LED replacement bulb

[RBPerrine]

I have 2  IGT S+ machines built in the late 1990's..... I've been thinking about getting rid of the Florescents and converting to an LED .
Is there a LED bulb # for direct replacement?  Also , how much conversation work needs to be done....ie change Transformers, remove ballast starters .
Tried searching through the post here and couldn't find an answer for just completely converting all bulbs to LED.

[rickhunter]

There are LED tubes sold commercially that operate off 120v ac.  The only thing you would need to do is bypass the ballast and wire both hot and neutral wires directly into the fixture.  The S+ has the neutral wire already wired that way, all you would have to do is cut the wire in order to bypass and isolate the ballast from the circuit.  So Cut wire just before it enters the ballast and then splice it as it goes into the fixture (typically after the starter holder).

[RBPerrine]

is there one ballast to supply 2 or 3 bulbs? or separate for each?
Still need a stock/order number for the LED bulb

[rickhunter]

There are many brands and places that sell these.  They use 120v ac.  So you don't use ballasts, you bypass the ones that are there.  Here's some on Amazon.  Pick the temperature you want, you probably want 4,000K (a hint of yellow) 6,000K (Bright White).

https://www.amazon.com/Fulight-Rotatable-Equivalent-Double-End-85-265VAC/dp/B0114FSQGY

[off-track]

There are many brands and places that sell these.  They use 120v ac.  So you don't use ballasts, you bypass the ones that are there.  Here's some on e-bay.  Pick the temperature you want, you probably want 4,000K (a hint of yellow) 6,000K (Bright White).

What about the "plug & play" bulbs or are they not compatible with the ballast IGT used?

[rickhunter]

I have only ever seen them using the bypass methods.  Why in the world would you want to keep the ballast when it adds another point of failure?  It is easy to bypass the ballast, it should take no longer than a few minutes to bypass all 3 of them on an S+.  All you need are wire cutters, some wire, and about 6 twist-on wire connectors,

[RBPerrine]

I've always worried about the internal heat of the machine.... so I'm thinking that LED replacements would help with a little less temp inside.
I know that a lot of the heat is coming from the reel motors sitting in "locked " position....and generating heat from their magnetic field.
I thought of pooping hole in the cabinet for muffin fans....but that's a lot of steel to remove.
I'll have to know the original bulb # so that I get the right length, diameter, pin mounts to the socket and wattage for matching light output.
That will give me the physical to match the socket....and then matching brightness.
Something to do later when I look at the changes in the wiring.

[rickhunter]

The S+ is one of the best ever built machines.  It does not require any cooling on the inside, so you don't need to poke holes in your cabinet.  The original bulbs are F15T8 (they are 17" long).  You'd be surprised on the stepper motors, they are not all that bad as far as heat.  Remember these machines were on 24x7 for YEARS on the casino floors and most of these machines still work today.  The biggest issue was the plastic drying up and cracking from having lights and the heat created inside by the lights.  The same thing can be said about the fading on some of the artwork on the glass, especially if you are using S2000 glass on an S+.  It think in the earlier days, they used longer lasting ink or something (probably lead based) that was more resistant to the constant light exposure.  The S2000 glass by comparison seems to fade quite a lot.  I have a lot of S+ glass and it all looks new.

[Tilt]

Yeah, it doesn't make sense to try to use a "plug and play" LED replacement.  The starter and ballasts use quite a bit of power and remain a failure point if you leave them in with a ballast compatible LED tube.  Remove the ballast and starter and hook up the wires so you have 120VAC hot (black wire) on one end and neutral (white wire) on the other.  You can use a crimp on splice connector or a wire nut if you want.  I had splice connectors available so I used them. 

I put daylight (5500k) LED tubes in mine and they look great.  Nice bright white illuminates the backglass and strips well.  I couldn't find the exact ones I bought for my machines on ebay, but these are the same specs (except 6000k) and will probably work just as well.  Just make sure you get ones for 120VAC if you shop for others.  There are quite a few 12 - 24V DC tubes listed at F15T8 too and those will smoke if you try to use them in an S+ machine with 120VAC on the sockets.

https://www.ebay.com/itm/110-120V-LED-F15T8-Tube-Light-Rotatable-Daylight-18-17-3-4-Includes-Pins-7W/271848315456?hash=item3f4b6c1a40:g:39UAAOSwBahVaQqd

There are 3 ballasts and starters to remove, but once you do you remove 45w in heat generated from the cabinet lights not including heat from the ballasts.  The three LED tubes probably use less than 2 of the ballasts anyhow (didn't measure it). 

[RBPerrine]

my heat generating experience comes from the Slo-syn  steppers...used on the Magnatech film dubbers motor drive power transistor supply .  Doing a sound mix for even 5 hours ….and the motors are throwing off lots of heat....basically from sitting there and not running … in the locked position..... kind of like the slot in idle while waiting to be played.
We've got fans and ducts to pull the heat out of the back of the equipment racks.