12-15-2011, 04:41 PM
cbelt3 wrote:
[quote=Lew Zealand]
New ballast thingy. That cylindrical thing with the 2 terminals coming out of one end. Tubes might still be OK.
Lew, that's a starter. It's essentially a capacitor. The "Ballast" is the high voltage transformer, usually a rectangular metallic box, typically painted black and installed in the fixture someplace.
Space, if your starters were removable and are not, then the whole fixture is ready for the recycling bin. Return the bulbs, you can get a functioning LED fixture for about two to three times the cost of the bulbs.
Alternatively just tack a bunch of LED Christmas lights up there, they're going cheap ! :biggrin:
Thanks for the info, I don't like getting details like that wrong. We have only one of the old school fluorescent lights left (in the garage) and it's worked for so long that I can't remember the last time I went to the hardware store to buy a new starter.