While replacing the electronic ballast in my less than two year old double 32 watt T8 Home Depot shop light I started to wonder if the day had finally arrived for the plug in ballast.
The original GE bulbs looked and worked just fine, but the electronic ballast was deader than a door nail.

I was thinking that maybe the time has come for plug in electronic ballasts that can be replaced as quickly and easily as a bulb since electronic ballasts seem to have a short life compared to a magnetic ballast.

Just unplug the dead one and plug in a new one.
If you had a hundred fixtures in a store, this would be a real time and labor cost saver.
Since the electronic ballast is here to stay, may be this is the way to go.

I got a new T12F96 slimline from Lowe's for my birthday and it has an electronic ballast, and guess what?  It actually does have a plugin ballast.  I has a nice little plug that comes into the fixture, and the ballast has a matching one so you can just plug it in.  I hope we can rely on it once it is installed.
 

I got a new T12F96 slimline from Lowe's for my birthday and it has an electronic ballast, and guess what?  It actually does have a plugin ballast.  I has a nice little plug that comes into the fixture, and the ballast has a matching one so you can just plug it in.  I hope we can rely on it once it is installed.
 

I am sure you can rely on the plug working when replacing the ballast.

Ok, thanks for the reassurance!

IMHO, it's time for quality ballasts.

There's no reason why electronic ballasts (if not overheated etc.) should'n survive for at least 10 years of 8-hour daily use.
If a producer of the fixture expects you replacing ballasts regularly, it is a planned obsolescence, or producer's incompetence.

Or just get a magnetic F32T8 ballast, which would eliminate the need for such tomfoolery.
The cheapest (relatively speaking at $38 per ballast) source for new ballasts that I've found is McMaster Carr.  There is also the option of Restores/flea markets/hamfests/Ebay, but that is a much less reliable supply chain.

Or just get a magnetic F32T8 ballast, which would eliminate the need for such tomfoolery.
The cheapest (relatively speaking at $38 per ballast) source for new ballasts that I've found is McMaster Carr.  There is also the option of Restores/flea markets/hamfests/Ebay, but that is a much less reliable supply chain.

Or make the complete installation properly, including the overvoltage management...

It's just plain ridiculous that the ballast (supposedly a part of the fitting) is now considered a disposable item! Unlike the old Thorn G81006.4 units which worked for many years in the factory they came from then a good few more years in moderate to heavy use in my rellies' house. These are now due to be replaced with magnetic ballasts and electronic starters.


BG

It's just plain ridiculous that the ballast (supposedly a part of the fitting) is now considered a disposable item! Unlike the old Thorn G81006.4 units which worked for many years in the factory they came from then a good few more years in moderate to heavy use in my rellies' house. These are now due to be replaced with magnetic ballasts and electronic starters.

BG

Well, I don't think it is so much different to the pure magnetic ballast era.
I do remember a new installation in 90's, when after some 100's of hours about 20% of the VS magnetic ballasts were just faulty (mostly loose contact of the magnet wire in the connector).
The fault presented itself as just flashy lamp (it was thermally dependent), so first the maintenance guy suspected faulty lamps and starters, moreover when messing up with the fixtures when replacing the lamps and starters makes it working for a while again. So it took about a year to figure that out...
And it all were VS ballasts - just a faulty batch. The supplier had replaced them, but nobody had paid the extra time the maintenance guy had to spend on servicing new lighting.

Of course, when those faulty units are already replaced on an older installation, it then does appear failure free. But it does not mean it was so reliable technology already from the point it was bought new.

And another aspect: Over the decades the lamp life had improved quite a lot by manufacturers quite sucessfuly adressing the normal wear mechanisms. But the ballast life remained essentially the same - it is assumed it's life being sufficient. So it then happens more frequently, when the ballast life ends before the lamp.
So I would rather say it became nearly unnecessary to make the lamps replaceable...