Rewired an old fluorescent tube fixture for LED with a ballast delete
Sourcing those inline 1A fuses and fuse holders was a bit of a challenge
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I couldn't grok exactly what you did, and my interest wasn't piqued enough to really be interested.
But you did the thing and it had meaning for you, so that's great. Keep on keeping on.
I won't need updates, but share if you must.
10/10 dmc post tho
You should be able to get those at any automotive store. I've seen them at ACE too.
Yeah, I thought about automotive fuses but I wasn't 100% sure whether they'd be suitable for AC power. These ones definitely are
Fuses are thermal devices. They don't care if it's AC or DC. It's basically the weakest link in the chain. It's supposed to fail WAY before anything more important (or expensive) fails.
Caution: fuses, breakers, resistors, and quite frankly, all electric or electronic components, have a voltage rating. A 12vdc automotive fuse is not built with sufficient clearance or creepage to guarantee that 120vac or 230vac won't accidentally conduct to the wrong places.
A quick look at high-voltage fuses up on a utility pole reveals that they are indeed built larger for higher voltage. OP is correct to be concerned, but because of voltage, not necessarily because of AC or DC.
I figured this was most likely the case, glad to have it confirmed. I just wanted to err on the side of caution
Fuses do care about AC or DC as AC will self quench the arc while DC will not. DC ratings on fuses are lower than AC for an equivalent fuse. Always read the documentation.
Nothing wrong with that.
You can never be too careful when trying to tame the magic smoke demon.
Are the fuses extra protection? The ballast bypass diagram I found didn't mention it
Which one are the fuse holders? The black or white plastic pieces? The orange one look like twist connectors
The two white plastic parts are the fuse holders. From what I've read, the fuses are a safeguard against someone accidentally replacing one of the LED tubes with a fluorescent one. Putting a fluorescent light directly on mains power with no ballast could be pretty dangerous
That... is a good point. Would you mind sharing the diagram you used? I've got one I've been meaning to get to.
The diagram I originally referred to was on the packaging for the tubes I bought (GE Direct Wire 96" T8), but it's basically this:
https://manuals.plus/wp-content/uploads/2023/01/GE-current-LEDL136-LED-Double-Ended-Type-B-T8-Tubes-FIG-3.png
In my case (double-ended lamps, 6 ballast wires, right side of the diagram above) the fuse goes between the hot and the red/blue wires leading to the sockets. I've actually got two of them since the fixture has 4 tubes in it. Hope this helps!
Much obliged!