Strip light problems

[AlisonH]

Hi everybody. I hope somebody can help me. I have a strip light in the garage. When i turn off the light and then turn it on it doesn't work. I have to fiddle with the starter to get it on and the same thing happens again if i turn it off. I have tried a new starter but that didn't help. Any ideas please, i would be really grateful. Thanks Alison

 

[DetlefSchmitz]

Two possibilities:
1) The starter socket contacts are oxidised. The only fix I can think of is to rotate the starter in the socket for a period of time to wear away the patina
2) You may need a new tube

 

[Lectrician]

Starter the correct rating?

New tube.

Failing ballast.

 

[ban-all-sheds]

Trigger's broom.

 

[foxhole]

Replace with led tube, no starter required.

 

[winston1]

Replace with led tube, no starter required.

But you will need 2 of them for the same output.

 

[JohnW2]

But you will need 2 of them for the same output.

In power and lumen terms, that's correct. However, as I have observed before, my personal experience is that replacing fluorescent tubes with LED ones of the same length (hence roughly half the power/lumens) usually results in perfectly adequate illumination, often not noticeably different from what one had before.

I suspect that means that the original fluorescents were probably unnecessarily powerful - people probably selected tubes on the basis of their length, without giving much thought to whether that resulted in 'more light' than they actually needed. Unlike traditional incandescent bulbs, one was never given a choice of 'power' for a given length of tube.

Kind Regards, John

 

[winston1]

In power and lumen terms, that's correct. However, as I have observed before, my personal experience is that replacing fluorescent tubes with LED ones of the same length (hence roughly half the power/lumens) usually results in perfectly adequate illumination, often not noticeably different from what one had before.

Interesting. I was in a building recently and immediately thought "it's a bit dim in here". Looked up and saw it was lit with LED tubes. I mentioned it and was told all lights had recently been replaced with LEDs.

 

[JohnW2]

Interesting. I was in a building recently and immediately thought "it's a bit dim in here". Looked up and saw it was lit with LED tubes. I mentioned it and was told all lights had recently been replaced with LEDs.

That's obviously going to happen sometimes, IF the amount of fluorescent lighting originally provided what not more than was needed.

However, as I said, I think that such lighting was very frequently over-specified, not helped by the lack of a choice of 'power' for a given length of tube. We would have had the same sort of problem if incandescent GLS bulbs had only been available in, say, 100W or 150W versions.

Kind Regards, John

 

[Lectrician]

Or if you fit shjt LED lamps.

 

[Iggifer]

I still don’t think LED retrofit tubes are quite there yet.

I’m with Winston, I know of a place that was fitted out with Philips LED tubes and it was noticeably dimmer than with floro.

The LED battens made to look like either non corrosive or just battens with a cover aren’t too bad

 

[Lectrician]

LEad fittings can exceed fluorescents easily. LED tubes are pretty much on par. You need to use decent makes.