Results 1 to 9 of 9

Thread: Where to buy lighting fixtures from

  1. #1
    Join Date
    May 2008
    Location
    New Hampshire
    Posts
    116

    Where to buy lighting fixtures from

    I am getting ready to install lighting in my new workshop. I will be using 4' T8 bulbs. Where do you buy your light fixtures and bulbs from? I have bought some from HD for my basement and I am constantly replacing the fixtures, not bulbs, because the units die. I am looking for a fixture that is much more reliable. Thanks -Kevin

  2. #2
    Join Date
    Jan 2004
    Location
    Lewiston, Idaho
    Posts
    28,504
    Kevin,

    You could try a local electrical supply house. Be aware.....good fixtures have good ballasts and they aren't cheap.

    I bought mine from HD. I haven't had a single failure yet. I didn't buy the cheap ones. I used a FWW article to make sure I got fixtures that had good quality electronic ballasts in them. They are quiet and seem to work well. I paid over $40 a fixture IIRC.

    A friend bought the same FWW article...went to a local electrical supply house in his area and he paid close to $50 a fixture IIRC.

    It's like anything else.....most of the time.....you get what you pay for.....
    Ken

    So much to learn, so little time.....

  3. #3
    Join Date
    Dec 2003
    Location
    West of Ft. Worth, TX
    Posts
    5,815
    I got my fixtures from HD. The 4' 2 bulb units were about 27.00, and the 8' 4 bulb units were 43.00. That was about 2 1/2 years ago. I got my bulbs from http://www.businesslights.com/32w-50...e25-p-437.html This is the link to the ones I got. They are very bright. With shipping, a case of 25 came out to about 65.00. Much cheaper than I could get the "daylight" bulbs for here locally. Even the guy the dealership got all their lights from couldn't touch it. They were very well packaged and not a single one broken. I have all but 3 in fixtures, but need some more fixtures to finish out. (either 3 4 footers, and 2 8 footers, or 7 4 footers. Haven't decided how to do the finishing room yet.) I'll need more bulbs when I get to that point.
    I looked on line for fixtures, and they were much higher than the ones at HD. Possibly better units, but the Lithunia (spelling?) at HD seem well made and have worked great.
    Good luck! Let us know which way you go. Jim.
    Coolmeadow Setters...Exclusively Irish! When Irish Eyes are smiling....They're usually up to something!!
    Home of Irish Setter Rescue of North Texas.
    No, I'm not an electrician. Any information I share is purely what I would do myself. If in doubt, hire an electrician!
    Member of the G0691 fan club!
    At a minimum, I'm Pentatoxic...Most likely I'm a Pentaholic. There seems to be no known cure. Pentatonix, winners of The Sing Off, s3.

  4. #4
    Join Date
    May 2008
    Location
    New Hampshire
    Posts
    116
    I will have to take a look at HD this weekend. The ones I bought for the basement were the cheapest ones so that definitely could be the issue. Thanks for the link for the bulbs looks like a great price. -Kevin

  5. #5
    One thing to know, the Lithonia fixtures at HD are NOT the same as what a Lithonia distributer handles, the ballast is a bit better quality at a supply house, another thing avoid "off-breed" lamps, and as fas as I am concerned, GE lamps are off-breed trash w/ a unacceptable amount of DOA lamps right out of the carton, for that reason I only use Phillips or Sylvania lamps, BTW the Blowes locally was selling a case of F32T8 4100° K lamps for around $35.00 a case of 30, & a case of off-breed "Ultilitec" (sp) lamps for under $30 bucks.

  6. #6
    Join Date
    Jan 2004
    Location
    Lewiston, Idaho
    Posts
    28,504
    Rollie,

    I disagree. HD sells several different models of Lithonia fluorescent fixtures. The model I bought had the better class ballast. I know. I had the HD worker open a box...open a fixture so I could see what class the ballast was before I loaded 11 8'-4 bulb fixtures on my cart. Again....they were the more expensive fixtures. FWW published an article in the Jan/Feb 2002 issue about shop lighting. It was written by Creeker Jack Lindsey. In it Jack spells out what to look for in bulbs and ballasts.
    Ken

    So much to learn, so little time.....

  7. #7
    Join Date
    Jul 2008
    Location
    Denver
    Posts
    269
    I didn't like the cheap quality lights available from any of the box stores.
    I found a lighting store that is NOT a lamps plus, but caters to contractors and the like. I bought 8' dual bulb, electronic ballests for $100 ea. I have 5 in my 3 bay garage since 2003. Never replaced a bulb, and they work extremely well in Denver winters. I was so pleased, I went and bought 2 more for my basement.

    If your in a large city, try to find a contractor lighting supply.

    Mike

  8. #8
    Join Date
    Oct 2006
    Location
    East Brunswick, NJ
    Posts
    1,475
    One other thing to consider in getting fluorescent fixtures is how widely spaced the bulbs are. The cheaper fixtures, like in the first picture, put the bulbs right next to each other, which makes the fixture act more like a point light source, which will give you more problems with shadows. The better fixtures, like in the second picture, will have the bulbs spaced farther apart, which gives you a more even spread of light.
    Attached Images Attached Images

  9. #9

    So confusing...

    Quote Originally Posted by Rollie Meyers View Post
    One thing to know, the Lithonia fixtures at HD are NOT the same as what a Lithonia distributer handles, the ballast is a bit better quality at a supply house, another thing avoid "off-breed" lamps, and as fas as I am concerned, GE lamps are off-breed trash w/ a unacceptable amount of DOA lamps right out of the carton, for that reason I only use Phillips or Sylvania lamps, BTW the Blowes locally was selling a case of F32T8 4100° K lamps for around $35.00 a case of 30, & a case of off-breed "Ultilitec" (sp) lamps for under $30 bucks.
    I am in the process of wiring for my shop lighting. I bought a 4' Unitech strip light from blowes, an 8' Lithonia (sp?) from HD and a 4' from a local electrical contractor supply house (Robson electric).

    I can't use the 8' so I'm returning it. The ballast (as Ken F. mentioned) looks to be of good quality and I would keep it if it fit my plans.

    The 4' from the supply house has a better ballast IMO than the blowes version. In addition, it was $1 cheaper. So, I'm taking back the UNITECH I got at blowes and I'll be buying 35 more from Robson.

    Why do I think one is better? My novice, non-professional opinion. The ballast is larger, is a name brand and is rated "commercial grade" from someone I trust. In addition, the electrical connections and wire appear to be superior. I had to buy one of each so I could do a side by side comparision.

    Good luck with your lighting,
    Dave Zeigler

Similar Threads

  1. New shop lighting questions
    By Dave Zeigler in forum WorkShops
    Replies: 21
    Last Post: 08-29-2008, 11:28 PM
  2. Shop Lighting: Making fluorescent fixtures moveable?
    By Harry Hagan in forum WorkShops
    Replies: 8
    Last Post: 03-15-2008, 11:42 PM
  3. making lighting fixtures
    By Gary Hoemann in forum General Woodworking and Power Tools
    Replies: 3
    Last Post: 09-06-2006, 8:48 PM
  4. Fluorescent lighting questions
    By Christopher Kochan in forum General Woodworking and Power Tools
    Replies: 15
    Last Post: 10-16-2005, 7:05 PM
  5. Looking for lighting fixtures for the shop.. Advice needed
    By Matt Allan in forum General Woodworking and Power Tools
    Replies: 18
    Last Post: 03-28-2005, 9:50 PM

Posting Permissions

  • You may not post new threads
  • You may not post replies
  • You may not post attachments
  • You may not edit your posts
  •