Fluorescent tubes have shelf life. After some time, due to diffusion of gases (the tube light has vacuum and vapour) the composition goes bad and the lights function erratically or fail and thus need replacement. In addition to shelf life, because of the filament inside and metal vapour, it has working life too, after which it needs replacement.
So far as the rotating the tube is concerned, at time on long standing a thin film of oxides develop on metal surface or due to dust and dirt the electrical contacts go bad, or even due to vibration or jerks at times the contacts get dislocated, in such cases rotating the fluorescent tubes a little helps to refresh the contact and thus the fluorescent tubes starts working again. This is a simple description of the details explaining the issue in simple words.
Ok..as i guess, the tubes are fitted in a basement and normally this place will have moisture than others. Here the connectors tend to corrode more fast and this is what i guess is happening with your tubes. Try to solder the ends or get some one to solder it. If its a flickering problem, usually the problem is with the starter but still it has a holder whose contacts will be rusted. You may temporaryly solve these problems by spraying WD40 or any such mositure removal sprays too.
Cheers
Hi,
In the basement normally the moisture is on higher level as compared to the normal rooms on the ground or upper floors. And specially when the laundry is there in the basement the moisture level increases to higher level as compared to a place without water work. The moisture causes OXIDATION on the Tube pins and the contacts go bad or POOR. This situation causes the Tubes to show erratic behavior.
As the Fluorescent Tubes need about 300 volts to start the glowing but the Oxidation on the contact cause a leakage current out side the tube hence the tube stops working. The best solution is Scheduled or a Fixed Time duration maintenance of the Tube holders and the tube pins. You can use WD-40 (as said by pranam77) to displace the water vapors and moisture. This will definitely reduce problem to a considerable level.
The light over my workbench is a Chinese fluorescent fixture with two 48" 40W tubes. They frequently flicker. The ballast is an inductor and transformer that is made in America and is labelled "68 degrees F or higher". My basement is cooler than 68 degrees F but the tubes work fine at temperatures above 68 degrees F.
I bet I paid for that heavy ballast to travel completely around the world but the parts of the light are free.
It was the BALLAST inductor with the minimum temperature rating, not the tubes. The tubes must use a higher starting voltage when they are VERY cold.I hadn't even thought of temperature as a factor. I must look at the tubes the next time I'm at my mother's house and see what temperatures they are supposed to run in. It's entirely possible that the room is colder than the rated temperatures for the tubes, in which case our next batch of tubes should be designed for slightly cooler temperatures. I don't imagine her basement gets very cold but it might well be less than 68 F....
Thanks for the suggestion.
It was the BALLAST inductor with the minimum temperature rating, not the tubes. The tubes must use a higher starting voltage when they are VERY cold.
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