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1256 Review
67 Karma

Review on πŸ’‘ Sylvania QTP2X32T8 UNV ISN SC B Fluorescent Tube by Enrique Espinoza

Revainrating 5 out of 5

Inexpensive proprietary ballast for a T8 or two, but may require a bit of work to adapt existing wiring.

Replacing my T832 bulbs in the garage with Phillips LED tubes which are meant to work on a plug and play basis, ie using existing ballasts and brackets and no change to the wiring, I'm onto a fixture encountered that didn't glow with new LED tubes or known good T8s. Now I just want to say I don't understand how T832 bulbs wear out so quickly in a garage - the lights are timed and run for maybe an hour a day before turning off. And I've been looking through packs and packs of T8 which are expensive and not that easy to get rid of. LEDs were therefore chosen for durability reasons. However, this fixture required new ballast and after checking the offerings at local hardware stores this model appeared to be the brand's most economical choice. I was very surprised to see USPS delivered it on Sunday with regular Prime but gift horses etc. It got harder when I opened the package. Now, not all ballasts are the same. There are magnetic (old style) and electronic (new style) and various wire connection methods. Oh oh. Deeper water than it seemed. Now Revain was kind enough to put their own barcode label on the schematic so it took me a bit more research on the net to find the schematic for this ballast and lo and behold there was a picture of the schematic online where I had it Barcode Sticker. Well, the sticker has peeled off, the circuit is visible. follow this. The newest and easiest way to hook up ballasts seems to be to ignore all the filaments in the tube and connect a blue wire to one end of the bulb and a 'common' red wire to the other end of the tube(s). associate. . In my case, each of the two t8 tubes received one of the blue wires, and the other end of the t8s (four wires total 2 red 2 blue) was connected to the red wire. It appears to be the "Instant On" mode, and there are other modes, but this one suits the behavior of the LEDs well. If you decided to use fluorescent lamps, you can connect them like this, or look for other configurations on the web. This worked right away with the other good T8s, and when the LED tubes were installed, they immediately caught fire. I just wanted to warn people that the ballast cannot be a simple plug and play replacement - you should look at your existing wiring and find compatible ballast wiring to decide what you need. It depends on the tube size and power. Even then it might not fit mechanically right away (mine was twice as long and didn't fit the old ballast weld studs and had to be relocated to the other end of the bracket, for example). Not a big job, just needed a few drill and sheet metal screws. Oh yes, and please try to dispose of your old ballast carefully. The older the dead ballast, the more nasty its contents are, so dispose of it as hazardous or e-waste.

Pros
  • Hands free
Cons
  • Very expensive