Finding single 48" fluorescent fixture

[Jeff]

Am I crazy or are single 48" fluorescent fixtures hard to come by? I
don't want the typical shop light, but rather something that is thin
and kind of mounts it sideways (if that makes sense) Like this:

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[Reed]

Am I crazy or are single 48" fluorescent fixtures hard to come by? I
don't want the typical shop light, but rather something that is thin
and kind of mounts it sideways (if that makes sense) Like this:

| --- BULB --- |
| |
-----------------------

I've looked at Lowes, etc but can't seem to find it. The only ones I
have found on the internet are for blacklights and therefore priced
insanely high. Any suggestions?

Try a search on Froogle for <single-lamp 48">
Got more than 10 hits

 

[RBM]

If you want a thinner, better fixture look for a side mounted 1/32 fixture.
It uses a much more reliable and efficient ballast and a TO-8 lamp which is
thinner than the standard T12

 

[David Efflandt]

Am I crazy or are single 48" fluorescent fixtures hard to come by? I
don't want the typical shop light, but rather something that is thin
and kind of mounts it sideways (if that makes sense) Like this:

| --- BULB --- |
| |
-----------------------

I've looked at Lowes, etc but can't seem to find it. The only ones I
have found on the internet are for blacklights and therefore priced
insanely high. Any suggestions?

Not sure if I got it at Home Depot or Menards, but I got a bare fixture
with no shade called Homelux 48" striplight. It has rapid start ballast
and can use 40w, 34w or 25w 4' bulb.

I have not installed it yet because the old fixture boxed in over the
kitchen sink on an outside wall only occasionally gives me starting
trouble in extremely cold weather (maybe colder than room temperature).

 

[Jeff]

If it helps, what I'm looking for can be found here:

https://ssl.adhost.com/noveltylights/merchant.cfm?pid=46&step=4

That includes a bulb though and seems a little expensive...probably
because it is aimed at specialty uses. I can't find anything like this
on the home depot website...

 

[James Sweet]

Not sure if I got it at Home Depot or Menards, but I got a bare fixture
with no shade called Homelux 48" striplight. It has rapid start ballast
and can use 40w, 34w or 25w 4' bulb.

I have not installed it yet because the old fixture boxed in over the
kitchen sink on an outside wall only occasionally gives me starting
trouble in extremely cold weather (maybe colder than room temperature).

If it's having trouble starting you may just have a bad ground to the
fixture.

Those strips are easy to find, though they have those horrid low power
factor ballasts that run even the 4' 40W tubes at no more than about 25W.
You can get *far* better performance by fitting one with an electronic
ballast and F32T8 tube.

 

[Victor Roberts]

Not sure if I got it at Home Depot or Menards, but I got a bare fixture
with no shade called Homelux 48" striplight. It has rapid start ballast
and can use 40w, 34w or 25w 4' bulb.

If this strip light has a 40-watt ballast it should not be used with
25-watt lamps, as they will have a very short life. If it has a
25-watt ballast, especially an L-C ballast that produces very poor
lamp current crest factor, I recommend you get one with a decent
40-watt ballast.

--
Vic Roberts
http://www.RobertsResearchInc.com
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[Victor Roberts]

If it helps, what I'm looking for can be found here:

https://ssl.adhost.com/noveltylights/merchant.cfm?pid=46&step=4

That includes a bulb though and seems a little expensive...probably
because it is aimed at specialty uses. I can't find anything like this
on the home depot website...

Seems like a fair price to me since this is a specialized low volume
product with line cord and built-in switch. I can't tell if the lamp
is replaceable, but if not it is similar to the GE BriteStix - which
is available only in 2-foot, 20-watt version.

You could, of course, buy a standard 4-foot, one-lamp strip light
fixture, paint the fixture black, add a switch and line cord and then
a black light fluorescent lamp. When you get all done you will have
spent more than $40.

--
Vic Roberts
http://www.RobertsResearchInc.com
To reply via e-mail:
replace xxx with vdr in the Reply to: address
or use e-mail address listed at the Web site.

This information is provided for educational purposes only.
It may not be used in any publication or posted on any Web
site without written permission.

 

[TKM]

Am I crazy or are single 48" fluorescent fixtures hard to come by? I
don't want the typical shop light, but rather something that is thin
and kind of mounts it sideways (if that makes sense) Like this:

| --- BULB --- |
| |
-----------------------

I've looked at Lowes, etc but can't seem to find it. The only ones I
have found on the internet are for blacklights and therefore priced
insanely high. Any suggestions?

Unfortunately, the big box retailers with their low-price focus limit your
choices. There are plenty of 48" fixtures made that are easily obtained,
but you do have to get them through an electrical distributor. I found it
useful to find a local distributor who would sell to me, but there are
on-line distributors with good pricing on such products too. Look on the
Lithonia web site for a wide variety of 48" fixtures, for example.

TKM

 

[James Sweet]

If this strip light has a 40-watt ballast it should not be used with
25-watt lamps, as they will have a very short life. If it has a
25-watt ballast, especially an L-C ballast that produces very poor
lamp current crest factor, I recommend you get one with a decent
40-watt ballast.

Every single tube strip light I've seen has a ballast rated for 36-48" tubes
which runs either one at about 25W. They're ok for 36" tubes but worthless
for 48".

 

[Victor Roberts]

Every single tube strip light I've seen has a ballast rated for 36-48" tubes
which runs either one at about 25W. They're ok for 36" tubes but worthless
for 48".

You need to look for commercial grade fixtures, such as the
Lithonia S 1 40 120 ES strip light. This is designed for a 4-foot,
34-watt T12 lamp. Grainger lists this fixture for $25.30.

http://www.grainger.com/Grainger/productdetail.jsp?xi=xi&ItemId=1613506256&ccitem=

You will notice that the ballast losses are rather high for the
one-lamp EM ballast used in this fixture. I would recommend a fixture
using a 4-foot 32-watt, T8 lamp and matching electronic ballast.

The Lithonia part number would be S 1 32 120 GEB. I don't see this
listed on the Grainger Web site.

--
Vic Roberts
http://www.RobertsResearchInc.com
To reply via e-mail:
replace xxx with vdr in the Reply to: address
or use e-mail address listed at the Web site.

This information is provided for educational purposes only.
It may not be used in any publication or posted on any Web
site without written permission.

 

[James Sweet]

You need to look for commercial grade fixtures, such as the
Lithonia S 1 40 120 ES strip light. This is designed for a 4-foot,
34-watt T12 lamp. Grainger lists this fixture for $25.30.

http://www.grainger.com/Grainger/productdetail.jsp?xi=xi&ItemId=1613506256&ccitem=

I always just use the cheap fixtures and put a decent electronic ballast in
them, those 34W energy saver tubes are a joke, a 32W T8 on a HF electronic
ballast is substantially brighter.

 

[Jeff]

I guess thats probably the brightest and best for what I'm trying to
do. Home Depot's got them for like $16 which sounds pretty cheap. I'm
betting they dont have a standard wall plug though, so thats another
project in itself Any suggestions on that? The bulb I've got is a
40 watt T12.

 

[[email protected]]

I'm betting they dont have a standard wall plug though, so thats another
project in itself Any suggestions on that?

Buy a 3-wire round extension cord that is the length you require. Make
sure the fixture has a standard 1/2" knockout on it, then buy a 1/2"
gland nut fitting suitable for the outer diameter of the cord. The
gland nut has metal threads and a locknut on one side to go into the
fixture, and a domed metal nut and rubber bushing on the other side
to grip the cord. Also buy some yellow wire nuts.

Remove the knockout and install the gland nut fitting. Cut off the
female end of the extension cord and insert the extension cord through
the fitting. Strip the outer jacket of the cord for 6", then strip the
individual wires 1/2". Join the cord and ballast wires with wire nuts:
black-black, white-white. The green wire from the cord must go to the
green wire or grounding screw in the fixture.

Plug it in and try it. When you're happy, unplug it and tighten the
locknut and domed nut on the gland nut to secure the cord.

Matt Roberds

 

[James Sweet]

Buy a 3-wire round extension cord that is the length you require. Make
sure the fixture has a standard 1/2" knockout on it, then buy a 1/2"
gland nut fitting suitable for the outer diameter of the cord. The
gland nut has metal threads and a locknut on one side to go into the
fixture, and a domed metal nut and rubber bushing on the other side
to grip the cord. Also buy some yellow wire nuts.

You can also buy replacement power cords at most hardware stores, though
sometimes an extension cord is actually cheaper. A couple years ago I got a
big box of surplus computer power cords and cut the end off them
occasionally to use them as replacement cords.