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john70t john70t is online now
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Join Date: Aug 2001
Location: midwest
Posts: 40,475
Those are "direct replacement" bulbs.
I've tried just about all of the brands with several fixtures which worked perfectly before. The fixtures had known-good ballasts. Tried every combo.
None of them worked.
I gave up after a half dozen trips to the store.

You want to use the "ballast-bypass" or "direct-wire" bulbs.
https://www.1000bulbs.com/land/how-to-bypass-a-ballast
The bulbs run directly off of 110V, instead of of the higher ballast output (which I forget at the moment) printed on the box.
Since ballasts buzz and use extra juice anyways, this is a better way to go.

Unfortunately they require some electrical work, but it gets easier after the first one.


Tips:
-Keep the wires as long as possible so there's room to tuck the connections.
-If using braided to solid wire, leave more exposed braided so it can wrap around a few times.
-Gently tug wires and wrap with tape starting at the wires to lock them together.

-Most brands use one bulb end for the connections.
-Some use both ends (GE and some dimmable it think).
-Check the wiring diagram. Make sure you stick with one style if you want to change bulbs later.

-Get the right color range. 3000 are warm yellow and 5000 are harsh blue.
-Bulbs will have different output. My kitchen overhead is way too bright now! I'll have to reduce that to 2 bulbs.
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Last edited by john70t; 04-24-2022 at 06:27 AM..
Old 04-24-2022, 06:24 AM
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