The Laws Of Nature According to TBN

   / The Laws Of Nature According to TBN #61  
How do you by pass the ballast? Looks like you can use the same fixture but a 都imple ballast bypass is required. That word “simple” when used with electrical is always a warning sign to me.

By pass the ballast by loosing the one nut holding one end and slide out the other end from the slot, cut the wires from it, and throw it in the trash. Ballast is now bypassed. The hot and neutral wires from your outlet are wire nutted to some of the original small wires that came with the ballast/fixture to go to the single end "tombstone". You do need to look at the "tombstone" to make sure that the contact pins on the "tombstone" are individual pins and not shorted together. So end result, I did not need new tombstones, and was able to use the original wire nuts and wires. All I needed was a pair of wire cutters and a nut drive to loosen the nut holding the ballast so I could slip it out and discard it. it took longer to write this "book" than it took to get rid of the ballast and rewire. Seriously you are overthinking this bigtime.
 
   / The Laws Of Nature According to TBN #62  
That's for sure, I make sure I have both sets close at hand. And regarding some sets leaving out certain sizes...many years ago I was working on an early 80's Chevy truck needed a 18mm...my set didn't include one.
Every time I think I have every tool I need they invent another fastener head design: torx, security torx, clutch, square drive, on and on.

I had to buy some 18 mm wrenches, because the sets don't usually include them, and I run into them all the time.
 
   / The Laws Of Nature According to TBN #63  
I had to buy some 18 mm wrenches, because the sets don't usually include them, and I run into them all the time.

Indeed, I bought a 18mm at the first opportunity.
 
   / The Laws Of Nature According to TBN
  • Thread Starter
#64  
10s and 18s are self attracting along with tape measures and reading glasses.
 
   / The Laws Of Nature According to TBN #65  
I had to buy some 18 mm wrenches, because the sets don't usually include them, and I run into them all the time.

Impact socket sets don't seem to include 16mm, which of course is the size many of my lug nuts are. :confused3:

Not so much of a problem today, but maybe 30 years ago a friend was re-roofing either his house or garage. Somehow he ended up with a mixture of metric and U.S. sized shingles. For some reason, he used them anyway. Finished job, as you could well imagine looked like cr-p.
 
   / The Laws Of Nature According to TBN #66  
Yeah...just like me a couple days ago...my "in the garage" tool box is full of 1/2 inch wrenches and what I really need is a 13mm.

I learned my lesson 20 years ago,, I bought a dedicated tool box just for metric,,, :eek:

:thumbsup:

AND, on the side of the tool box is a wrench holder,, that holds a set of metric combination wrenches,, in order.

Having the metric wrenches in order, and EASILY visible,, makes it easier to select a wrench that fits,,
 
   / The Laws Of Nature According to TBN #67  
By pass the ballast by loosing the one nut holding one end and slide out the other end from the slot, cut the wires from it, and throw it in the trash. Ballast is now bypassed. The hot and neutral wires from your outlet are wire nutted to some of the original small wires that came with the ballast/fixture to go to the single end "tombstone". You do need to look at the "tombstone" to make sure that the contact pins on the "tombstone" are individual pins and not shorted together. So end result, I did not need new tombstones, and was able to use the original wire nuts and wires. All I needed was a pair of wire cutters and a nut drive to loosen the nut holding the ballast so I could slip it out and discard it. it took longer to write this "book" than it took to get rid of the ballast and rewire. Seriously you are overthinking this bigtime.

Thanks for that tutorial! And you are correct that I'm probably over thinking it. I'll try that pretty soon with one fixture over the dryer in the laundry room. :thumbsup:


.
 
   / The Laws Of Nature According to TBN #68  
I was wondering, with that Grow lite LED fixture I had to rig up with 110 on the sockets. What happens if you put ina regular T8 or 12? For that matter, I always wondered, how many volts did the ballast apply to the tubes? Do T8s still have a heater in the ends?
 
   / The Laws Of Nature According to TBN #69  
Yeah...just like me a couple days ago...my "in the garage" tool box is full of 1/2 inch wrenches and what I really need is a 13mm.

I"m not sure if anybody else picked up on this or not. ;)
 
   / The Laws Of Nature According to TBN #70  
I wish they would mark, wrenches that match up, with BOTH markings. I only happebn to know 13mm-1/2" and 19mm-3/4. No more bytes left in memory.
 

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