How To Convert Your Old T8 and T12 Fluorescent Fixtures to Brighter LED Bulbs

Here are the LED bulbs I'm using: amzn.to/35544X3
New LED bulbs are greatly superior to the old fluorescent bulbs. They draw far less current per lumen, so you can put a much brighter bulb into the same old fixture. But ... you (generally) need to modify the fixture first!

[@yeeeehaaawbuddy]

There are 2 types of LED bulbs like this. One will require power at both ends, and the other only needs power at one end. It's critically important that you always read the instructions that come with the bulbs before going forward with something that you saw on KZbin.

[@shunwong2717]

You're 100% right

[@1elkhair]

Thanks Cliff, I have lots of these to convert to also!

[@robertmiller7522]

Thanks Cliff. Simple and easy.

[@goforlaunch1958]

Great video! Easy to follow and it made my conversion and installation simple. Thank you again!

[@JimE6243]

Got by looking for fluorescent to led but as soon as I saw Festool in the into I knew I was in the right place.

[@akraiders3094]

Thank you, your video was very helpful. I recently did my garage lights and was really just wanting reassurance that i did it correctly, and would end up with an issue later on. But i did mine the same exact way so i feel a lot better lol

[@toymeyer2907]

You made it so easy. Thankyou so much

[@grambam]

Thanks cliff, good video

[@taharseba5379]

Thank you very easy and simple

[@AntonioGarcia-ly4cp]

thank you very much for this video, Mr miyagi thanks to your video, I got my led lights connected.

[@mobilecomptrek]

I have a fluorescent light with the neutral going to one end and not through the ballast like the one in you have. I couldn't find a video that had that setup until I came across yours. My ballast went bad recently and the manufacturer couldn't advise me on a replacement. Seems like a good time to convert to LED tubes.

[@user-ic1lt3ym6y]

One the most helpful ones

[@hermanmoxey1042]

There are TWO TYPES of led tubes. The led tubes like Cliff has here are DOUBLE ENDED and have a neutral wire going to one end, hot wire to other end. Both end caps on tube are white. The other type led tubes are SINGLE ENDED and powered only on ONE END. This type tube/bulb usually has a green cap on one end, a white cap on the other end. On this type a lead (hot) black wire goes to one side of each tombstone, a neutral white wire goes to other side of each tombstone. ALL WIRES go to green end of the tubes. There is no wiring on other white end of the tubes. Its only use is to hold the tube in place. (Some single ended led tubes have white caps on both ends so you have to know which type you have before wiring.)

[@yeeeehaaawbuddy]

Yeah, and it's worth pointing out that you should ALWAYS read the instructions that come with the bulbs, as this will ALWAYS make sure that you don't break stuff.

[@checkyoursix5623]

The colored wires are just extensions of the black 'hot' wire on one end, and of the white 'neutral' wire on the other end.

[@michael95621]

Great info and you even showed a strange wiring situation which will likely help the odd person or two in the future. Only recommendation I have is to throw in some information about shunted vs. non-shunted and single pole vs. double pole LED bulbs. I'm currently rewiring mine, but I am using single pole LED bulbs so my wiring is different and only one side of my tombstones are wired. It's still the same concept though, all the neutrals together all the hots together and then pigtail to the home wiring.

[@rrrsss4059]

Some ballast bypass led replacements bulbs are single ended powered not double ended. Need to make sure you have the correct one for this wiring.

[@mossy8273]

Great help mate .

[@CliffsGarage]

Glad it helped

[@user-dd8um1oo4h]

great thanks

[@curistinmatin7936]

Hi, sir, I really like the video you shot. Could you help us take a video of the installation of our brand's 4-foot led bulb? Looking forward to your reply.

[@mrxman581]

Can you use LED tubes that say they'll work with an existing ballast in a fixture where you remove the ballast altogether? It wasn't clear from the packaging whether these new LEDs require a ballast. Thanks

[@lubc8953]

What is the difference between a Universal LED and a Bypass LED? Is the Bypass more problematic? If your fixture is wired in, like in an old kitchen, don’t you need to know about detaching it from the wall or ceiling? And are lengths of bulbs rounded up, as 17 1/4 inch is 18 inch? Thanks for the video, better than most. Oh, and blue and red wires are there for decoration?

[@craigmcluckie7679]

Hey Cliff, out of curiosity, which T8 LED's did you end up installing? Also, did you notice a difference in the light output of the LED's versus the older florescent bulbs? I'm looking to convert my workshop over in the near future.

[@kennyc388]

Looks like Cliff doesn't bother answering questions.

[@atbattson]

If you buy a plug and play bulb that works with the ballast, but later the ballast dies can one rewire around the ballast and still keep the plug and play bulbs?

[@kennethpierce7304]

You fast forward the part someone might actually need to watch. You never explained the second hot wire. Does it connect to the blue and red wires come from the tombstones you pulled free ?

[@lonnie6361]

Cliff, please respond to this post. I’d like to know the answer also. Thanks!

[@kennethpierce7304]

@@lonnie6361 I asked that question 9months ago. I guess he’s not interested in clarifying it. I found a video that was much better than this one but I can’t remember the title. I’ll search for it and let you know when I find it again.

[@kennethpierce7304]

@@lonnie6361 look for Edison Electric video for converting fluorescent to LED. Best I have found. Converted every light in my shop using Edison Electric video and he explains it perfectly. Hope this helps.

[@user-wo7uv6wk5m]

What do i do with the green ground wire?

[@stevenandkimmetzger880]

Great video! I have T8 fluorescents in my shop. When I turn on my AM radio, there is static if the lights are on. I have been told it is from the ballasts. Am I right in thinking that if I make the switch to T8 LED's and eliminate the ballasts like you just did, the radio static will go away?

[@CliffsGarage]

Given that ballasts are known to be "noisy" and can emit radio frequencies, it makes sense that they would interfere with your reception. So, yes, if you upgrade to LEDs like I do in the video (actually remove the ballast) the problem should go away.

[@lukeapperson6500]

​@CliffsGarage

[@GreasyTom54]

I have cold start ballast T12s. Do LEDs need cold start tombstones, or are they “one-size-fits all” ?

[@noonecares8403]

One size fits all

[@gail6904]

someone said if u have an INSTANT START BALLASt that this wont work....or u have to modify something? I have a three wire BALLAST i removed how do i know if its an instant start,?? I have ONE long 96 INCH FLORURESCENT BULB..the ballast has two wires on one end, and one blue wire on the other end..i dont have tombstones i dont think..my old buld has one end not two?? I already removed the old BALLLAST

[@ncooty]

You mentioned that you can keep the tombstones (connectors). However, most LEDs require non-shunted connectors. If they're shunted, you might burn out the LEDs or short the circuit.

[@mcplutt]

There are two types of T8 LED bulbs. This type and the other type. The other type require non-shunted connectors, and require power only in one connector. One end of the bulb is marked "AC input".

[@bradh6185]

I have a four-lamp fixture. I took out ALL the wires except for one for each tombstone. I attached all of one end to the hot and all the other end to the neutral. But none of the lights are coming on. Any ideas?

[@fernanddubois1792]

You may purchased the wrong kind ( Like I did first). You need the “B” type. Some are so called “Instant On “ and designed to work with electronic ballast. It actually said “ to be used with electronic ballasts “ on the box. Returned those to Home Depot and got the proper ones elsewhere.

[@curtdunlap6818]

Thanks for sharing , Cliff! I have seen two different wiring methodologies for these conversions and really don't know which would be better economically, but I digress. What's your opinion on that anyway? My real question is that for your conversion, can the tubes be installed in either direction? I know for DC, flow only goes one direction, but with circuitry, does the AC get rectified to that required one direction? And, of course, there are those LED tubes that have the live conductors on one end and dummies on the other. Those definitely need to be installed in only one direction. Thanks for your video!

[@williamkudrna5843]

Seems like it might just be easier to replace the entire fixture. Thanks for the video.

[@m.harr.n.e.tennesseevet]

Only if you have $$ to throw away.

[@thelowmein9143]

Well done but I just want to make sure I understand about the ground wire, you pretty much don’t have to touch it right? Just leave it attached to the fixture from the home wiring?

[@CliffsGarage]

That's right, just make sure it's securely attached.

[@wpiofm]

Code calls for it to be grounded, but like any 120VAC device, it will operate without chassis ground.

[@iamric23]

I just place new leds T8/T12 tubes in today. They replaced the older fluorescent tubes. I flicked the switch and they worked fine. Should I be worried?

[@akraiders3094]

Only if your ballist eventually goes out.

[@iamric23]

@@akraiders3094 But no danger of a fire?

[@hmoobs1]

Is it just me not seeing correctly or you actually mixed different color wires together?

[@johndavis318]

Why not clean it up. You can make jumpers for tombstones and run one wire to each set of tombstones. Also, get rid of the two wire nuts in neutral wire. Just put a long enough wire from tombstones to neutral. Remove anything that could cause a problem? I believe that when wiring uses the KISS method. Keep it simple, stupid, and clean, which is always better. Just my two cents worth.

[@RandomVids519]

Tweee 12😅

[@danacofer8512]

Was not loud enough (for me)

[@akraiders3094]

Turn up your volume?

[@marks6663]

T8s are smaller than T12. the number refers to 8th of an inch. Both of those bulbs you were comparing in your video were T12

[@curtdunlap6818]

It sure looked to me like a T8 that he was putting in that fixture. The T12's he took out were a half inch larger. Besides, most LED tube replacements are T8 which makes the conversion economical and easy to do.

[@akraiders3094]

Ya those small ones were t8 and the thick ones were t12. He had it right on the video

[@towerdave4836]

Lamps or tubes not bulbs!

[@duained.worden9576]

You are only telling people how to wire type B bulbs .how are Type A wired.

[@akraiders3094]

Type a will work with some ballist but not all of them. If they don't just plug in and work they are wired the same way as the video. I bought type a + b hoping to avoid rewiring but I had an electronic ballist so I had to wire anyways but it's all the same

[@jimmypea2207]

Lots of info but shd not have taken 20 minutes. Got confusing. Give us 3-5 minutes worth of info.

[@CliffsGarage]

Sorry you didn't like it, but "bare bones info" just isn't what I do. I always explain not only what to do but why you do it and I don't rush through it. There's plenty of low-information videos like that already. Also, the video is less than 14 minutes, so it didn't take 20 minutes anyways.

[@percyfaith11]

Some of us have attention spans greater than 3-5 minutes.

[@chuckrafiki8649]

Sorry but this video throws me off ,way off. you dont show how its hooked up on the on end and your wording seems unsure of itself.

[@m.harr.n.e.tennesseevet]

He got his self confused.

[@akraiders3094]

I think you might be the confused one he definitely showed both ends and was very clear.

[@tonystone1016]

Your audio is confusing.