Anybody know fluorescent light fixtures?

[Ken g6]

I've had a fluorescent light operating basically continuously, as a night light, for many years. A single F20T12 tube. This week it started flickering, so I turned it off and went to Walmart to get another. Well, it seems Walmart doesn't sell most fluorescent tubes anymore; they sell LED replacements. An LED replacement for an incandescent fixture is (generally) easy. So I bought one figuring this would be easy too. I just swapped out the bulbs and it lit up! Then two minutes later it started smoking. Fortunately I was right next to it and turned it off quickly.

It turns out the thing I'd always called a "ballast" in the fixture is actually an FS-25 "starter". The instructions say those aren't to be used with LED replacements. So I took the thing out, put the bulb back in, turned the power on, and...nothing. No light.

Now I'm not sure what to do. I went back to Walmart and they really don't have fluorescent tubes that size; just the LED replacements. I went to a local hardware store and they had a few tubes, but one was 5000k (a bad, blue color), and another was an old 25-watt "appliance" tube. So I didn't buy either. Should I try another LED without the starter? Is an FS-25 even correct for an F20T12 fixture?

 

[mrblotto]

Pics would help a little. I'm thinking what you called the 'ballast' is a little circular thing about the size of a thumb and screws/pops into the fixture somehow.
can you get a replacement 'fixture' for it? Probably so, but I'm guessing it's a pain to replace. To me, it's gonna suck either way. Kinda sounds like the unit needs to be replaced
Yeah, I'm outta practice replying and such, so apologies in advance

 

[Ken g6]

FS-25: https://www.amazon.com/fs-25-fluorescent-starter/s?k=fs-25+fluorescent+starter

They're also at my local hardware store. Easy to replace those. I'm more worried about the rest of the fixture. Whether tubes will be available, whether there's some way to use an LED replacement "tube", or if I have to replace the whole unit, because it's obsolete or because I broke it.

Edit: And whether it's the right starter for a 20W bulb.

 

[Paperdoc]

For me, I just replaced the entire old 2-ft fluorescent fixture with a new LED 2-ft strip. Now, I'm happy doing modest electrical repairs, installation and replacements, so no biggie. The new fixture cost slightly more than a drop-in LED unit that fits into an older fluorescent fixture, but doing this eliminates any problem with compatibility between various versions of fluorescent over the years and current LED subs. Moreover, I found the lifetime expected for a new LED strip is much longer than a drop-in LED sub type of lamp. So the up-front cost difference is worth it.

In a couple cases, since i was replacing the fixture anyway, I had the space and upgraded to a 4-ft single-tube LED strip for more light at about the same price.

I agree that finding 2-ft fluorescents is really hard now and will get worse. That is one reason I'm making the switch as needed. Alternatively, I find that sourcing hard-to-find items like that is easier online with Amazon or whichever than searching local stores. I ran a small retail store (clothing) and believe in buying local as much as I can but hard-to-find pushes me elsewhere sometimes.

 

[mrblotto]

I reckon it can be a tossup:
- replace starter - it works - hooray! It doesn't work - can u return it?
- replace tube - it works - also hooray! Of course sourcing one may be difficult. Is it worth it to find one?
- check the internals of the fixture. No clue how to do that. Even if I did I may doubt my own results.

'the rest of the fixture' - pretty much all that's left is the ballast (inside or on top of the fixture). I have no idea how to check those. If there's isn't a burning smell or burnt looking wires I'm clueless lol. I just went thru something similar with an O-gauge train layout. Wires were melty...yikes!

I'd just get a different fixture (LED-able) myself, but I hope your solution is quick and easy !

 

[Red Squirrel]

If I'm not mistaken T12 bulbs require a starter while T8 don't, so they work a bit differently in that sense. The LED bulbs probably were meant to work with T8 ballast and not T12. It's also possible they were meant to bypass ballast and take 120v straight in. I would double check instructions to see as it may require to rewire the fixture.

It's also possible the ballast is bad, if yes I would just replace with a T8 one and start switching stuff over to that. (assuming the bulbs do want a ballast and not just 120v straight)

 

[Ken g6]

replace tube - it works - also hooray!

Went to a store further away. Found one that's good enough. It works!

Thanks, guys, but I think I won't fix it any more now until it's super broke.

 

[Paperdoc]

Glad to hear you have a reasonable solution for now. No need to discuss other options, then.