Model Railroading > LED 4 ft Tubes to Replace 4 ft. Fluorescent Tubes

I have some ceiling, fluorescent fixtures in my basement that are failing. I suspect the ballasts are going bad. I understand that you can buy LED tubes that bypass the ballasts and fit into the old fixtures. Is this just a plug and play?

Are any of you using this alternative? How reliable are they, i.e. will they last as long or longer than the fluorescent tubes?

Since I have a drop down ceiling, the other option I have is to just mount new self contained LED fixtures in the recess and wire them into the 110V or run the power cords along the ceiling down to a wall outlet  (The kind I am using on underside of my upper level of my layout can be daisy chained into a max quantity of 6.)

Victor Baird

 



Edited 2 time(s). Last edit at 03/04/25 19:02 by wabash2800.

My understanding is there are two designs of LED 'tubes', one is a direct fit for the older neon tubes. The other LED 'tube' requires re-wiring the fixture to bypass the ballast.

Beyond that distinction there should be some Professionals out there that can explain things better.

Thanks. That is my understanding too. I am interested in the ones that reportedly you just pop in without rewiring the old fixture because they bypass the ballast.

Victor Baird

TCnR Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> My understanding is there are two designs of LED
> 'tubes', one is a direct fit for the older neon
> tubes. The other LED 'tube' requires re-wiring the
> fixture to bypass the ballast.
>
> Beyond that distinction there should be some
> Professionals out there that can explain things
> better.



Edited 2 time(s). Last edit at 03/04/25 19:49 by wabash2800.

Fluorescent tubes are not that efficient.  If you feel one of the ballasts in a fixture, you will find it is warm.
 
Going the route of the “drop-in” tubes doesn’t get you much.  The major electrical usage will still be the ballast.
 
I went the other route and bypassed the ballasts.  They are easy to remove and you just wire the electrical feed to the LED tubes.  In changing out the ballasts, I found a number that had gotten so hot the tar had leaked out.
 
The LED tubes give great light and last a long time – I’ve had them for 5 years and they are still going strong.   My lighting cost has gone down as well as the reduced cost of continually changing the dark and burned-out fluorescents.
 
I printed up some warning labels and have applied them inside each of the converted fixtures.  Because there is no dropping ballast, if someone attempted to install a conventional fluorescent tube in these fixtures, they would likely be electrocuted and/or start a fire.
 

I have changed out about 3/4 of my fluorescent tubes with LEDs and when the last of the fluorescents fails I want to do the rest of them. (However at my age getting up ladders and keeping my balance issues  may cause me to hire an electrician.)
So far I have had good results with the 110  volt version, but it requires a different "tombstone" bulb mount with 110 volts on one end and the opposite is a dummy, simpley to  hold the tube in place.
After finding some ballasts had started leaking I really wanted them to go away.
BTW if you drop a LED tube it is likely to break just like the flourescents..
You can buy LEDs with several "colors" of white, just like the ones we use to light up models.
I use a blend of "daylight" and "warm white.
None of my  LEDs has failed so far.

As an electrician, i favor the ballast bypass system.  But as noted by others, you may have to do significant rewiring within the fixture.  That said, those in my house--kitchen overheads in service many hours per day, show no signs of aging.  They are quieter than the electronic ballasts of earlier years, and brighter at half the wattage.    As to breakage, some LED tubes are glass, some plastic; the latterless like;y to break, and in either case no mercury to dispose of.
The other wattage advantage is essentially zero warm up to bright time and no surge of amps.   
Two further points.  The tubes come in several "color temperatures 3k (warm tones) up to 6k(cold, bluish.  And"Color Rendering, index.
Typically expressed as 7xx, 8xx, 9xx, the "x" being the temp ##.  Spring for the 9's  After all the effort one puts into the "correct" shade of paint, don't skimp on lighting coloration.

My tuppence

Thanks all for your thoughtful input. Based on that, I decided not use conversion LED tubes or rewire the old fixtures for LED tubes.

To get ahead of the tariffs, I went ahead and ordered some LED fixtures in 5000K, 2 ft and 4 ft lengths. I would have preferred the 3000K,  but the manufacturer I chose only had them 3000K in the 4 ft lengths. These can be daisy chained up to 6 at a time with one power chord and on/of switch.

I have a recessed ceiling, so I can place them anywhere I want in the ceiling above strategically placed, translucent ceiling tiles. And the power chords can be run inside the recessed ceiling and down the wall to the nearest outlet. As for the lighting for the lower deck, I'll run them under the valance in the underside of the upper deck. The 2 ft fixtures will come in handy at sharp corners or at the end of the peninsula. I may wire one string of the fixtures into the room light circuit to replace a hanging light bulb. This will require a different set of fixtures from the same manufacturer.

What do you think?

Victor Baird



Edited 4 time(s). Last edit at 03/05/25 00:07 by wabash2800.

I replaced my garage tubes with the "Toggled" brand from Home Depot years ago.
The old fluorescent tubes wouldn't come on in cold weather.
Did require simple direct wiring, following their instructions, well within DIY capabilities.
Then I replaced 4 tubes in the train room, greatly increased the light level,
and meant I didn't have to add new fluorescent fixtures as I had planned.
They've all lasted for years.
So I'm sold on these.
Bill in Ft Worth

I bought a few Fluorescent 4 ft shop lights around 10 years ago for my layout in a 10x18' basement room.  When I moved, I had an unfinished basment but decided to install a suspended ceiling and purchase 16 2x2 LED light figures with a dimmer.  For my adjacent work room I hung the shop lights that were still working and purchased 4 ft LED shop lights which are replacing the Fluorescent shop lights as they fail.

I chose 4k color temp for the main layout room.  I like the dimmer for adjusting brightness, but generally I have brightness up near or at max.

Cheers,
Jim



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 03/05/25 08:07 by SPDRGWfan.

Our MR club is in a building appx. 100X30 ft.  We replaced all of our ceiling fixtures with new LED fixtures and got a big improvement in the overall lighting of the room.  Our layout is multi-levels and we installed LED strip lights under the upper levels to light the lower levels.  Not only did our power bill go down, but lighting is a vast improvement.  You might want to check out the available color temperature on new LED lights.  For a model railroad, I suggest a color temperature of around 4000K to avoid the bluish color of higher CT.  Here is a link that might help you decide on CT.    https://www.google.com/search?q=color+temperature&rlz=1CAXDKE_enUS960&oq=color+temperature&gs_lcrp=EgZjaHJvbWUyBggAEEUYOdIBCjEwMDc4ajBqMTWoAgCwAgA&sourceid=chrome&ie=UTF-8.
 



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 03/05/25 07:36 by jdw3460.

I just replaced 2 myself and MY GOD!
They are BRIGHT!
I like it, the wife, not so much.
TAH

So much great information already on this thread. Some additional thoughts. 

There are even more new LED options today for greater flexibility. You can do 1:1 replacement and yes, get a color you like. There are also smaller, lower profile options if you want to add in a valance, or direct light to specific scenes. I like your thought of drop ceiling complete replacements. This would keep the ceiling all one level and not have light fixtures coming down from the ceiling. I'm thinking more of aesthetics for the room. 

I've replaced older ballast ones and while straight forward, more work than updating and just purchasing new. The cost may even be cheaper to get something new, verses a retrofit option.

Good luck. 

Mike ONeill
Parker, CO

I mix 3500k and 4000k 4ft LED tubes on a 2 tube fixture. It makes for a nice day-mid afternoon light. 1000 bulbs.com has an almost unlimited selection of tubes and color rating.

Does anyone know, if I take the old fluorescent tubes out of the ballasts, will they still use electricity from my 110V house voltage? (I have one light bulb that is wired into the same circuit.)

Victor Baird

Edit: I did some research online and they will still draw current but not as much as with the old fluorescent tubes still in place. For the time being, I will put the new LED fixtures in the same ceiling recess and later move them to the layout, replacing them with LED fixtures that are wired into my 110V house current.



Edited 2 time(s). Last edit at 03/06/25 10:32 by wabash2800.

If it's a buzzin, then it's a using.

wabash2800 Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> Does anyone know, if I take the old fluorescent
> tubes out of the ballasts, will they still use
> electricity from my 110V house voltage? (I have
> one light bulb that is wired into the same
> circuit.)
>
> Victor Baird
>
> Edit: I did some research online and they will
> still draw current but not as much as with the old
> fluorescent tubes still in place. For the time
> being, I will put the new LED fixtures in the same
> ceiling recess and later move them to the layout,
> replacing them with LED fixtures that are wired
> into my 110V house current.

I have a fixture that I converted with the bypass kit (very easy to do) and a fixture with ballast LED's.  The LED lights with the ballast has a slight time lag when you turn them on.  The one where I did the bypass kit comes on instantaneously.  In the future I will only go with the bypass fixtures.