I've read where it's common for fluorescent lights not to
work well when it's cold, but how about when it's hot out?

I have 4 sets of twin 4' tubes that came on fine this winter
(temperatures into low 30s), but when it got to 78 or so they
got iffy. If turned on early in the morning when it's 65, they
pop on as expected, but if I wait until later to get into the shop
I get to play either the on-off-on or 'massage the lights' game.

Curiously, I also have two sets of four 2' (?) tubes in ceiling-mounted
fixtures on a different circuit inside the house that do the same thing.

No buzz, hum, or flickering.

This has gone on for years, by the way.
I've shuffled bulbs between the fixtures and tried new bulbs.
No change.

Any ideas out there? I've learned a lot about fluorescents,
but so far no answers by Googling.

On 4/25/2012 3:36 AM, Joe wrote:
I've read where it's common for fluorescent lights not to
work well when it's cold, but how about when it's hot out?

I have 4 sets of twin 4' tubes that came on fine this winter
(temperatures into low 30s), but when it got to 78 or so they
got iffy. If turned on early in the morning when it's 65, they
pop on as expected, but if I wait until later to get into the shop
I get to play either the on-off-on or 'massage the lights' game.

Curiously, I also have two sets of four 2' (?) tubes in ceiling-mounted
fixtures on a different circuit inside the house that do the same thing.

No buzz, hum, or flickering.

This has gone on for years, by the way.
I've shuffled bulbs between the fixtures and tried new bulbs.
No change.

Any ideas out there? I've learned a lot about fluorescents,
but so far no answers by Googling.



Temperature in this case is not affecting the actual florescent lights
in the same way. Basically even in the cold florescent lights come on
but they simply do not come on bright until they warm up. Basically the
warmer they are the better they work.

What you are experiencing is most likely a starter or ballast problem
and especially if you have replaced the tubes and this has been going on
for years. If these are old fixtures I would look for a starter to be
replaced. This will be a small cylinder about 1.25" long and 3/4" in
diameter and it will twist to unlock.

Joe invalid wrote in
:

I've read where it's common for fluorescent lights not to
work well when it's cold, but how about when it's hot out?

I have 4 sets of twin 4' tubes that came on fine this winter
(temperatures into low 30s), but when it got to 78 or so they
got iffy. If turned on early in the morning when it's 65, they
pop on as expected, but if I wait until later to get into the shop
I get to play either the on-off-on or 'massage the lights' game.

Curiously, I also have two sets of four 2' (?) tubes in
ceiling-mounted fixtures on a different circuit inside the house that
do the same thing.

No buzz, hum, or flickering.

This has gone on for years, by the way.
I've shuffled bulbs between the fixtures and tried new bulbs.
No change.

Any ideas out there? I've learned a lot about fluorescents,
but so far no answers by Googling.


Do you have the type that uses a starter? It might be worth changing
that out (last I knew they were $.79 at the local hardware store, but
that was 2005).

I've got to wonder if bulb type has anything to do with it. Are your
fixtures rated for T12 bulbs and using the same? (Or T8 etc.)

Puckdropper
--
Make it to fit, don't make it fit.

I've read where it's common for fluorescent lights not to
work well when it's cold, but how about when it's hot out?

I have 4 sets of twin 4' tubes that came on fine this winter
(temperatures into low 30s), but when it got to 78 or so they
got iffy. If turned on early in the morning when it's 65, they
pop on as expected, but if I wait until later to get into the shop
I get to play either the on-off-on or 'massage the lights' game.

Curiously, I also have two sets of four 2' (?) tubes in
ceiling-mounted fixtures on a different circuit inside the house that
do the same thing.

No buzz, hum, or flickering.

This has gone on for years, by the way.
I've shuffled bulbs between the fixtures and tried new bulbs.
No change.

Any ideas out there? I've learned a lot about fluorescents,
but so far no answers by Googling.

Florescent lights require a perfect ground.

Something to do with the galactic flux.

On 4/25/2012 6:57 AM, HeyBub wrote:
I've read where it's common for fluorescent lights not to
work well when it's cold, but how about when it's hot out?

I have 4 sets of twin 4' tubes that came on fine this winter
(temperatures into low 30s), but when it got to 78 or so they
got iffy. If turned on early in the morning when it's 65, they
pop on as expected, but if I wait until later to get into the shop
I get to play either the on-off-on or 'massage the lights' game.

Curiously, I also have two sets of four 2' (?) tubes in
ceiling-mounted fixtures on a different circuit inside the house that
do the same thing.

No buzz, hum, or flickering.

This has gone on for years, by the way.
I've shuffled bulbs between the fixtures and tried new bulbs.
No change.

Any ideas out there? I've learned a lot about fluorescents,
but so far no answers by Googling.

Florescent lights require a perfect ground.

Something to do with the galactic flux.



not sure about the flux, but they do require a ground. I had a bunch
strung up temporarily on two wire extension cord and had to go around
each day and touch each one to get them to come on. Finally i strung a
single strand of copper around to each one and grounded it and they
never failed to start again.

--
Steve Barker
remove the "not" from my address to email

Check your switch. Solved my problem.
Joe
"Joe " invalid wrote in message
.. .
I've read where it's common for fluorescent lights not to
work well when it's cold, but how about when it's hot out?

I have 4 sets of twin 4' tubes that came on fine this winter
(temperatures into low 30s), but when it got to 78 or so they
got iffy. If turned on early in the morning when it's 65, they
pop on as expected, but if I wait until later to get into the shop
I get to play either the on-off-on or 'massage the lights' game.

Curiously, I also have two sets of four 2' (?) tubes in ceiling-mounted
fixtures on a different circuit inside the house that do the same thing.

No buzz, hum, or flickering.

This has gone on for years, by the way.
I've shuffled bulbs between the fixtures and tried new bulbs.
No change.

Any ideas out there? I've learned a lot about fluorescents,
but so far no answers by Googling.

On Wed, 25 Apr 2012 11:47:26 -0700, wrote:

Check your switch. Solved my problem.
Joe
"Joe " invalid wrote in message
. ..
I've read where it's common for fluorescent lights not to
work well when it's cold, but how about when it's hot out?

I have 4 sets of twin 4' tubes that came on fine this winter
(temperatures into low 30s), but when it got to 78 or so they
got iffy. If turned on early in the morning when it's 65, they
pop on as expected, but if I wait until later to get into the shop
I get to play either the on-off-on or 'massage the lights' game.

Curiously, I also have two sets of four 2' (?) tubes in ceiling-mounted
fixtures on a different circuit inside the house that do the same thing.

No buzz, hum, or flickering.

This has gone on for years, by the way.
I've shuffled bulbs between the fixtures and tried new bulbs.
No change.

Any ideas out there? I've learned a lot about fluorescents,
but so far no answers by Googling.










Have you checked the grounds???

Steve Barker wrote:
I have 4 sets of twin 4' tubes that came on fine this winter
(temperatures into low 30s), but when it got to 78 or so they
got iffy. If turned on early in the morning when it's 65, they
pop on as expected, but if I wait until later to get into the shop
I get to play either the on-off-on or 'massage the lights' game.

,
but so far no answers by Googling.

Florescent lights require a perfect ground.

Something to do with the galactic flux.



not sure about the flux, but they do require a ground. I had a bunch
strung up temporarily on two wire extension cord and had to go around
each day and touch each one to get them to come on. Finally i strung
a single strand of copper around to each one and grounded it and they
never failed to start again.

"3. Grounding of a ballast and the luminaire [complete lighting unit] can
also aid in proper starting of the fuorescent lamp. This is especially
important when magnetic fluorescent ballasts are utilized. The metal
refector provides a capacitive path to ground through the wall of the
fuorescent tube. This helps to ionize the gases inside the tube and initiate
conduction in the tube. However, once current is fowing from end-to-end, the
impedance in the ballast circuit is much lower than this capacitive path.
Thus, the added capacitance is irrelevant once the tube has started."

On Apr 25, 7:57*am, "HeyBub" wrote:
I've read where it's common for fluorescent lights not to
work well when it's cold, but how about when it's hot out?

I have 4 sets of twin 4' tubes that came on fine this winter
(temperatures into low 30s), but when it got to 78 or so they
got iffy. *If turned on early in the morning when it's 65, they
pop on as expected, but if I wait until later to get into the shop
I get to play either the *on-off-on or 'massage the lights' game.

Curiously, I also have two sets of four 2' (?) *tubes in
ceiling-mounted fixtures on a different circuit inside the house that
do the same thing.

No buzz, hum, or flickering.

This has gone on for years, by the way.
I've shuffled bulbs between the fixtures and tried new bulbs.
No change.

Any ideas out there? *I've learned a lot about fluorescents,
but so far no answers by Googling.

Florescent lights require a perfect ground.

Something to do with the galactic flux.

Tube and the grounded fixture act like the plates in a
capacitor. The tube won't fire reliably if one of those
"plates" is disconnected.

On Apr 25, 4:36*am, Joe invalid wrote:
I've read where it's common for fluorescent lights not to
work well when it's cold, but how about when it's hot out?

I have 4 sets of twin 4' tubes that came on fine this winter
(temperatures into low 30s), but when it got to 78 or so they
got iffy. *If turned on early in the morning when it's 65, they
pop on as expected, but if I wait until later to get into the shop
I get to play either the *on-off-on or 'massage the lights' game.

Curiously, I also have two sets of four 2' (?) *tubes in ceiling-mounted
fixtures on a different circuit inside the house that do the same thing.

No buzz, hum, or flickering.

This has gone on for years, by the way.
I've shuffled bulbs between the fixtures and tried new bulbs.
No change.

Any ideas out there? *I've learned a lot about fluorescents,
but so far no answers by Googling.

Plastic cased ballasts? They don't bleed off heat as well
as metal cased units.