Hi all,

We have Fluorescent Light Fixtures in our kitchen and has a total of 12
tubes of 3ft long at 30 watt per tube.
4 of them already out and I have replaced almost all of the other 8 tubes,
recently one or 2 of the tubes is starting
to go out. Sometimes it turned on sometimes it doesn't. I was thinking
would it be more economical in the long
run to replace the Fluorescent Light with "Recessed Light" and use compact
fluorescent bulbs instead?
The Fluorescent tubes are very expensive compare to compact fluorescent
bulbs. Would this be a diy job?

On Jul 19, 4:40*pm, "pkmicro" wrote:
Hi all,

We have Fluorescent Light Fixtures in our kitchen and has a total of 12
tubes of 3ft long at 30 watt per tube.
4 of them already out and I have replaced almost all of the other 8 tubes,
recently one or 2 of the tubes is starting
to go out. *Sometimes it turned on sometimes it doesn't. *I was thinking
would it be more economical in the long
run to replace the Fluorescent Light with "Recessed Light" and use compact
fluorescent bulbs instead?
The Fluorescent tubes are very expensive compare to compact fluorescent
bulbs. *Would this be a diy job?

Research LPW= Lumen Per Watt. incandesant are 17-19 Lpw, encompasing
all flourescent you go from 40 - 100 LPW its easy to see you have
options that will save you money. Some old T8 tube are around 40 LPW
and CFLS are about the same, you should look at a mix of T8 of 100 Lpw
of soft white and CFLs

On Jul 19, 5:40*pm, "pkmicro" wrote:
Hi all,

We have Fluorescent Light Fixtures in our kitchen and has a total of 12
tubes of 3ft long at 30 watt per tube.
4 of them already out and I have replaced almost all of the other 8 tubes,
recently one or 2 of the tubes is starting
to go out. *Sometimes it turned on sometimes it doesn't. *I was thinking
would it be more economical in the long
run to replace the Fluorescent Light with "Recessed Light" and use compact
fluorescent bulbs instead?
The Fluorescent tubes are very expensive compare to compact fluorescent
bulbs. *Would this be a diy job?

You should have long life from those tubes. If you don't have a
good ground to the fixture, that can cause problems and poor quality
ballast and sockets can also cause the problem. I would start there.

On Jul 19, 6:36*pm, wrote:
On Jul 19, 5:40*pm, "pkmicro" wrote:

Hi all,

We have Fluorescent Light Fixtures in our kitchen and has a total of 12
tubes of 3ft long at 30 watt per tube.
4 of them already out and I have replaced almost all of the other 8 tubes,
recently one or 2 of the tubes is starting
to go out. *Sometimes it turned on sometimes it doesn't. *I was thinking
would it be more economical in the long
run to replace the Fluorescent Light with "Recessed Light" and use compact
fluorescent bulbs instead?
The Fluorescent tubes are very expensive compare to compact fluorescent
bulbs. *Would this be a diy job?

* *You should have long life from those tubes. *If you don't have a
good ground to the fixture, that can cause problems and poor quality
ballast and sockets can also cause the problem. *I would start there.

Yes, I was also thinking that standard fluorescents have long life, so
something must be wrong. Certainly a lot longer than the CFL indoor
flood type crap ones that are made to go into recessed light
fixtures. Those are the worst CFL's I've seen. The spiral bulb
ones seem to last. I guess you could screw some of those into
recessed light fixtures, but they would probably require extenders and
look like hell. Also, if you do that, be aware that some sprial
types say they can't be used pointed down.

The sealed flood type CFL's I have used have 2 big problems:

1 - They take minutes to get any reasonable amount of light, way
longer than the typical spiral type.

2 - A good number of them fail after only a few months use.

Now, I know someone is going to tell me how wonderful they are, but
the problem is there is no way to know which ones warm up fast, which
ones last, etc. And the product lines, manufacturing, etc is
changing so fast, that what someone bought 3 months ago may be
different by now.

On Sun 20 Jul 2008 03:38:51a, told us...

On Jul 19, 6:36*pm, wrote:
On Jul 19, 5:40*pm, "pkmicro" wrote:

Hi all,

We have Fluorescent Light Fixtures in our kitchen and has a total of
12
tubes of 3ft long at 30 watt per tube.
4 of them already out and I have replaced almost all of the other 8
tub
es, recently one or 2 of the tubes is starting to go out. *Sometimes
it
turned on sometimes it doesn't. *I was thi nking would it be more
economical in the long run to replace the Fluorescent Light with
"Recessed Light" and use comp act fluorescent bulbs instead?
The Fluorescent tubes are very expensive compare to compact
fluorescent
bulbs. *Would this be a diy job?

* *You should have long life from those tubes. *If you don't have a
good ground to the fixture, that can cause problems and poor quality
ballast and sockets can also cause the problem. *I would start there.

Yes, I was also thinking that standard fluorescents have long life, so
something must be wrong. Certainly a lot longer than the CFL indoor
flood type crap ones that are made to go into recessed light
fixtures. Those are the worst CFL's I've seen. The spiral bulb
ones seem to last. I guess you could screw some of those into
recessed light fixtures, but they would probably require extenders and
look like hell. Also, if you do that, be aware that some sprial
types say they can't be used pointed down.

The sealed flood type CFL's I have used have 2 big problems:

1 - They take minutes to get any reasonable amount of light, way
longer than the typical spiral type.

2 - A good number of them fail after only a few months use.

Now, I know someone is going to tell me how wonderful they are, but
the problem is there is no way to know which ones warm up fast, which
ones last, etc. And the product lines, manufacturing, etc is
changing so fast, that what someone bought 3 months ago may be
different by now.

Let me be the first to tell you how wonderful they are. We have 12
recessed cans in our kitchen. When we moved into the house a year and a
half ago, we installed CFL flood lights. They actually contain a spiral
design CFL within the flood light shaped housing. They reach full
brightness in under 3 seconds (I just timed them). No, I'm not going to
climb up to the ceiling to find out what brand they are. :-) We bought
them at Home Depot. These are R-40 size bulb shapes with 23 watt CFLs
enclosed.

--
Wayne Boatwright
-------------------------------------------
Monday, 07(VII)/21(XXI)/08(MMVIII)
-------------------------------------------
-------------------------------------------
Fire, Mr. Worf! [Worf picks up
extinguisher]
-------------------------------------------

on 7/21/2008 11:54 PM Wayne Boatwright said the following:
On Sun 20 Jul 2008 03:38:51a, told us...


On Jul 19, 6:36 pm, wrote:

On Jul 19, 5:40 pm, "pkmicro" wrote:


Hi all,

We have Fluorescent Light Fixtures in our kitchen and has a total of

12

tubes of 3ft long at 30 watt per tube.
4 of them already out and I have replaced almost all of the other 8

tub

es, recently one or 2 of the tubes is starting to go out. Sometimes

it

turned on sometimes it doesn't. I was thi nking would it be more
economical in the long run to replace the Fluorescent Light with
"Recessed Light" and use comp act fluorescent bulbs instead?
The Fluorescent tubes are very expensive compare to compact

fluorescent

bulbs. Would this be a diy job?

You should have long life from those tubes. If you don't have a
good ground to the fixture, that can cause problems and poor quality
ballast and sockets can also cause the problem. I would start there.

Yes, I was also thinking that standard fluorescents have long life, so
something must be wrong. Certainly a lot longer than the CFL indoor
flood type crap ones that are made to go into recessed light
fixtures. Those are the worst CFL's I've seen. The spiral bulb
ones seem to last. I guess you could screw some of those into
recessed light fixtures, but they would probably require extenders and
look like hell. Also, if you do that, be aware that some sprial
types say they can't be used pointed down.

The sealed flood type CFL's I have used have 2 big problems:

1 - They take minutes to get any reasonable amount of light, way
longer than the typical spiral type.

2 - A good number of them fail after only a few months use.

Now, I know someone is going to tell me how wonderful they are, but
the problem is there is no way to know which ones warm up fast, which
ones last, etc. And the product lines, manufacturing, etc is
changing so fast, that what someone bought 3 months ago may be
different by now.


Let me be the first to tell you how wonderful they are. We have 12
recessed cans in our kitchen. When we moved into the house a year and a
half ago, we installed CFL flood lights. They actually contain a spiral
design CFL within the flood light shaped housing. They reach full
brightness in under 3 seconds (I just timed them). No, I'm not going to
climb up to the ceiling to find out what brand they are. :-) We bought
them at Home Depot. These are R-40 size bulb shapes with 23 watt CFLs
enclosed.



It doesn't matter what name is on them, they are all made in China, and
probably at the same plant.
If you belong to a membership club, like Sam's Club, BJs, or Costco, you
can get them a lot cheaper than HD or Lowes.
I bought an 8 pack of GE 13 watt CFLs (= 60 watt incandescent) for about
$12 and change at Sam's.
Their 3 pack of GE 26 watt (R-40) CFL floods goes for $13 and change.


--

Bill
In Hamptonburgh, NY
in the original Orange County
To email, remove the double zeroes after @

On Jul 22, 3:11*am, willshak wrote:
on 7/21/2008 11:54 PM Wayne Boatwright said the following:





On Sun 20 Jul 2008 03:38:51a, *told us...

On Jul 19, 6:36 pm, wrote:

On Jul 19, 5:40 pm, "pkmicro" wrote:

Hi all,

We have Fluorescent Light Fixtures in our kitchen and has a total of

12

tubes of 3ft long at 30 watt per tube.
4 of them already out and I have replaced almost all of the other 8

tub

es, recently one or 2 of the tubes is starting to go out. *Sometimes

it

turned on sometimes it doesn't. *I was thi nking would it be more
economical in the long run to replace the Fluorescent Light with
"Recessed Light" and use comp act fluorescent bulbs instead?
The Fluorescent tubes are very expensive compare to compact

fluorescent

bulbs. *Would this be a diy job?

* *You should have long life from those tubes. *If you don't have a
good ground to the fixture, that can cause problems and poor quality
ballast and sockets can also cause the problem. *I would start there.

Yes, I was also thinking that standard fluorescents have long life, so
something must be wrong. * Certainly a lot longer than the CFL indoor
flood type crap ones that are made to go into recessed light
fixtures. * Those are the worst CFL's I've seen. * The spiral bulb
ones seem to last. *I guess you could screw some of those into
recessed light fixtures, but they would probably require extenders and
look like hell. * Also, if you do that, be aware that some sprial
types say they can't be used pointed down.

The sealed flood type CFL's I have used have 2 big problems:

1 - They take minutes to get any reasonable amount of light, way
longer than the typical spiral type.

2 - A good number of them fail after only a few months use.

Now, I know someone is going to tell me how wonderful they are, but
the problem is there is no way to know which ones warm up fast, which
ones last, etc. * And the product lines, manufacturing, etc is
changing so fast, that what someone bought 3 months ago may be
different by now.

Let me be the first to tell you how wonderful they are. *We have 12
recessed cans in our kitchen. *When we moved into the house a year and a
half ago, we installed CFL flood lights. *They actually contain a spiral
design CFL within the flood light shaped housing. *They reach full
brightness in under 3 seconds (I just timed them). *No, I'm not going to
climb up to the ceiling to find out what brand they are. :-) *We bought
them at Home Depot. *These are R-40 size bulb shapes with 23 watt CFLs
enclosed.

It doesn't matter what name is on them, they are all made in China, and
probably at the same plant.
If you belong to a membership club, like Sam's Club, BJs, or Costco, you
can get them a lot cheaper than HD or Lowes.
I bought an 8 pack of GE 13 watt CFLs (= 60 watt incandescent) for about
$12 and change at Sam's.
Their 3 pack of GE 26 watt (R-40) CFL floods goes for $13 and change.

--

Bill
In Hamptonburgh, NY
in the original Orange County
To email, remove the double zeroes after @- Hide quoted text -

- Show quoted text -

"Standard fluorescents" do indeed have long life; which means little
maintenance, once installed.
We are "hep", or whatever is today's parlance, on standard 48 inch
flourescents!

But thanks for that price info; must look at our (Canadian) Wal Mart
and Costco prices!
Sound very reasonable for 'good' CFLs!

To the OP. Don't scrap those 48 inchers without IMO some thought!

We have great success in our kitchens etc. using two tube 48 inch
fluorescent fixtures.
Initially the new fixtures were reasonable cost (around $20); the
tubes last for ages (many years) although used a lot.
We also have a stock of slightly used tubes, and spare ballasts galore
so repair if necessary is easy.
The one darkish spot is over our kitchen sink counter where it might
be a good idea to install an additional thin short fluorescent tube
unit, probably a 24 incher? That will fit under the cabinet.

We also use 'used' (second hand) fluorescent fixtures (from a school
renovation project), in our workshop, garage etc. However two, four
tube, fixtures were found dumped in a gravel pit; looks like someone
was intending to scrap the copper out of the ballasts but got tired!
With minimal repairs those two now function above one of our 12 foot
work benches.
Another; which now needs new (i.e. slightly used) tubes is above an
'electronics/radio' work bench in another area. All were free.

In fact the only items bought for all this lighting was a batch of the
'newer' type 48 inch tubes for use in the some ten ex-school
'electronic ballast' fixtures; whci now provide some 40 continuous
feet of lighting in main basement workshop. When we asked the
contractor if we could take 'some' of the fixtures being dumped the
only question was, "Can you take all of them?". So we took all twelve
that weren't actually broken up and now have two spare fixtures.
Unfortunately most of the tubes in the electronically ballasted
fixtures had been broken but we got several that were OK. But a batch
of tubes was aonly around $25 wholesale. Also since installing the
used 'electronics' a couple of years ago we have had to replace only
one (of the original tubes).

Using other 'used' fixtures in workshop/garage and other work areas
where appearance is not first consideration during some 20+ years we
have replaced, at most IIRC, two or three ballasts. Where we have
needed to install used ballasts has been when 'recovering'/
refurbishing used fixtures before installing them or giving them away
to neighbours etc. Right now I owe an acquaintance a used/refurbished
fixture (with tubes) for his tool shed; in return for some of his tool
sharpening.

So before getting rid of the 48 inchers give it some thought; most are
highly reliable and give a good 'spread' of light which we find useful
in kitchen and other work areas. As opposed to multiple ceiling pot
lights equipped with CFLs.
BTW this is single storey dwelling so that the ceiling above our
kitchen is insulated and has had additional insulation added twice
with no fixture heat problems (although heat probably unlikely with
CFL bulbs? But understand there are code requirements for NOT having
insulation around recessed ceiling fixtures?) because our fluorescents
are entirely below the ceiling and within the room. Our fixtures are
about four inches deep but believe you can get 'skinnier' ones that
lie flatter to the ceiling?

Very easy to change tubes; took a few minutes to put two brand new
tubes into our daughters kitchen other day for a few bucks; for the
first time in some ten years. The two tubes cost less than $5 and they
will, hopefully, last another eight to ten years.

One slight problem is that some (many?) jurisdictions consider CFLs
AND fluorescent tubes as 'Hazardous waste' and while trash collectors
may not notice/question the occasional dud CFL (especially if it's in
the box for the new one replacing it) buried in a bag of other
grabage, a dud four foot tube draws attention and/or requires carful
breakage into a long cardboard box if there is no recycling service in
the area. Which, is the case, at the moment in our collection zone.

On Jul 22, 12:40�pm, terry wrote:
On Jul 22, 3:11�am, willshak wrote:





on 7/21/2008 11:54 PM Wayne Boatwright said the following:

On Sun 20 Jul 2008 03:38:51a, �told us...

On Jul 19, 6:36 pm, wrote:

On Jul 19, 5:40 pm, "pkmicro" wrote:

Hi all,

We have Fluorescent Light Fixtures in our kitchen and has a total of

12

tubes of 3ft long at 30 watt per tube.
4 of them already out and I have replaced almost all of the other 8

tub

es, recently one or 2 of the tubes is starting to go out. �Sometimes

it

turned on sometimes it doesn't. �I was thi nking would it be more
economical in the long run to replace the Fluorescent Light with
"Recessed Light" and use comp act fluorescent bulbs instead?
The Fluorescent tubes are very expensive compare to compact

fluorescent

bulbs. �Would this be a diy job?

� �You should have long life from those tubes. �If you don't have a
good ground to the fixture, that can cause problems and poor quality
ballast and sockets can also cause the problem. �I would start there.

Yes, I was also thinking that standard fluorescents have long life, so
something must be wrong. � Certainly a lot longer than the CFL indoor
flood type crap ones that are made to go into recessed light
fixtures. � Those are the worst CFL's I've seen. � The spiral bulb
ones seem to last. �I guess you could screw some of those into
recessed light fixtures, but they would probably require extenders and
look like hell. � Also, if you do that, be aware that some sprial
types say they can't be used pointed down.

The sealed flood type CFL's I have used have 2 big problems:

1 - They take minutes to get any reasonable amount of light, way
longer than the typical spiral type.

2 - A good number of them fail after only a few months use.

Now, I know someone is going to tell me how wonderful they are, but
the problem is there is no way to know which ones warm up fast, which
ones last, etc. � And the product lines, manufacturing, etc is
changing so fast, that what someone bought 3 months ago may be
different by now.

Let me be the first to tell you how wonderful they are. �We have 12
recessed cans in our kitchen. �When we moved into the house a year and a
half ago, we installed CFL flood lights. �They actually contain a spiral
design CFL within the flood light shaped housing. �They reach full
brightness in under 3 seconds (I just timed them). �No, I'm not going to
climb up to the ceiling to find out what brand they are. :-) �We bought
them at Home Depot. �These are R-40 size bulb shapes with 23 watt CFLs
enclosed.

It doesn't matter what name is on them, they are all made in China, and
probably at the same plant.
If you belong to a membership club, like Sam's Club, BJs, or Costco, you
can get them a lot cheaper than HD or Lowes.
I bought an 8 pack of GE 13 watt CFLs (= 60 watt incandescent) for about
$12 and change at Sam's.
Their 3 pack of GE 26 watt (R-40) CFL floods goes for $13 and change.

--

Bill
In Hamptonburgh, NY
in the original Orange County
To email, remove the double zeroes after @- Hide quoted text -

- Show quoted text -

"Standard fluorescents" do indeed have long life; which means little
maintenance, once installed.
We are "hep", or whatever is today's parlance, on standard 48 inch
flourescents!

But thanks for that price info; must look at our (Canadian) Wal Mart
and Costco prices!
Sound very reasonable for 'good' CFLs!

To the OP. Don't scrap those 48 inchers without IMO some thought!

We have great success in our kitchens etc. using two tube 48 inch
fluorescent fixtures.
Initially the new fixtures were reasonable cost (around $20); the
tubes last for ages (many years) although used a lot.
We also have a stock of slightly used tubes, and spare ballasts galore
so repair if necessary is easy.
The one darkish spot is over our kitchen sink counter where it might
be a good idea to install an additional thin short fluorescent tube
unit, probably a 24 incher? That will fit under the cabinet.

We also use 'used' �(second hand) fluorescent fixtures (from a school
renovation project), in our workshop, garage etc. However two, four
tube, fixtures were found dumped in a gravel pit; looks like someone
was intending to scrap the copper out of the ballasts but got tired!
With minimal repairs those two now function above one of our 12 foot
work benches.
Another; which now needs new (i.e. slightly used) tubes is above an
'electronics/radio' work bench in another area. All were free.

In fact the only items bought for all this lighting was a batch of the
'newer' type 48 inch tubes for use in the some ten ex-school
'electronic ballast' fixtures; whci now provide some 40 continuous
feet of lighting in main basement workshop. When we asked the
contractor if we could take 'some' of the fixtures being dumped the
only question was, "Can you take all of them?". So we took all twelve
that weren't actually broken up and now have two spare fixtures.
Unfortunately most of the tubes in the electronically ballasted
fixtures had been broken but we got several that were OK. But a batch
of tubes was aonly around $25 wholesale. Also since installing the
used 'electronics' a couple of years ago we have had to replace only
one (of the original tubes).

Using other 'used' fixtures in workshop/garage and other work areas
where appearance is not first consideration during �some 20+ years we
have replaced, at most IIRC, two or three ballasts. Where we have
needed to install used ballasts has been when 'recovering'/
refurbishing used fixtures before installing them or giving them away
to neighbours etc. Right now I owe an acquaintance a used/refurbished
fixture (with tubes) for his tool shed; in return for some of his tool
sharpening.

So before getting rid of the 48 inchers give it some thought; most are
highly reliable and give a good 'spread' of light which we find useful
in kitchen and other work areas. As opposed to multiple ceiling pot
lights equipped with CFLs.
BTW this is single storey dwelling so that the ceiling above our
kitchen is insulated and has had additional insulation added twice
with no fixture heat problems (although heat probably unlikely with
CFL bulbs? But understand there are code requirements for NOT having
insulation around recessed ceiling fixtures?) because our fluorescents
are entirely below the ceiling and within the room. Our fixtures are
about four inches deep but believe you can get 'skinnier' ones that
lie flatter to the ceiling?

Very easy to change tubes; took a few minutes to put two brand new
tubes into our daughters kitchen other day for a few bucks; for the
first time in some ten years. The two tubes cost less than $5 and they
will, hopefully, last another eight to ten years.

One slight problem is that some (many?) jurisdictions consider CFLs
AND fluorescent tubes as 'Hazardous waste' and while trash collectors
may not notice/question the occasional dud CFL (especially if it's in
the box for the new one replacing it) buried in a bag of other
grabage, a dud four foot tube draws attention and/or requires carful
breakage into a long cardboard box if there is no recycling service in
the area. Which, is the case, at the moment in our collection zone.- Hide quoted text -

- Show quoted text -

I put my 4 foot fluroscents in a outdoor garbage can with bag. break
lmps with broom handle the pieces drop in the bag.

wait a little and tie bag shut. problem over.

On Tue 22 Jul 2008 09:40:23a, terry told us...

On Jul 22, 3:11*am, willshak wrote:
on 7/21/2008 11:54 PM Wayne Boatwright said the following:





On Sun 20 Jul 2008 03:38:51a, *told us...

On Jul 19, 6:36 pm, wrote:

On Jul 19, 5:40 pm, "pkmicro" wrote:

Hi all,

We have Fluorescent Light Fixtures in our kitchen and has a total
of

12

tubes of 3ft long at 30 watt per tube.
4 of them already out and I have replaced almost all of the other 8

tub

es, recently one or 2 of the tubes is starting to go out. *Sometim
es

it

turned on sometimes it doesn't. *I was thi nking would it be more
economical in the long run to replace the Fluorescent Light with
"Recessed Light" and use comp act fluorescent bulbs instead?
The Fluorescent tubes are very expensive compare to compact

fluorescent

bulbs. *Would this be a diy job?

* *You should have long life from those tubes. *If you don't ha ve a
good ground to the fixture, that can cause problems and poor quality
ballast and sockets can also cause the problem. *I would start ther
e.

Yes, I was also thinking that standard fluorescents have long life,
so
something must be wrong. * Certainly a lot longer than the CFL indoo
r
flood type crap ones that are made to go into recessed light
fixtures. * Those are the worst CFL's I've seen. * The spiral bulb
ones seem to last. *I guess you could screw some of those into
recessed light fixtures, but they would probably require extenders
and
look like hell. * Also, if you do that, be aware that some sprial
types say they can't be used pointed down.

The sealed flood type CFL's I have used have 2 big problems:

1 - They take minutes to get any reasonable amount of light, way
longer than the typical spiral type.

2 - A good number of them fail after only a few months use.

Now, I know someone is going to tell me how wonderful they are, but
the problem is there is no way to know which ones warm up fast, which
ones last, etc. * And the product lines, manufacturing, etc is
changing so fast, that what someone bought 3 months ago may be
different by now.

Let me be the first to tell you how wonderful they are. *We have 12
recessed cans in our kitchen. *When we moved into the house a year an
d
a half ago, we installed CFL flood lights. *They actually contain a
spi
ral design CFL within the flood light shaped housing. *They reach full
brightness in under 3 seconds (I just timed them). *No, I'm not going
to climb up to the ceiling to find out what brand they are. :-) *We
boug ht them at Home Depot. *These are R-40 size bulb shapes with 23
watt CFL s enclosed.

It doesn't matter what name is on them, they are all made in China, and
probably at the same plant.
If you belong to a membership club, like Sam's Club, BJs, or Costco, you
can get them a lot cheaper than HD or Lowes.
I bought an 8 pack of GE 13 watt CFLs (= 60 watt incandescent) for abou
t
$12 and change at Sam's.
Their 3 pack of GE 26 watt (R-40) CFL floods goes for $13 and change.

--

Bill
In Hamptonburgh, NY
in the original Orange County
To email, remove the double zeroes after @- Hide quoted text -

- Show quoted text -

"Standard fluorescents" do indeed have long life; which means little
maintenance, once installed.
We are "hep", or whatever is today's parlance, on standard 48 inch
flourescents!

But thanks for that price info; must look at our (Canadian) Wal Mart
and Costco prices!
Sound very reasonable for 'good' CFLs!

To the OP. Don't scrap those 48 inchers without IMO some thought!

We have great success in our kitchens etc. using two tube 48 inch
fluorescent fixtures.
Initially the new fixtures were reasonable cost (around $20); the
tubes last for ages (many years) although used a lot.
We also have a stock of slightly used tubes, and spare ballasts galore
so repair if necessary is easy.
The one darkish spot is over our kitchen sink counter where it might
be a good idea to install an additional thin short fluorescent tube
unit, probably a 24 incher? That will fit under the cabinet.

We also use 'used' (second hand) fluorescent fixtures (from a school
renovation project), in our workshop, garage etc. However two, four
tube, fixtures were found dumped in a gravel pit; looks like someone
was intending to scrap the copper out of the ballasts but got tired!
With minimal repairs those two now function above one of our 12 foot
work benches.
Another; which now needs new (i.e. slightly used) tubes is above an
'electronics/radio' work bench in another area. All were free.

In fact the only items bought for all this lighting was a batch of the
'newer' type 48 inch tubes for use in the some ten ex-school
'electronic ballast' fixtures; whci now provide some 40 continuous
feet of lighting in main basement workshop. When we asked the
contractor if we could take 'some' of the fixtures being dumped the
only question was, "Can you take all of them?". So we took all twelve
that weren't actually broken up and now have two spare fixtures.
Unfortunately most of the tubes in the electronically ballasted
fixtures had been broken but we got several that were OK. But a batch
of tubes was aonly around $25 wholesale. Also since installing the
used 'electronics' a couple of years ago we have had to replace only
one (of the original tubes).

Using other 'used' fixtures in workshop/garage and other work areas
where appearance is not first consideration during some 20+ years we
have replaced, at most IIRC, two or three ballasts. Where we have
needed to install used ballasts has been when 'recovering'/
refurbishing used fixtures before installing them or giving them away
to neighbours etc. Right now I owe an acquaintance a used/refurbished
fixture (with tubes) for his tool shed; in return for some of his tool
sharpening.

So before getting rid of the 48 inchers give it some thought; most are
highly reliable and give a good 'spread' of light which we find useful
in kitchen and other work areas. As opposed to multiple ceiling pot
lights equipped with CFLs.
BTW this is single storey dwelling so that the ceiling above our
kitchen is insulated and has had additional insulation added twice
with no fixture heat problems (although heat probably unlikely with
CFL bulbs? But understand there are code requirements for NOT having
insulation around recessed ceiling fixtures?) because our fluorescents
are entirely below the ceiling and within the room. Our fixtures are
about four inches deep but believe you can get 'skinnier' ones that
lie flatter to the ceiling?

Very easy to change tubes; took a few minutes to put two brand new
tubes into our daughters kitchen other day for a few bucks; for the
first time in some ten years. The two tubes cost less than $5 and they
will, hopefully, last another eight to ten years.

One slight problem is that some (many?) jurisdictions consider CFLs
AND fluorescent tubes as 'Hazardous waste' and while trash collectors
may not notice/question the occasional dud CFL (especially if it's in
the box for the new one replacing it) buried in a bag of other
grabage, a dud four foot tube draws attention and/or requires carful
breakage into a long cardboard box if there is no recycling service in
the area. Which, is the case, at the moment in our collection zone.


OTOH, 48" fluorescent fixtures aren't the most attractive thing to have on
your kitchen ceiling. I could see retiring them for use in a garage or
basement, but I sure wouldn't want them in my kithchen.

--
Wayne Boatwright
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Tuesday, 07(VII)/22(XXII)/08(MMVIII)
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I think there is a world market for
maybe five computers. --Thomas Watson,
IBM Chairman, 1943
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