florescent lights

[Moon]

I have some florescent lights which do not come on right away when turning on the switch. It is a row of 5 of them all on one switch (basement). One might come on but the others glow a little or not at all. After 1/2 hour or so they all come on. Switching the switch on and off quickly can make them come on quicker, but it does not always work.
Any ideas as to what might fix this?
Thanks,
Moon of Ohio

 

[Inspector507]

If they have starters, change them. If no starters, replace the lamps, especially if any of them are dark on the ends.

 

[dbelisle]

As florescent bulbs get older it takes more power to start and maintain then. If you look on a package of florescent bulbs it give the hours of bulb life. You should change then at or before that point. If you don't the added current draw can over work the ballast and destroy it.

An old bulb also can draw up to twice the amount of electric power and that's money out of your pocket for the same amount of light.

Dave in NH

 

[aardvark]

I've been replacing all the incandescent bulbs in my house with flourescents as the incandescents burn out. I've been using GE and Sylvania and Phillips bulbs aound the house for the 60W and 40W and 100W replacements. However, I bought a cheaper China import 200W replacement since I couldn't find a 200W equivalent from one of the reputable companies. All the brand name, more expensive bulbs, fire immediately after the lag time when I throw the light switch. The cheapo bulb only powers about half way on and then takes a while to come to full illumination after the lag time. Don't know if this will help you, other than cheapo bulbs apparently don't perform as well as bulbs from high quality manufacturers.

 

[Moon]

You might be onto something Aardvark. These are cheapo light units (from Lowes); 4ft with two bulbs each. I've had them for awhile, but even new they displayed this symptom.

I bought the bulbs for them and another light fixture in the kitchen which uses 4fter's and the kitchen lights come right on, but these basement ones do not. Don't know if they have starters or not. I'll check that.

Thanks Guys,

Moon of Ohio

 

[Inspector507]

Moon,
If they're the $8-9 specials, you have no starters. Not a real ballast either. Just a transformer on each end. Time to ditch the light. If you spent $9 on it, Lowes only paid about $5. The manufacturer only spent $2 to build it, so ditch it and buy a good one /forums/images/graemlins/grin.gif

BTW, I have the same ones in my basement /forums/images/graemlins/shocked.gif

 

[DaveNay]

These cheapo lights are also terrible in cold conditions. Even a cool basement in the fall can make a difference.

Dave

 

[v8dave]

I just got a bunch of florescent lights for my shop.

When shopping I noticed that Lowes and Home Depot had florescents that had electronic ballasts. On the comparison board near the stock shelves, both stores said these electronic florescent lights would start in sub-zero temperatures. I got a bunch and they all start immediately with no flicker. Of course they were twice the price of the other choice. But, I'm happy with them because I had the flicker type in my old shop and it drove me nuts.

If you change the ballasts in the lamps (instead of buying replacement lamps) look for the electronic type of ballast. Convert just one and see if it takes care of the problem before buying all of 'em.

 

[Inspector507]

Dave,
In the cheapies I bought, no room to add an electronic ballast /forums/images/graemlins/crazy.gif

 

[v8dave]

</font><font color="blue" class="small">( Dave,
In the cheapies I bought, no room to add an electronic ballast /forums/images/graemlins/crazy.gif )</font>

Ah well, I guess the choice becomes easier? Replace 'em or keep on flickering. /forums/images/graemlins/tongue.gif

 

[Moon]

Yeah, I'm guessing my cheapies are the same way. I couldn't find a starter either. We were building and these lights were a last minute addon. The budget was already running thin, so I went for the cheapo's. Once again, the old adage holds true, you get what you pay for.
I'll have to add light replacement to my indoor project list.
Thanks for the input all!

Moon of Ohio

 

[bontai_Joe]

As mentioned above, temperature makes a big difference in flourescent performance. I've got some old cheapos in my basement as well, and below 55 degrees F, they really don't work well. When I finally get around to replacing them, I'll get ones with cold temp rated starters (ballasts).

 

[PineRidge]

When I built my pole barn lighting was a big consideration. But since I only heat it when I'm working in it I didn't want to take a chance that the fluorescent tubes might not fire in the cold of a Ohio winter. My solution was to install 4 light switches that work incandescent as well as fluorescent tubes independently. I use the bank of incandescent bulbs when it's cold until the pole barn is warmed up by the overhead Reznor unit heater, I then fire up the bank of fluorescent lights and kill the incandescent bulbs. This solution has always worked for me.

 

[cj7]

Another tip for faster warm-up in the cold. Install tube guards. These are clear plastic sleeves with an endcap. They are mainly used in food processing areas to keep the lamp from going all over the place if it somehow becomes broken.
The guards keep the heat in that the lamps generate. Thus faster warmup. I am a lighting contractor and we do this sometimes. Also make sure that your balllast whether Magnetic or Electronic is rated for a zero degree start temp. It is marked on the ballast label.

 

[BillyP]

If you guys need fluorescent lights for colder applications, try the high output (HO) lights.

High output HO & VHO linear fluorescent light bulbs

 

[_RaT_]

As one who has installed thousands of flourescent lights from the smallest electronic to the HO and VHO fixtures, I find that while the HO and VHO will definitely provide you with more lumens, they also have a pretty high ballast failure rate in hot conditions (ceilings in the summer). They are typically used outdoors for sign lighting. You can lamp with freezer bulbs which work in cold situations. Nowadays, I pretty much use nothing but electronic ballasts and T8's in either 3400 or 4000 kelvin or spec 34 or spec 40 bulbs. I find the combination of good electronic ballasts and high quality lamps like Sylvania, Phillips etc. (about $3.00 a bulb) give great light both lumens and color and a grat life span of 20,000 hours plus. The cold will always make any flourescent dim at first, the better quality will come to specs as they warm up. A 4' flourescent bulb at .99 cents from HD or Lowes is really not a bargain except for those whoose main criteria is initial cost. Go electronic ballast, go name brand bulb and your chances for failure diminish. Rat...