After 2 years of moderate use (2 hrs / day on average) I've determined
that the el cheapo $8 Commercial electric shop lights (2xF32T8) have a
pretty short life expectancy -- 5 out of 7 units have failed, and a 6th
is starting its flickering death throes. The bulbs are fine, the
ballasts (Sunpark CL-15) are toast. Meanwhile all the other ancient
shop lights that I inherited with the house are still going strong.

Since the units were cheap, it's a painless learning experience. But in
the quest to find longer lasting ballasts, the path is not so clear.
Some other units in the $20-$30 range at the BORG come with the same
2-year warrantee as the cheapo units, and most other units have no such
indication of life expectancy. Even the local lighting speciality store
only gives a 5-year expectancy for their $38 ballasts. At that price,
it makes no economic sense to do anything but buy new cheapo lights
every 2 years, although it feels wasteful and the repurchase and
re-hanging is a small hassle.

Other random details: electric system measures 120V on the money;
these lights are hung 4" from the basement ceiling (between joists) just
like the non-failing older units; basement temp is 60-75 degrees most
of the year, maybe up to 85 in rare summer heatwaves.

Does anyone have better info or experience with long-lasting quality
shop lights? Thanks in advance for any advice.

I have 30yr+ units that are fine, try Grainger .

I'd stay away from the real cheap electronic ballasts like they sell in the
$10 fixtures. The new commercial electronic ballasts seem to last a long
time



"chocolatemalt" wrote in message
...
After 2 years of moderate use (2 hrs / day on average) I've determined
that the el cheapo $8 Commercial electric shop lights (2xF32T8) have a
pretty short life expectancy -- 5 out of 7 units have failed, and a 6th
is starting its flickering death throes. The bulbs are fine, the
ballasts (Sunpark CL-15) are toast. Meanwhile all the other ancient
shop lights that I inherited with the house are still going strong.

Since the units were cheap, it's a painless learning experience. But in
the quest to find longer lasting ballasts, the path is not so clear.
Some other units in the $20-$30 range at the BORG come with the same
2-year warrantee as the cheapo units, and most other units have no such
indication of life expectancy. Even the local lighting speciality store
only gives a 5-year expectancy for their $38 ballasts. At that price,
it makes no economic sense to do anything but buy new cheapo lights
every 2 years, although it feels wasteful and the repurchase and
re-hanging is a small hassle.

Other random details: electric system measures 120V on the money;
these lights are hung 4" from the basement ceiling (between joists) just
like the non-failing older units; basement temp is 60-75 degrees most
of the year, maybe up to 85 in rare summer heatwaves.

Does anyone have better info or experience with long-lasting quality
shop lights? Thanks in advance for any advice.

chocolatemalt wrote:
.....

Does anyone have better info or experience with long-lasting quality
shop lights? Thanks in advance for any advice.

The cheap ones are just that. Buy quality and they will last a long
time, give better service and likely more light for the same energy use.

It has been my experience that for this product price = quality.


--
Joseph Meehan

Dia duit

chocolatemalt wrote:

After 2 years of moderate use (2 hrs / day on average) I've determined
that the el cheapo $8 Commercial electric shop lights (2xF32T8) have a
pretty short life expectancy -- 5 out of 7 units have failed, and a 6th
is starting its flickering death throes. The bulbs are fine, the
ballasts (Sunpark CL-15) are toast. Meanwhile all the other ancient
shop lights that I inherited with the house are still going strong.

Since the units were cheap, it's a painless learning experience. But in
the quest to find longer lasting ballasts, the path is not so clear.
Some other units in the $20-$30 range at the BORG come with the same
2-year warrantee as the cheapo units, and most other units have no such
indication of life expectancy. Even the local lighting speciality store
only gives a 5-year expectancy for their $38 ballasts. At that price,
it makes no economic sense to do anything but buy new cheapo lights
every 2 years, although it feels wasteful and the repurchase and
re-hanging is a small hassle.

Other random details: electric system measures 120V on the money;
these lights are hung 4" from the basement ceiling (between joists) just
like the non-failing older units; basement temp is 60-75 degrees most
of the year, maybe up to 85 in rare summer heatwaves.

Does anyone have better info or experience with long-lasting quality
shop lights? Thanks in advance for any advice.

Get electronic ballasts. You'll be glad you did.

--
The e-mail address in our reply-to line is reversed in an attempt to
minimize spam. Our true address is of the form .

What is your time worth? If it is worth nothing, then the time you
spend replacing the cheap fixtures/ballasts costs you nothing and you
should keep buying the cheap stuff. My time is worth a lot, so I buy
good stuff and it lasts a long time. I save money and agravation in
the long run. Just my two cents worth.


Stretch

In article , CJT
wrote:

chocolatemalt wrote:

After 2 years of moderate use (2 hrs / day on average) I've determined
that the el cheapo $8 Commercial electric shop lights (2xF32T8) have a
pretty short life expectancy -- 5 out of 7 units have failed, and a 6th
is starting its flickering death throes. The bulbs are fine, the
ballasts (Sunpark CL-15) are toast. Meanwhile all the other ancient
shop lights that I inherited with the house are still going strong.


Get electronic ballasts. You'll be glad you did.

These failing Sunpark ballasts are in fact electronic, so no luck there.
They are instant-on with nice light output... I had no complaints before
their short expiration date was up.

In article . com,
"Stretch" wrote:

What is your time worth? If it is worth nothing, then the time you
spend replacing the cheap fixtures/ballasts costs you nothing and you
should keep buying the cheap stuff. My time is worth a lot, so I buy
good stuff and it lasts a long time. I save money and agravation in
the long run. Just my two cents worth.


Stretch

Good point. I would like to avoid the time-consuming hassle of
replacement, but don't want to shell out a bunch of extra cash for just
a few years of extra life. If the 2-year cheapo units cost $8, and the
5-year units cost $40... the latter units are double the cost per year
of service and it just isn't worth it.

But further research indicates that electronic ballasts can last from 2
to 20 years depending on the vendor. That's a very wide range, and I'd
probably pay $40 or even $50 for the 20-year quality units, but so far
I've seen no indication on any of the units for sale at Home Depot,
Lowe's, or Ace Hardware that will guarantee a lifetime beyond 2 years.
Usually there is no guarantee at all. If anyone has specific
brands/models to recommend, that would be great... otherwise I'll keep
looking and hopefully pin down a make with quality parts.

chocolatemalt wrote:

In article , CJT
wrote:


chocolatemalt wrote:


After 2 years of moderate use (2 hrs / day on average) I've determined
that the el cheapo $8 Commercial electric shop lights (2xF32T8) have a
pretty short life expectancy -- 5 out of 7 units have failed, and a 6th
is starting its flickering death throes. The bulbs are fine, the
ballasts (Sunpark CL-15) are toast. Meanwhile all the other ancient
shop lights that I inherited with the house are still going strong.


Get electronic ballasts. You'll be glad you did.


These failing Sunpark ballasts are in fact electronic, so no luck there.
They are instant-on with nice light output... I had no complaints before
their short expiration date was up.

If you got electronic ballasts for 8 bucks, you shouldn't be surprised
if they're not top quality.

--
The e-mail address in our reply-to line is reversed in an attempt to
minimize spam. Our true address is of the form .

chocolatemalt wrote:

Get electronic ballasts. You'll be glad you did.


These failing Sunpark ballasts are in fact electronic, so no luck there.
They are instant-on with nice light output... I had no complaints before
their short expiration date was up.

Don't feel too bad, I have 26 of them. They were installed a little over
two years ago, and one by one they're all starting to fail (ballasts) --
right on schedule.

The sad part is it's cheaper to throw the whole fixture away than to
repair the ballast.

Tim Killian wrote:
chocolatemalt wrote:

Get electronic ballasts. You'll be glad you did.


These failing Sunpark ballasts are in fact electronic, so no luck
there. They are instant-on with nice light output... I had no
complaints before their short expiration date was up.

Don't feel too bad, I have 26 of them. They were installed a little
over two years ago, and one by one they're all starting to fail
(ballasts) -- right on schedule.

The sad part is it's cheaper to throw the whole fixture away than to
repair the ballast.

Would it be fair to guess that the rest of the fixture was of equal
quality?

--
Joseph Meehan

Dia duit

Joseph Meehan wrote:
Tim Killian wrote:

chocolatemalt wrote:


Get electronic ballasts. You'll be glad you did.


These failing Sunpark ballasts are in fact electronic, so no luck
there. They are instant-on with nice light output... I had no
complaints before their short expiration date was up.

Don't feel too bad, I have 26 of them. They were installed a little
over two years ago, and one by one they're all starting to fail
(ballasts) -- right on schedule.

The sad part is it's cheaper to throw the whole fixture away than to
repair the ballast.


Would it be fair to guess that the rest of the fixture was of equal
quality?



Oddly enough, the sheet metal on these fixtures is well formed with a
nice powder coat finish, and the bulb sockets are the same quality as
used in commercial two-bulb lamps I've seen. Other than the 2.1 year
life of the Sunpak ballast, these lamps are a good value ;-)

In article ,
Tim Killian wrote:

chocolatemalt wrote:

Get electronic ballasts. You'll be glad you did.


These failing Sunpark ballasts are in fact electronic, so no luck there.
They are instant-on with nice light output... I had no complaints before
their short expiration date was up.

Don't feel too bad, I have 26 of them. They were installed a little over
two years ago, and one by one they're all starting to fail (ballasts) --
right on schedule.

The sad part is it's cheaper to throw the whole fixture away than to
repair the ballast.

Yay! Sorry for your misfortune but it's nice to know I'm not alone.

And I came to the same conclusion as you about ballast repair cost. Be
sure to cannibalize the cords before chucking the fixtures -- similar
cords cost $4-$8 when bought separately.