I just replaced the tube lights in my kitchen and they are flickering badly. They don't flicker when first turning the light on, but after several minutes they begin. Is this typical for new lights? I don't recall them doing this last time I changed them, but it's been a while.

 

Some tubes will flicker till they burn in but it is minor. What you are describing almost sounds like a thermal overload in the ballast. With the ballast uncovered run the light till they flicker then carefully check if the ballast is too hot to test

 

Yeah, sorry. I'm not real good at this stuff. About the only thing I understood was "hot". I can you can explain it to me, but you can understand it for me.

However, this same fixture was working fine until I changed the bulbs. If anything, I'd have to think I managed to screw up putting them in before I'd jump to a hardware issue.

 

This is a ballast. You need to see how hot is getting.



Then why did you change the bulbs?

Unless you broke something or they are the wrong bulbs I don't see how. Two primary causes of fluorescent light problems are the bulbs or the ballast.

Tell us the printing on the old bulbs and the new bulbs.

 

I removed the old bulbs because they were ancient and seemed to be going bad. When I removed them, I found the last couple inches of at least one end was black (maybe that's an indication of a overheat?).

I did notice something as I tried to play with it and get it fixed. It's a 4 bulb fixture, and it's the two on the outside that are flickering. I think they're on a circuit together and they flicker in unison. They also take longer to come on than the other two.

As for the bulbs, I do notice the old ones have quite a bit larger diameter than the new ones, but the connector seems to be the same. As for the printing:

Old Bulb

Phillips
F40T12/CW Plus
40 Watt
Alto Collection

New Bulb
F32T8/TL835
800 Series
32 Watt
Alto II Series

Both have a capital E with a circle around it and "Hg" with a circle around it.

 

You have a T-12 fixture. You can't use T-8 bulbs.


Old Bulb
Phillips
F40T12/CW Plus

New Bulb
F32T8/TL835

 

Well, crap.

Does the fact that two of the bulbs seem to be working mean it can work with the T8 bulbs indicate that it can use both, or is that most likely the issue?

And I was just looking for 48" bulbs at Home Depot and that's what they had. Are T12 bulbs something that can be readily found any more, or are they pretty dated?

 

T-12s are being phased out but you can still find them at real hardware stores and electric supply houses. No. Maybe you bought two T-12s and two T-8s. T-8s use a different ballast and wiring. You could convert to T-8 or just use LED tubes that do not need a ballast.

Just to verify check that the ballast or ballasts (there may or may not be two) are labeled T-12.

 

If the ballast is for T12 only I would recommend changing the ballast to a T8. You will get brighter light, faster start, and save energy with the T8 bulbs

 

Don't spend any more money on antiquated lighting, I've converted everything over to LED bulbs and thrown away all the annoying issues of fluorescent bulbs.

You will not be disappointed with the outcome!!!

 

I'm not even sure how to find the ballast. I guess I'll have to see if I can find a way to take it apart. It's not obvious when I take the panel off to change the bulbs.

 

Post a picture of it with the panel off. http://www.doityourself.com/forum/li...rt-images.html Usually though you will see a raised cover between the four bulbs. Just squeeze it and it comes out.

 

Cool, thanks. That's what I would have guessed but wasn't sure.

We were able to find some T12 bulbs at Lowes/ I'm sure I'll have to make a more permanent upgrade at some point, but right now that seemed the path of least resistance. Thanks for the help. I obviously had no clue there where different kinds of bulbs.

 

Glad you got it. Let us know when you're ready to upgrade.