying installed LED round lamps, I have to change the whole thing instead of just the LED which is costly. So I installed the fluorescent lamp to replace it.

 

From my experience the ballast/starter/tube will last longer than the LED and cheaper to replace. Sure, the LED light might consume less electricity but the cost of replacing LED tube and installation cost will offset any savings from electricity.

 

In Thailand, it's difficult to find electricians.

By “ round lamps “ I am assuming you mean the following ?

 

 

Either way, this might be useful to some as these light fittings appear common.

 

My house has the fluorescent round tubes , with starter and ballast , fitted. As in :

 

The flickering and delay in starting is annoying when entering a room so I replaced 3 units with LED’s .

Lamptan 309 baht or CTL 209 baht from my local Homemart. ( bought 2 Lamptans and 1 CTL as a test ) just remove starter and replace the tube.

 

Went from 32W fluorescent to 24W LED and are brighter, 6 months later all is well.

[digbeth]

some LED tube come with replacement starter in the pack too, what does that do? bridge the terminal permanently?

[Yellowtail]

1 minute ago, Andrew Dwyer said:

By “ round lamps “ I am assuming you mean the following ?

 

 

Either way, this might be useful to some as these light fittings appear common.

 

My house has the fluorescent round tubes , with starter and ballast , fitted. As in :

 

The flickering and delay in starting is annoying when entering a room so I replaced 3 units with LED’s .

Lamptan 309 baht or CTL 209 baht from my local Homemart. ( bought 2 Lamptans and 1 CTL as a test ) just remove starter and replace the tube.

 

Went from 32W fluorescent to 24W LED and are brighter, 6 months later all is well.

 

It is important to note that the polarity (not sure if that is correct for AC) be correct for these or they burn out so fast there's not even time for Crossy's "Magic Smoke"....

[Yellowtail]

Just now, digbeth said:

some LED tube come with replacement starter in the pack too, what does that do? bridge the terminal permanently?

 

Good question, I have not seen this.