Electronic ballast upgrade in 8' T12 fixture

I've got a bunch of these fixtures in my warehouse that have magnetic ballasts in them and I've got questions on how to wire the electronic replacements.

The old ballasts have 4 wires - black, white, red, blue.

The new ballasts (if I have the correct model) have black, white, yellow (2), red (2), blue (2).

Looking for a simple, to the point explanation on how to wire these ballasts.

If it matters, my lights are in rows of 6-9 fixtures per circuit.

 

The black and white are the inputs to the ballast and connect to the building wiring. The other wires need to match the diagram on the ballast.

 

Check this link out ,but normally there is a print on the ballasts .
http://www.atlaslightingproducts.com...g_diagrams.pdf
Geo

 

The fixtures are two 8' tubes ? (F96-T12)

Most 8' tubes have a single pin on the end (pushpin). If that's what you have..... you have the wrong ballasts.

 

Is the intent to install T-12 replacement electronic ballasts? It appears from the information provided this is what you want to do. I see no good reason whatsoever to do this. The best option is to replace the fixtures with modern T-8 lamped fixtures.....OR.....convert the T-12 fixtures to T-8 lamps with the appropriate electronic ballasts.

 

I'd rather not convert or change the fixtures as there are dozens of them in this room. I'm simply needing to change a bad ballast and can no longer buy a 1:1 replacement.



Here's the bad ballast. Sorry for the blur...pics that high on a ladder aren't my specialty.



Here's the ballast I was sold as a replacement. Could be the wrong one but I did check with a specialty/lighting place so I'm assuming it's correct.

And yes, these are 2x8' T12 fixtures.

 

Yes it looks like that one will work just fine. The yellows go to one end of the lamps (all pins on both tombstones connect to yellow). On the other ends of the lamps, both pins on one of the tombstones gets the blue wires, the pins on the other tombstone get the red wires. Your existing tombstones may have one or two pins. The new ballast merges all the pins on each tombstone together.

Black and white go to the incoming power supply wiring. A green or green/yellow is the ground to the metal frame, or the ballast itself may be metal.

 

You will be changing out everything shortly, T12 lamps are being phased out.

 

Another reason to change out is the greater light output using less energy with the T8s.

 

That's definitely not the correct ballast. GE 74473 is for 4' lamps. If you're going with GE, you want model 74474. You could upgrade to T8, but F96T8 lamps less common and pricey. Most people switch to 4' when going to T8. Personally unless you want to retrofit or replace everything, I'd just install the correct T12 ballast. F96T12 lamps have not been discontinued for the most part. Some phosphor formulations don't meet 2012 efficiency standards, but there are suitable replacements that pass or are exempt (Philips F96T12/Cool White Supreme, for example).

 

Then like I mentioned back in post 4 and pjc just brought up again... you have the wrong ballast. You need a ballast that works with single pin tubes.

1000bulbs/F96T12/Fluorescent/Ballasts_(Universal version ballast)

 

The majority of the common T12 lamps have not been manufactured since July 2012. Yes, there may be a few exceptions, but those T12 lamps that are still manufactured will be very expensive. There is still a huge existing stock of T12 lamps of nearly every variety still available, but the price has already started going up on them. Considering the OP already has the expense of a new ballast, I'd just start changing the fixtures to 2-lamp tandem fixtures using all 4 foot T8 lamps.

 

OK, got that and it gets me closer to a 1:1 swapout, but even the linked ballast has an extra wire than I have now. Where does the additional blue wire connect or can it be capped?

As for changing fixtures, I understand that is probably the best long term solution, but we have 54 existing 8' fixtures in this room (end to end) so adequate replacement would call for over 100 4' fixtures which is way past the scope of what I have time to do. It may have to happen eventually, but as long as I can go down the street to Lowes and get these bulbs, I'll stick with what we have.

 

OR, is it possible to get single pin T8 bulbs and upgrade using the existing fixture? I'm fine with an upgrade if the actual fixture doesn't have to come down (change ballast and bulbs)

 

They don't make 8' T8 tubes.

 

But they do make 8' LED replacements. Some of which do not require a ballast.

 

This diagram makes a little more sense. I'll compare this to the current hookup and see if it becomes clear.

My initial confusion comes in with the common/hot that runs from fixture to fixture down the line. It's not as straightforward as the diagrams due to those being tied in on every fixtures.

 

This would be my second choice after replacing the fixtures. Yes, the T8 lamps have single pins.

Sure they do unless they were just phased out, but I don't think they did. Some T8 lamps were phased out too such as the 700 series lamps from Philips.

Philips 8 ft. T8 59-Watt Cool White (4100K) Alto Plus Linear Fluorescent Light Bulb (15-Pack)-408617 - The Home Depot

 

expensive bulbs....ah the price of progress huh?

Does the slightly different shape of the pin make a difference? The t12 are a smooth/rounded pin and the t8 look like a pointed hex shape.

 

All 8 foot lamps are expensive, you may get a better price at a lighting supply house.

You cannot always go by just a picture, but I can tell you the lampholders are the same. I usually recommend the 2 lamp tandem fixtures because four 4 foot lamps are less expensive than two 8 foot lamps. 4 foot lamps are easier to transport, handle and store too. In your case you don't want to change the fixture body so this is the next best thing to changing the complete fixture.

 

Thanks Joe.... I didn't think the 8' T-8's were still available.

 

PJ, as far as I know they are still made, but I can't say for sure. I do know I have still seen a few. The 8 foot T8s never really caught on like the 4 footers and I generally never recommend them. I am not sure exactly what T8 lamps were phased out along with the T12s, but T12s will be available for a long time yet, they'll just keep getting more and more expensive, like R12 refrigerant.

 

You can still buy F96T8 bulbs at most major lighting supply stores or at any big box like Home Depot or Lowe's. A few years ago, I converted several hundred thousand 8 foot, 2 lamp, T12 fixtures with magnetic ballasts to 8 foot, 2 lamp, T8 fixtures with electronic ballasts. The energy savings was in the neighborhood of 20%. It was a very worthwhile effort. You only have to buy one ballast, it mounts in the slots where the old one comes out, and the wiring diagram should be printed on the ballast. Truth is, it's a very easy conversion with good returns; however, it will usually only cost a little more to replace the entire fixture with an already wired fixture that uses 4 foot T8 bulbs.

 

Check into retrofit kits / systems . Convert from 2 - 96" T12 to 4 - 48" T8 ( or , maybe LED ) .

The simple truth is , like it or not , everyone will have to make a change sooner or latter . Big Brother has spoken .

If you do not like it , try voting for different politicians . Blame them .

If you need to , just do them 1 or 2 at a time , as the old ones go out .

As far as retrofit kits , see if you can negotiate a price break with a certain quantity .

If you do it in house , fine . Do you have tall ladders or a scaffold ( can be somewhat safer ) .

If you have an electrician do it , do enough at one time for the electrician to put in a full day of work .

Where you have fixtures in continuous rows , I expect it to be more cost effective to convert rather than replace fixtures . Should be less labor .

Also , for safety , do not forget tube guards or wire guards .

God bless
Wyr