Fluorescent to LED Conversion

[@Hello.ThisizBOB]

Ugh!! FINALLY!!!, A video THAT ACTUALLY explains in simple English, and SHOWS EVERYTHING that he is doing. He doesn't use annoying PORN MUSIC to drown out his audio and he doesn't have FAT hands in the way to see what is being done. Also his video shots show what I WANT to SEE. GOOD JOB. Now I'm going to replace my lights

[@SoatMon]

Lol. Thanks for the comment! Just be sure to get bulbs that don't use a ballast and wire up at one end and not both ends and you should be fine. There are some listed in the description if you need it. Good luck!

[@dennis_woo]

Yes I agree with you. This video tutorial is so simple to understand compared to the rest

[@annamaguire4470]

I have done this two other times before. But to be honest I am a 65 year old, disabled woman and couldn't remember. The past times I spent $20 more for the kit than buying 4 bulbs. In the kit was one bulb and instructions. So this time I watched like 5 videos and they looked so complicated. Your video was PERFECT! You made it so easy! THANK YOU!

[@SoatMon]

You're welcome. Make sure the bulbs you buy are link the ones listed in the description. There are alot of different configurations. You basically need a bulb that does not require a ballast and both the negative and positive wire attach to one end of the bulb. Good luck with yours!

[@etarheel1]

I took the old ballasts out. Wire one side hot and the other neutral. Put the 4 new led bulbs in, breaker back on, switch on, lights on. Awesome video, thank you for the knowledge and confidence to get her done!

[@SoatMon]

Glad it worked for you. Thanks for letting me know!

[@vw93to85]

This video was a huge help. I have 4 fixtures in my garage that hold 4 T8 bulbs each. I used the link you provided for the single sided bulbs and ordered them as well as new tombstones. Wired up the 1st one today and what a difference. Best part is, no more ballasts wasting energy.

[@SoatMon]

That's great! Thank you for letting me know it was helpful!

[@jamesdean9943]

Same tutorial video I use to convert the bulbs in my back garage some years ago. Back again to do the same in my shed. Thank you for this video!

[@SoatMon]

Thank you for taking the time to let me know it was helpful to you!

[@eminusipi]

I think that they are called "ballast free single ended leds." I have these installed in my kitchen with 5000K LEDs.These have to be the simplest ones to convert to. I've seen some very tedious videos on compatibility with various tubes. This is the way to do it, no new parts and no need to support obsolete technology. Nice job!

[@SoatMon]

Thanks Twidget, I wish the manufacturers would standardize led tubes so it would be easier. Thanks for sharing your experience.

[@BoogerMan309]

And just to think, this old man was going to get another ballast to replace the one I replaced 8 years ago. Not now !! Thanks for the video !

[@SoatMon]

It hope it's working out for you. You have to make sure you know how the bulbs are wired. There is not a standard and there are many different ones. There is a link in the description that will get you started on the right kind. It doesn't matter what kind as long as you wire them up according to the wiring diagram.

[@kennyc388]

I'm all done with power wasting ballasts !

[@rtgroffjr]

Soat Mon, Just installed two single ended LED tubes, exactly as you explained. Worked perfectly, got rid of the old ballast and the two fluorescent tubes. Thank you very much for your video. Very informative.

[@SoatMon]

Excellent, thanks for letting me know!

[@FreshAgenda]

I'm having a hard time finding single ended led tubes. Where did you get yours?

[@rtgroffjr]

@@FreshAgenda Either Lowes or Home Depot website, buy on website and have the tubes delivered to store. Worked for me. BC

[@johnhoffman4580]

Simple and to the point. Thanks for not another long and drawn out video.

[@SoatMon]

You're welcome John!

[@GoConfig]

Thank you for this very helpful video! Everything went well with my 4 light , (8 bulbs total) fixture conversions just as you described in your video. I agree with other commenters that your straight forward description and explanation was simple to follow and made it easy to implement.

[@demontekdigital1704]

5 yrs ago, and this video still helps. That's awesome, and thank you! My wiring was a bit different, but I managed to get it done. Mine had a red, white, and black solid wires on one end, and two blue solids on the other. The red wired to the romex hot, and the two blues had to be wired together, and to the neutral. I figure it must be an older light fixture. The only thing I did different from you was I made sure to cut all the wires as close to the ballast as possible to give me mercy in case I screwed up, lol. Come to think of it I can't remember where the black wire connected. Weird.

[@SoatMon]

Thank you for your kind words and for sharing your experience.

[@kevinfarley661]

i've watched your video first, then I tried to watch 3 other videos and O M G, yours was the most simple and TO THE POINT. Very helpful thank you, keep it up, keep it simple. YES!

[@SoatMon]

Thanks Kevin! I hope it went well for you!

[@TC-uy8ng]

Did this on 2 fluorescent fixtures in my garage. They had old T12's with ballast going bad on both. Worked like a charm.

[@SoatMon]

Excellent! Thanks for letting me know.

[@techhelp8104]

Great tutorial, helped me to rewire the unit myself and save £80 (to call an electrician), thank you so much!!!

[@SoatMon]

You're welcome!

[@Dcthetruth85]

I've binge watch alot of these videos, because I like to see how different people do the job.

[@usabox]

you made the instructions so clear. thank you! i'm going to try this on my own before i call my electrician.

[@SoatMon]

Be sure to get bulbs that wire the same way, there are a lot of different ones out there unfortunately. There is a link in the description to the ones I used. You can use that as a reference and get whatever you want. As long as you get comparable bulbs it should be easy.

[@davidangel5886]

Update - my tubs have a L for load on one end, and a N for Neutral on the other. The using of just one end will not work with my kind of bulbs/tubes. I had to use both ends and wire all the wires on one end to black or positive or Load wire. And wire all the the other end wires to the Neutral wires. And of course remove the ballast! Every thing worked after that! Thanks for getting me started, I have the feeling that the direct wire bulbs/tubes I purchased or the tombstones in my fixtures, were the issue compared to this details in this video, but this lead me in the general directions. Thanks!

[@SoatMon]

Glad it worked out for you David!

[@Mazel_Tov_888]

single vs dual end. this video works for single end. I wish he would've talked about the difference in the two.

[@Levman74]

No fancy editing and quick to the point, great.

[@SoatMon]

Thanks!

[@TEXASMOFO]

Thanks. I've been looking at many conversion videos lately. Your video is pretty much the most helpful, STRAIGHT-FORWARD "How-To" video that I've seen! 👌

[@SoatMon]

Glad it helped!

[@jakkew5753]

Good explanation. The way I've always done it is to connect the power to the end where the wires branch between the two tombstones, and cut off the wires on the four wire end.

[@SoatMon]

Thanks

[@Engineerboy100]

Wow, perfect. Thank you. Excellent job on the video. Now I can install my new LED garage lights.

[@SoatMon]

Be sure you look at how the new bulbs wire up as there is no standard for them. Some will be at both ends and some at one end. I hope it all goes well for you.

[@zxlism]

Best of numerous vids I have watched. Easy to understand , at least for me. Thanks!

[@SoatMon]

Thanks! I hope you're conversion goes well. Make sure your bulbs wire up the same way. There are different types.

[@zxlism]

@@SoatMon ha..sure enough..I ended up buying a box of 25 bulbs after i realized this was possible...but needed to wire differently...luckily i didn't do too many fixtures ahead, and was still able to re-wire them easily. Has definitely been a good learning experience.

[@BigMoe-wf7nx]

Dude, you are awesome!!! I have looked at many videos on converting fluorescent to LED lightning, but yours is the only one that I understood completely!! Thank you so much for showing me how!! I will subscribe to your channel immediately!!

[@SoatMon]

You're welcome. Be careful about the bulbs you buy, that will determine if you are successful or not. Different ones hook up differently. If you have questions about what type of bulbs to buy, follow the link in the description and then purchase ones that are the same kind. Good luck and thank you for letting me know the video was helpful!

[@BigMoe-wf7nx]

@@SoatMon Thanks, Man!! I appreciate all of your advice!!:)

[@buzzjones4939]

This is the single ended version. Thank you for the video.

[@SoatMon]

You're welcome!

[@roguekiter938]

Video was very well done! Easy to follow instructions made my conversion from a fluorescent T12 fixture to a LED T8 fixtures so simple!!!

[@SoatMon]

Awesome! Thanks for letting me know!

[@Abitibidoug]

This video is informative for converting a fixture to run on LED tubes that run on line voltage with no ballast required. However, some of these LED tubes are designed to run with the existing ballast that's made for fluorescent tubes. Make sure you read the instructions on the package before doing anything.

[@vermont1day3]

I have watched many of these videos but urs is the only one that makes sense to me. Thanks for details.

[@SoatMon]

Thanks for letting me know! Good luck with your conversion. Be sure to get the right kind of bulbs, there are alot of different ones that hook up differently. Look at the link in the description if you need to get an idea of what type I used.

[@daleramage7389]

Great video my son has been bugging me to Change to led.You just simplified it ,I thought it would be alot harder thanks so much Dale

[@SoatMon]

Be sure you look at the bulbs. Different types wire differently. Check the ones listed in the description for a start. Good luck!

[@RLJmusic4life]

I followed this video to the letter. I carefully listened to all the instructions and followed the example. I cut away the yellow wires which are not needed. WRONG! I should have left the yellow wires and connected them to the main white wire. Now I have to go buy another light fixture. Great tip. Thanks.

[@davidjlucas5947]

He never said cut the yellows out dip shit

[@obamabigears734]

No bullshit or crappy music, just meat and potatoes how to do it, well done sir!!!!

[@SoatMon]

Thanks!

[@edwardpratt920]

Thank You very much! Done in 15minutes❤

[@SoatMon]

You're welcome! Thanks for letting me know!

[@elliottlarson2205]

Very clear on how to do the wiring which is the key point.

[@SoatMon]

Thanks!

[@ExpertCarpetCareMeaford]

Wow, and that was five years ago. Today I went into Home Depot and can't even buy flourescent fixtures or bulbs any more, so I better learn how to do this!

[@SoatMon]

If you following my wiring be sure to get bulbs that wire up the same way there are several configurations. I have a link in the description that should get you started but some bulbs wire up one at each end, some need a ballast some do not, these wire up at one end as you saw in the video. Not to critical to get the same bulbs just pay attention to how they are supposed to connect up to the power source. I hope it goes well for you!

[@talonf50]

Appreciate this video. Made a nice chunk of change doing conversion work because of this. Thank you.

[@SoatMon]

Awesome! Glad it helped you.

[@ritaloeding8900]

THANK YOU! THANK YOU!! Straight and to the point. I Can do this now that I have seen your demonstration. Greatly appreciated.

[@SoatMon]

Be sure to check that your bulbs wire up the same way as the ones listed in the description. There are a lot of different ones.

[@leemoore7492]

Excellent video. I followed it to the letter and got a positive outcome. As Soat states, there is no need to worry about wire polarity, or even to fuss with replacing the tombstones.

[@SoatMon]

Excellent! Thanks for letting me know!

[@MarkWilliams-ix1qf]

The average consumer has more choices than you show. There are led tubes that work in existing fixtures with no wiring changes. They are the simplest to install. These led tubes are non bypass, called instant fit, plug and play and other marketing names, but the key fact is no wiring changes are needed -- no need to bypass the ballast. Simple, easy,and popular. You showed how to install a different type, called single ended bypass. They do require the wiring changes you showed so well, including bypassing the ballast. They are slightly more efficient and there is no ballast to fail. Long term these are better investments if you are willing to rewire. There is a third type, double ended bypass, which is wired differently than you showed. These are less common, just don't mix them up with single ended bypass.

[@Packinheat1175]

Mark Williams I like the plug and play bulbs but I discovered they only worked in the fixtures I had replaced the old magnetic ballasts with electronic ones.

[@MarkWilliams-ix1qf]

Magnetic (M) ballasts are typically very old and not sold new today. Most older M ballasts have burned out by now and been replaced by electronic (E) ballasts. M ballasts were sold in 40 watt T12 fixtures. Newer fixtures use 32 watt T8 tubes and have E ballasts. Therefore, That is the biggest target market for led tube replacements, namely replacing modern 32T8 fluorescents run by E ballasts. In my area, Lowe's carries only GE brand T8 led tubes only for electronic ballast fixtures, not magnetic. Again, that is the bigger market. Home Depot carries only one Phillips brand T12 led tube for only magnetic ballasts, the Phillips 40 watt equivalent T12 "Instant Fit" tube. I tried it, works fine. If you must keep your obsolete magnetic ballasts, try the Phillips T12 Instant Fit tubes. Or ... Home Depot/Phillips also offers a "Universal" T8 led tube that (they say) will run on either E ballast or M ballast, and this sounds even better --- but I have not tried one yet. Ahh... So many confusing options. And these options are available only if you choose not to rewire/bypass. If you can rewire, do it --- and use single ended bypass tubes. Getting rid of the ballast is always best, because it will fail someday soon, and with leds it just wastes energy and does nothing useful. I prefer single ended (SE) tubes mainly because I think double ended (DE) tubes have two needless risks. First, if you put a DE tube in a fixture that has not been rewired, it will burn out the ballast. Second, if you put a DE tube in a fixture that is rewired for SE, you either trip a breaker or worse, cause a fire. We don't need those risks. SE tubes just don't work in those cases, but no fires. No matter which, mark the fixture as SE or DE to prevent mixups.

[@Packinheat1175]

Mark Williams yes that makes sense. I have 16 fixtures in my house that was built in 1993. I just changed out the ballast in two of them today. One of them I’m certain was the original as it had no spliced wires etc. The new ballasts are Phillips Advanced T12 but it’s current matched the equivalent T8 Ballasts. The T8 LED tubes appear to be working fine so far. I couldn’t find much info online about using T8 LEDs with a T12 Ballast.

[@Jet-ok7qm]

But if your ballast is bad.... wouldn't this be useful?

[@joemckenna9644]

I agree with the folks that commented on how clear your instructions are in this video. I’ve watched lots of video and had gotten pretty confused. Thank you.

[@SoatMon]

You're welcome!

[@sniffles8655]

Depends on the bulb as well. Have to check and make sure because you will blow the bulb. Speaking from experience.

[@stansmith-h2b]

No mains terminal block. no cable tension capture. I wire them both ends so the tube works which ever way you fit them.

[@glennfelpel9785]

Good explanation on the conversion. I have gotten good at it too. On some of our mounted fixtures we figured out how to make the conversion by taking out the ballast and only having to make one wiring connection! (not always possible) For future reference it is good to mark which end gets the power. This was a good video!

[@SoatMon]

It would be a good idea to mark which end has the power, I had to open a couple of them up to find out because I couldn't remember. I got one of them backwards and it blew the breaker but didn't hurt the bulb.

[@chaiyasitkriengkasem8758]

วิธี​ติดตั้ง​หลอดนีออนled หลอดเดีี่ยว

[@patsy2902]

Thank you. I can do this myself thanks to your easy explanation and showing what you did so I can follow along. I subscribed and liked because your video was the best tutorial I found.

[@SoatMon]

Be sure you get bulbs that wire on a single end like the ones in the video. Here is a link to some to get you started. Not all bulbs wire up the same way. Good luck with yours. amzn.to/3ZXIdeL

[@patsy2902]

@@SoatMon Thank you. I haven't started the project yet but will check out your video again when I do. The project involves taking the hood of a fish tank and removing the florescent lamp altogether because my fish stress out when I turn it on. I was going to change to LCD but it's still going to be too bright for the fish and too much light. Now, I want to ask is it possible to remove the florescent light and hook up a regular bulb inside the hood using the wires already there. Because I want to be able to give the fish soft lighting and I can't with florescent bulbs. With regular bulbs I can buy lights at lower wattage and buy them in soft colours. If it can't be done I will just buy a new hood.

[@TerryGRozmus]

you fail to mention if it's single ended power or double somewhat confusing too the average person,you should be more specific.

[@CasperRc81]

He did in the video

[@58gennaro]

@Jimmy Japan Love Agree. Luckily there are a bunch on videos to double check. Can't do the job based on this video.

[@DRPowell]

What is confusing is the fact that not all LED tubes are created equally, nor are they labeled properly. There are bulbs powered off single end that require non-shunted tombstones. The black ‘hot’ or L1 connects to one pin, the white ‘neutral’ L2/N connects to the other. Some are labeled on bulb, some are not. Other bulbs are powered in the same manner as standard fluorescent bulbs, connecting red or blue wires to one end, yellow to the other. Not all LED bulbs can operate without a ballast. They require a rapid start or instant start ballast. They will not operate with a magnetic ballast. I just installed Sylvania 12W bulbs in an old fixture that would not light when directly connected to AC line. Also, don’t trust just any of the professionals at orange vest or red/blue vest stores. Find somebody who knows what they’re talking about. Get a second opinion if need be.

[@dant3113]

So this kind of wiring can only be used with a single sided light bulb right? But can wire it different for a double sided bulb if you wanted to?

[@clivejacobz2090]

Could not figure out what he did with the power lines that previously fed the ballast

[@scottybowles1909]

Best video I've seen on this, quick and to the point!

[@SoatMon]

Awesome! Thanks for letting me know!

[@terencegillespie6675]

Thanks for your time and interest. Ima go crazy converting these lamps.

[@SoatMon]

It can be very confusing. I would suggesting using the ones I had in the description and then you should have no trouble. There are many different kinds that need different wiring. Hopefully they will standardize it one day.

[@barronvonschneider2834]

Aren't those balast wires lower voltage wires?

[@bignflfan]

My ballast wires are 16 gauge. I don't like the thought of 12 gauge connecting to 16 gauge.

[@funnyfarmdad9997]

Thank you ! You may have just saved me thousands of dollars!!

[@SoatMon]

Awesome. Thanks for letting me know!

[@VoAmy]

It’s so helpful and time saving. Thanks a million for your demonstration 🙏🏻

[@SoatMon]

You're very welcome!

[@skyez326]

Hello, great videos! Could you please tell me how to draw electricity (to plug USB into) from this kind of fixture? Thank you!

[@CA-lk6fd]

Great video, great explanation! Rab lighting and some other manufacturers make some LED tubes that feed the line in on one side, and the neutral on the other. It doesn’t matter if you have shunted or non shunted tombstones if you use those types of tubes. Basically, all the leads from one side hook up to the black wire, and all the leads from the other side hook up to the white wire. These things are so awesome, they last much longer than fluorescent lamps, and the newer ballasts weren’t much better.

[@SoatMon]

Thanks for your kind words. It's really confusing out there, there are many different configuration so bulbs are not interchangable. Hopefully one day they will be standardized. Thank you for taking the time to share your experience.

[@Castermmt]

Great way to make a video. Yo are spot on and make it super simple. Thanks

[@SoatMon]

Glad it was helpful!

[@patrickobrien8851]

So, wire gauges. Do these change when we move from using a ballast to connect to the tombstones, and instead connect directly from the input power supply of 120V (and 15A, most likely)? Looking at an existing TRIAD ballast that I have, the input / output wire gauges look to be the same, at 12 AWG (from a chart).

[@hades-_-mervyn496]

My fixture had handy push in harness so I didn't need to buy any, they have 3amp slow burn fuse inline with power. I accidentally blew one. Should I just replace the fuse or bypass it ?

[@thurm101]

I am going to give this a try. My tired little shop light in my garage area has seen better days.

[@allenjeong3611]

need to explain what kind of LED before to install.very important!!

[@rockbottomresurge9665]

Looks Like I have my next DIY Project! Thanks!

[@SoatMon]

Great!

[@1200s-e8n]

Maybe make a video that simplifies bypassing the ballast to wire up a double powered LED since this is the most common LED bulb that the homeowner will have purchased already like I did.

[@jameslackey8595]

Thank you for getting straight to the point and clearly showing what to do ur awesome I had to skim through like 5 videos of bullshit before I finally got to yours thanks

[@SoatMon]

You're welcome! I hope it works well for you. Be sure the bulbs you use wire up the same way. There is more than one configuration.

[@DRPowell]

What is confusing about this conversion is the fact that not all LED tubes are created equally, nor are they labeled properly. There are bulbs powered off single end that require non-shunted tombstones. The black ‘hot’ or L1 connects to one pin, the white ‘neutral’ L2/N connects to the other. Some are labeled on bulb, some are not. Other bulbs are powered in the same manner as standard fluorescent bulbs, connecting red or blue wires to one end, yellow to the other. Not all LED bulbs can operate without a ballast. Some require a rapid start or instant start ballast. They will not operate with a magnetic ballast. I just installed Sylvania 12W bulbs in an old fixture that would not light when directly connected to AC line. Another point, don’t trust just any of the professionals at orange vest or red/blue vest stores. Find somebody who knows what they’re talking about. Get a second opinion if need be. Lastly, though it worked in this instance, you should connect power wires properly. Black wire is ‘hot’ and is usually labeled as L1. It should be connected to blue and/or red wires. The white wire is ‘neutral’ and can be labeled as N or L2. It should be connected to the yellow wires in fixture. This information is printed on most ballasts or is included in package.

[@SoatMon]

Agreed. Thanks for your input.

[@robertglover1296]

Yeah Soat Mon, wish you had of mentioned that in your video. Your instructions didn’t work with the GE TYPE B 32W LED Tubes I have because power is at both end I cut the wire at the non power end and going to have to get different ones now or Jerry rig it

[@vincroce3485]

Yeah, I had the ones needing both ends connected. Thanks.

[@Hello.ThisizBOB]

Thanks for the heads up. Still a better video than the manufacturer's. I just looked closer at the picture instructions on the side of the box and it does say L1 on one end and L2 to the other. Whew; no gerry rigging for me.

[@Zhuyou]

Best and simplest conversion ever. Good to know that when buying the LED light to get the Type B (which is the bypass ballasts one). Thank you.

[@SoatMon]

You're welcome! Be sure the bulbs you buy are wired the same way. There is not a standard. There is a link in the description that should get you started. Good luck with your conversion!

[@srishylannalliah3785]

Thank you so much , it helped me install my garage light . thanks again

[@SoatMon]

Glad it helped

[@pershop4950]

I guess I don't quite understand because I have put new / current LED tubes on a regular/older flourescent fixture with ballast, and it works without having to do all this cutting and re-wiring. So I'm wondering what is the reason for doing this? The video description says something about LED tubes that don't need a ballast. The video itself, doesn't say anything about this. But apparently there may be some LED tubes that work just fine with ballast, so that it isn't necessary to do this. Perhaps like you said in some other comment replies, maybe one day , the LED tube manufacturers will standardize all these tubes.

[@SoatMon]

The only real benefit of rewiring them is to remove the ballast which is a frequent source of failure with these fixtures. The bulbs I list in the description can be used with or without a ballast so I could have used them without rewiring it and just done it later if the ballast failed. Most bulbs however only work with or without a ballast.

[@scottlevy3274]

my fixture has 4 bulbs and 2 ballasts. is the process the same and just add the other set of wires into the same corresponding caps?

[@SoatMon]

Yes that should work as long as your bulbs wire the same way as the ones in this video. Good luck with your conversion!

[@dframed9305]

I have T12 F40 bulbs. It doesn’t say which end goes to the power. It does say remove this label before installing. The other end has the bulbs info. So, which end goes to the power? I gave this a try and blew both bulbs. Use this vid at your own risk.

[@SomeDudeOnline]

My fixtures are 8 feet but I can't find any 8 foot LEDs of this type without spending a fortune on a 25 pack. Can I just tie the excess wires from the side you're not sending power to into the source so I'm sending power from the same source to both ends and then just plug one led into one end, the other into the other end and zip tie them in the middle? Or is splitting the power source like that a bad idea?

[@hectorrivera4347]

Question don't afect the duration of the lamp life ?

[@lara-nikkiramsey9415]

My fixture looks like yours. I tried to follow correctly but when I plugged it in, it blew smoke out of the socket. Yikes. Do you have any idea what I did wrong? Thank you.

[@SoatMon]

The problem is that there is not a standard for how the bulbs are made. Some wire up differently. Even with the bulbs I used will blow the breaker if you put them in backwards. Check out how your bulbs are wired and connect them accordingly. That should fix it for you. If not look at the bulbs I used, there is a link in the description. Good luck!

[@bendiesel7356]

Can Input the 4ft LED class B in temporarily with the ballast wired up still ?

[@SoatMon]

It depends on how the bulb is supposed to be wired.

[@modipamakgato4091]

You've earned yourself a subscriber

[@SoatMon]

Thanks!

[@keithlong172]

I’ve got 8’ fluorescents in my shop. Will this work the same way?

[@SoatMon]

As long as you get a bulb that wires up the same way as these it should.

[@JeffreyFeyh-rb4xk]

And also certain bulbs require you to have load and neutral on opposite sides

[@SoatMon]

You for sure have to get the right bulbs.

[@user-uh1il9kj4e]

How do I determine if my led is single ended or double ended? It is a UL type c light with no instructions, disappointing from such a big company GE. Thanks

[@frankpugliese3783]

I’m putting new tombstones in because the ones in the unit got loose and are wiggling. Should the wires going into the tombstone match the wire gauge for the amperage of the circuit breaker?

[@SoatMon]

They only have to be sized for the number of amps or watts that the individual bulb will draw since they only feed that one bulb. You should be able to use the wires that are currently in the fixture since you are going from florescent to LED. Good luck and be safe.

[@robysvids]

Say your doing a kitchen light like that, but the wires go through the center. Would it be safe to pigtail two the wires using the wires left over from the ballace to the box? Those wires are pretty thin. My question would be how safe is that as i seen that done as well...

[@SoatMon]

I hesitate to give advice for something I can't see but LED bulbs do not use many amps so you if you are worried you can check the size of he wire and make sure it can carry the amps that your LED bulbs are going to use. Those wires were running the florescent bulbs which use more amps so I would think it would be fine but again I'm not an electrician. Good luck.

[@boudrouxatnightg2144]

how about light fixtures like this that are daisy chained to each other in pairs so basically i have the same fixtures here at the plant but they are hooked together in pairs would i just run the wires from one end of each fixture back to power and hook them up the same way just adding the extra wires from the other light and eliminate one end from the tombstone on each light fixture

[@kevinfarley661]

Ok, so first failure after switching all fluorescents out at work to led. I go home and try to do the same thing but ended up blowing two bulbs. Cut and ignored one end and used the other for power. Used two center wires for hot and two outside wires at the tombstones for neutral. Put it back together, put in bulb one and it blew. Thought maybe I put put the wrong end in power side (they were not marked either way on the bulb) reversed the second and immediately blew that one. Hmmm. I've seen some videos where they use both ends of the fixture, one for hot and the other end for neutral and got they got the light to work. I'm wondering if perhaps I should have wired this fixture that way.

[@SoatMon]

It's very confusing and varies per manufacturer as to how they hook up. The ones I listed in the description hook up this way. There are going to be a lot of issues in the future as people replace blown out bulbs with different styles. They need to standardize it. I would be sure to check the wiring diagram for the bulbs you buy.

[@romondoalexander8851]

Wait so I have LED’s now, does this video get rid of the ballast while keeping leds?

[@SoatMon]

It does if you have the right LED bulbs. Some are made to go with a ballast and some do not.

[@manaoharsam4211]

What is the rating of Romex wires? Are they 14 solid.

[@jvargas454]

I went to the Amazon site and these blubs say they are for T8, T10 and T10. One size fit all?

[@SoatMon]

The pins are the same on all of them, they are just different diameters.

[@Soulcommander]

Very nicely done!

[@SoatMon]

Thank you! Cheers!

[@donhinton8013]

followed the directions and viola it works. I bought the needed bulbs from Wal-Mart.com in a 6 pack vs. the 24 pack

[@SoatMon]

Awesome! Glad it helped you!!

[@junglejammer1]

Thanks, very interesting. I have10 lights on one side of my shop that have an annoying hum. Very distracting when I'm being quiet and trying to concentrate on something. Also, in humid weather, a lot of them won't light unless I run my fingers down the tubes. Might have to give these a try.

[@trwilkinson4623]

Told the hum can be from transformer or I found tweeking the tube in the fitting improved the contacts. Humming stopped. In humid conditions, found sometimes need to remove starter & place in warm dry place for 1/2 hr or so. Often rejuvenates them. LED circuit board are vulnerable to moisture. Exterior grade fittings are more durable.

[@Daniels0205]

So you don’t need a ballast?

[@rafaljankowski2807]

this didn't work for me. my tombstones are not wired together so what it did is to combine both of the wires from each tombstone to power wires

[@Rikkcas]

Can Wagos be used for the connections?

[@Lighting.Emergency.Driver]

As always, really helpful advice!

[@SoatMon]

Thank you!

[@jr-life]

so those snipped ends can’t become live because they are only fed live at one end?

[@jr-life]

ok i hear you… it’s labelled power end 👍 cheers

[@DavidBerquist334]

The end with out wires does it matter if it is shunted or not thanks

[@SoatMon]

It would depend on the type of bulb you buy. I would not shunt it.

[@boomerang6130]

Good video. Thanks for creating and sharing.👍👍

[@SoatMon]

You're Welcome!

[@JimBaldwin-x3t]

Failed to mention some led bulbs require an electronic ballast to operate. Not all led bulbs can operate without a ballast.

[@heidihudakoz9933]

The one part that was fast forwarded was the part I have a question on. Does he connect one white with two and one black with two or does he split the white because it looks like there are two white wires and use one white on each? I have two white and two black coming from the area of power. The other ones to.connect are red and blue. Can anyone help answer this?

[@sheepdog4656]

Shunted or non-shunted tombstone in this scenario please? If the fluorescent bulb was a T12, do we now use a T12 LED or T8 LED bulb? Does it matter? And what do we do with the ground wire?

[@SoatMon]

If you are using the bulbs I have in the description you would use nonshunted. Be care, there are many different types and they wire differently, there in no standard at this time. You could use T12 or T8 but I would suggest you buy ones like in the description so you will know how to wire them.

[@lxrrxl]

Great video. I was able to rewire my lights based on this video. Thanks.

[@SoatMon]

Excellent!

[@NadeemKhan-oe7uk]

Great video and easy to follow instructions for DIY-ers. Thank You

[@SoatMon]

Glad you liked it!

[@kyaandrade1604]

why is my entire house pitch black now. thanks pal. 😀

[@stevenpringle7813]

I your tubes are single ended. I can't seem to buy those in the major stores. Where do you buy them?

[@SoatMon]

There is a link in the description to some on Amazon

[@stevenpringle7813]

@@SoatMon Thanks.

[@yldbillgassett]

I have to confess, 2 things: 1st - I am not handy...handsome maybe, but NOT a handyman. So the 2nd thing is pretty self explanatory: You made this look way too easy and I smoked some tubes. You did not say anything about "shunted" or "non-shunted" tombstones. Does this matter in the video you have above? I don't feel like you drove home the single ended bulb piece well enough. You gave a recommendation for the bulbs you will receive a stipend for, but you didn't reinforce to those of us that lack skills or understanding of the "tronical" basics. I bought some led bulbs from Walmart, read the package carefully and after observing the disclaimer: "This bulb was designed to operate on magnetic, electronic instant start, program start and rapid start ballasts." I figured I was good to go and one of these was the wiring method you showed us ...doh.

[@SoatMon]

I'm sorry you had a bad outcome. I did the video because it took me a long time to figure it out. The ones I suggested can be used with or without a ballast. The statement on your bulbs indicates that they are to be used with a ballast, therefore the wiring would be different. If you still want to convert I would suggest you get some of the bulbs I listed, no matter where you purchase them. It can be very hard to figure out all the terminology and different bulb types. Hope that helps.

[@yldbillgassett]

​@@SoatMon, Thank you for the response. Hopefully others will read through these threads before embarking as I did...or you can add some comments above to make sure knuckle draggers like myself are dialed in. I made all the wiring mods and am somewhat committed to making the switch, so I ordered a retrofit kit (2 bulbs and non-shunted tombstones). I should be good to go. Thanks again.

[@MarkWilliams-ix1qf]

The key word is ballast. The Wal-Mart tubes work with most ballasts, and in fact require a ballast. Do not rewire. Keep the ballast in.

[@elmermelara6462]

Can you show how to do a 8' ×2 and 4 bulbs bul florescent light fixture to led

[@D-NICE33]

can I use a dimmer for the LED bulbs if I do this conversion?

[@SoatMon]

Depends on the bulbs you buy. They should say on the box. If you convert this way be sure to buy bulbs that wire up the same. There are some listed in the description if you need to check. Good luck!

[@rogerlenox5069]

Tried this and blew the breaker. The bulbs I have need power on both ends

[@SoatMon]

As I said in the video you have to have the right bulbs. Unfortunately there is no wiring standard for them. I see a big problem going forward as people try to replace bulbs and don't know how their fixture is wired. There is a link in the description that should lead you to bulbs that will work. Good luck!

[@videoslue]

So just remove the ballast and connect direct 120v to the led? Easy