So our old fluorescent lights in the kitchen went out. Again. Ancient stuff, circa 1997, F40T12, three groups of two. One magnetic ballast per pair. Guess what? There are, these days, actual LED-based lamps that fit right in to the T12 sockets, and use the existing ballasts, magnetic or electronic. Woo-hoo, instant upgrade!
Only ... our ancient magnetic ballasts were on their last legs. And the LED lights worked GREAT ... for an hour and a half. And then the ancient magnetic ballast's internal thermal protection shut them down. Turn 'em off for fifteen minutes, they're good to go for another hour and half. Then: thermal overload shut down.
OK, then. In another life, yours truly, had to repair x-ray film view boxes. Many of those used F40T12 lamps. I have changed thousands of ballasts, nothing to it. I'll run by the hardware store, snag some ballasts, and we'll be good to go, no trouble at all! Hardly take five minutes!
Ha. Ha. Between medical-grade fluorescent-lamp view boxes and residential construction standards in home building, there is gap wide enough even for my fat ass to fall into. And it did.
It took hours. Half the freaking day. I am stiff, sore, and wore the Hell out from climbing and descending the same three damn steps on the ladder for I don't know how many times because I lost count after a 100. When they built our house, when they installed this fixture, they didn't use captive nuts of any sort. And there seems to be some sort of wiring code difference between residential and medical-grade wiring. Because the residential wiring snaps in a heartbeat at the least little provocation. And all of a sudden, what was ample slack, is suddenly just-barely-long-enough for one last try before you have to break out the soldering iron and shrink wrap insulation, so good luck on that last try, Mr. Electrical Hot Shot!
Thank God, and I really mean this, for Vice-Grip pliers. Thank God, and I really, really, mean this, for Fluke multi-meters, that can tell you if black is live, or if it is neutral that is cut off at the switch. Because otherwise your truly would have had a nasty shock, if he had survived the subsequent fall from the ladder, from the very much live black wire, and the open neutral. For those of you who don't know electricity: it's as wrong as it can possibly get. And might have gotten a less suspicious guy killed.
But. It is all fixed now. The wiring is all correct, now. And the fluorescent lamps have stayed lit continuously for the last 5.5 hours with no sign of any thermal overload cut-offs! There are three new Philips high frequency electronic ballasts now driving six Philips T12-equivalent LED lamps, and apart from a little muscle soreness, all is well!
Only ... our ancient magnetic ballasts were on their last legs. And the LED lights worked GREAT ... for an hour and a half. And then the ancient magnetic ballast's internal thermal protection shut them down. Turn 'em off for fifteen minutes, they're good to go for another hour and half. Then: thermal overload shut down.
OK, then. In another life, yours truly, had to repair x-ray film view boxes. Many of those used F40T12 lamps. I have changed thousands of ballasts, nothing to it. I'll run by the hardware store, snag some ballasts, and we'll be good to go, no trouble at all! Hardly take five minutes!
Ha. Ha. Between medical-grade fluorescent-lamp view boxes and residential construction standards in home building, there is gap wide enough even for my fat ass to fall into. And it did.
It took hours. Half the freaking day. I am stiff, sore, and wore the Hell out from climbing and descending the same three damn steps on the ladder for I don't know how many times because I lost count after a 100. When they built our house, when they installed this fixture, they didn't use captive nuts of any sort. And there seems to be some sort of wiring code difference between residential and medical-grade wiring. Because the residential wiring snaps in a heartbeat at the least little provocation. And all of a sudden, what was ample slack, is suddenly just-barely-long-enough for one last try before you have to break out the soldering iron and shrink wrap insulation, so good luck on that last try, Mr. Electrical Hot Shot!
Thank God, and I really mean this, for Vice-Grip pliers. Thank God, and I really, really, mean this, for Fluke multi-meters, that can tell you if black is live, or if it is neutral that is cut off at the switch. Because otherwise your truly would have had a nasty shock, if he had survived the subsequent fall from the ladder, from the very much live black wire, and the open neutral. For those of you who don't know electricity: it's as wrong as it can possibly get. And might have gotten a less suspicious guy killed.
But. It is all fixed now. The wiring is all correct, now. And the fluorescent lamps have stayed lit continuously for the last 5.5 hours with no sign of any thermal overload cut-offs! There are three new Philips high frequency electronic ballasts now driving six Philips T12-equivalent LED lamps, and apart from a little muscle soreness, all is well!