Installing Overhead T8 Light Fixtures

A guide to installing T8 light fixtures
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UPDATE 11/22/17: I have upgraded all of these fixtures to use LED T8 tubes for less energy consumption. You can find the video and product links here: • Converting Fluorescent...
UPDATE 2/14/14: I have had a few questions regarding the number of lights that can be connected to a single switch. I have 8 light connected to a single standard light switch. The rating on the switches are quite high.
The proper overhead lighting can make your shop or garage an pleasurable place to work on projects. It is an easy project to complete by most people.
This is a straightforward video that shows how easy it is to install additional lights in your workshop.
If you want to add more lights, you can use the 3-position Ideal brand connectors to gang on more lights. Here is a link I found that shows the wiring:
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NOTE: I am not a licensed electrician or contractor. The tips and direction included in this video are for informational purposes only. Consult an electrician if you have never worked with home wiring before.

[@BusyDadsWorkshop]

I have updated all of these lights including the ones I have installed in my garage with T8 LED tubes. Go here to see the video and get the product links: kzbin.info/www/bejne/hH-zcmefra17gZI

[@6771Randy]

Nice presentation! Sometimes the young dog does teach the old dog new tricks. This old dog just learned a ton of new tricks. Thank You sooo much!

[@BusyDadsWorkshop]

Thanks for the comment.

[@philipjc1]

Thanks for the great vid. Just the info I need to update my garage lighting. You showed the entire install with great info. I'm not an electrician but I feel confident I can follow your instructions. Thanks again.

[@rjrombal]

Ken, Thanks for your practical training video re: installing T8 fluorescent fixtures. Bravo!!!

[@BusyDadsWorkshop]

Thank you.

[@bigriverunner]

Excellent tips, very helpful in making my fluorescent retrofitting job easy.

[@arthamilton2379]

Good presentation. Would help a lot of people. I keep a current copy of my province's simplified electrical code because there are periodic upgrade rules for locations, combinations of circuits etc. If you can see the two points I'm about to make as safety suggestions, not criticisms, then my objective is met: A)when you form your loop for the earth wire, orient the hook so that the screw being tightened wants to tighten the loop, not open it. B)when you staple your Romex or other wires, raise the location so that an errant drywall screw or nail has less access to puncturing the conductor. Take care.

[@jaystovall6482]

Thanks for making and sharing this video. It answered a few questions I had.

[@kyumdean9412]

thank you--very professional--informative, concise and clear

[@craiglerbekmo1194]

Very easy to understand!!!! Good English and clearly explained. You'd be a great electrical instructor! Cheers!!!

[@shelleyleicht5498]

Thank you! Very helpful and informative (and easy!) We appreciate you posting this :-)

[@jdogsbad]

Thanks, it was a great video and I learned something as I am in the process of wiring my shop.

[@BusyDadsWorkshop]

Thank you for the comment. I would love to see your shop once your done!

[@mikesmith5683]

Thanks for the video! I'm going to do mine tomorrow!

[@a1m1erola]

Excellent instructional video...thanks

[@patrickproffer8455]

Summed up everything I needed to know to install my garage lighting in a easy to understand way. Very helpful. Thank you for the video!

[@HolzerDesign]

Nice work Ken!

[@ageneralao]

This was a great video. Thanks for doing this!

[@waynepurcell5482]

Thanks for the video! Exactly what I needed to know.

[@richardmcjimpson5812]

Thank you. This was very helpful!!!!

[@ppapnouful]

Excellent video Thanks

[@chagy93204]

Nice video and very instructive,, thanks for sharing it...

[@kevingplumb]

Very informative, just what I was looking for. Could you show how to add a switch to the lights?

[@alperez4086]

I appreciate the wiring to the fixture itself, easy nothing to it but you should finish with the wiring to the light switch itself! Thanks!

[@tobygutierrez9792]

Thanks very helpful, looking forward to my project

[@lympduck]

Thanks man. Exactly what I'm doing.

[@Nate-gh1hy]

Nice video, thanks for sharing....

[@DrJamesN]

Good stuff, thank you!

[@litehouse6]

Good video. Why not use the push in connectors for the grounding wires?

[@mattcicero8404]

Great, Thanks for posting

[@3alawi1982]

thank you grate job i want to know ho to do the samething when we have drop ceiling

[@AdamMargie4ever]

Awesome video good explaination detail

[@handyman6204]

thanks very helpful.

[@lander77477]

I like 5000k tubes, trickier to find but gives a really good color

[@BusyDadsWorkshop]

Agreed. This is an old video and I have since retrofitted all of my lights in my shop to 5000K LED T8 tubes.

[@YANZHANG100]

good staff, i am going for an interview for a lighting elctrical company tmr for the position of a TA , trade assistant, hopely u can give me some tips

[@bobbylassiter976]

very helpful.

[@BusyDadsWorkshop]

It is easy to hook a third light into the circuit. If you use the 3 position Ideal connectors I showed in the video it is simple. I added a link to a diagram in the video description.

[@michaelgordy6283]

Do those insure wire connectors work on stranded wire? The fluorescent light fixtures I have have stranded wires & I was curious if the wire was strong enough to push into the insure connector? Great video!!! Thanks

[@BusyDadsWorkshop]

I am not sure on that. Luckily the ones I had were all solid wire.

[@wolfbang010]

do u have a video on how to install florescent hanging T8 Light Fixtures the ceiling is not flat its /\ shape so i was thinking to put hanging fixtures 8 foot or maybe 4 foot not sure yet for i have not got the measurement of the room yet trying to get this room to be very bight. if u know where i can find a video on that because i have not found one yet on youtube

[@woo172003]

what was the brand of the twisties for the wires?

[@randyhutchins7159]

can you hook 3 of these same lights on 1 switch

[@21ducki]

Can u run wiring from a t12 to a t8 without harming any components?

[@jakeneux6195]

nice video man. I learned what I'm looking at. Joyces'..

[@randyhutchins7159]

Can you do 3 of these lights on the same switch?

[@randyhutchins7159]

can you hook 3 of these lights on 1 switch

[@brianallen0826]

What do you do if your home is pre-1974 and does not have grounded wiring, just white and black no ground?

[@Techmatt167Official]

yes you can. most light switches are rated for 500 watts so you dont have to worry about wiring even 5 lights.

[@levihulsey1849]

Don't use a razor to strip such small conductors. Use a pair of strippers to keep from damaging the wire. Cutting into the copper increases the chances of future shorts, broken circuits, and lowers the amount of electricity that conductors can supply to the fixture. I realize that the fluorescent fixture does not require all 15 amps provided by the 14AWG, but if you do it right the first time, you seldom have to go back and re-do things in the future.

[@TheSkepticalAtheist]

I've got a 20 amp circuit in my basement that I'm trying to add fluorescent lights to, meaning I've got 12/2 wire. Now, the wire for the ballast is a smaller gauge than the 12/2. Is it okay to connect the 12/2 to the ballast?

[@BusyDadsWorkshop]

***** Yes, you can connect 12/2 to the ballast. It is only going to draw the current it needs. The larger supply wire will not hurt.

[@tonya9603]

They make led light tubes for those it saved energy and a lot.brighter just cut out the ballast

[@BusyDadsWorkshop]

Yes that is true. In fact, I recently made a follow up video where I replaced the T8 bulbs with the LED replacements.

[@luisgar87gabriel]

Hi Ken, I was wondering how long does it takes you to install one lamp? I am trying to estimate the time that It would take to install about 100 lamps for a building. thanks

[@BusyDadsWorkshop]

I would approximate about 10 minutes or so including mounting. Each situation would be different depending on how high the lights are hung and how you are running wire.

[@TheSilverSurfisher]

Thanks for the vid (even though I'm late by a few years).... I only wish that things were a little bit zoomed in a closer shown so that we could actually see Up close how you or install in the wires and connectors and D sleeve and then the ground wires that were twisted together except era… it's so far away from did camera it is hard to see what's actually happening.....lol... (guess who is a better visual learner)…but again thanks for the Informative video because we still learned what to do.

[@BusyDadsWorkshop]

Thanks! I'll be doing another video coming up like this for LEDs as I am in the middle of a new house build.

[@s.moeller9543]

Would have been great if I could have just seen what you were doing close up!

[@BusyDadsWorkshop]

Susan Moeller Sorry for not getting closer shots.

[@BublisC]

Hate to break it to you... but if you don't know how to perform the applicable wiring, you need to watch some other videos before this one. Thanks for the great video @BusyDadsWorkshop

[@s.moeller9543]

:( Thanks a lot BublisC.

[@wisconsineagle6241]

The tutorial was pretty good but what is the EXTREMELY loud noise in the background,?

[@westfarms3694]

Cool

[@lenpiko6371]

I'm not sure how you gained access to the power wire as to connect the pairs of wire from one light to the other. Did you somehow disconnect the power wire from the fixture you're jumping from so you could wire it into the two clusters of wires? Any help will be appreciated. Thanks.

[@BusyDadsWorkshop]

Len Piko This connection process is referred to as a parallel connection or "daisy chaining".

[@amandamccarty9655]

i installed a new fixture an i was putting in bulb cause the end had come out it sparked an had flames the light switch was on at the time. what would cause this?

[@BusyDadsWorkshop]

Amanda, I would highly recommend that you contact an electrician. You had a short somewhere in the circuit. You were very lucky this didn't cause a fire. I hope you can get this fixed.

[@devinturner6577]

Is it normal to daisy chain the light fixtures together?

[@BusyDadsWorkshop]

Yes it is. It is a parallel connection as is very common. It is how your outlets are also wired in your house.

[@devinturner6577]

Thank you sir! I'm hoping to hang some nice lights in my garage to replace the normal light bulbs.

[@jlowy12]

that extra connection to the third electrical wire is not necessary, correct?

[@jlowy12]

except in this case but if there is no pre-existing branch circuit would there just be the single electrical wire to the power box

[@vsalvati78]

What is the meaning of T8 or T12? I don't even understand what we're referring to. Size?

[@commonman80]

So, I Guess We Can Assume.. The First Light You Wired? Was The Power From The Switch To The First Light... I'm Assuming, You Then You Bought The Power From The First Light You Wired Into The Second Light.. Which Completed The Circuit.. However? I'm Just Guessing Here... Thank You...

[@BusyDadsWorkshop]

Yes, that is correct.

[@annekandelsdorff6293]

What if i have 5 instead of 3 wires in the cord?

[@BusyDadsWorkshop]

Anne, you would need to determine if you have a 3-way switch circuit going on there. www.google.com/search?q=3-way+switch+wiring&espv=2&biw=1376&bih=698&tbm=isch&imgil=8M616FiEqVy1_M%253A%253BBKKSsfQxBWtmSM%253Bhttp%25253A%25252F%25252Fwww.how-to-wire-it.com%25252Fwiring-a-3-way-switch.html&source=iu&pf=m&fir=8M616FiEqVy1_M%253A%252CBKKSsfQxBWtmSM%252C_&usg=__RvSO_x9BFzGPlqb9W57pNfwXpxc%3D&ved=0ahUKEwiWjOeDrtPQAhUU_WMKHUJKBa8QyjcIJg&ei=YkhAWJbTAZT6jwPClJX4Cg#imgrc=8M616FiEqVy1_M%3A

[@randyhutchins7159]

can you hook 3 of these same lights on 1 switch