Shop Fluorescent Light Brand Reviews

[bookman51]

In checking with a local electrical wholesaler I see they are selling Metalux lights and they look the same as the Metalux my local big box hardware store (Menards) is selling.

So, my question are there particular brands of shop/garage type flurorescent fixtures (and let's include tube brands too) wiith which folks have had particularly good or bad experiences. Are there ones to avoid and ones worth paying more or driving further to get.

Thank much in advance.

Bookman

 

[Falcon67]

I used 13 of the Lithonia 8' 4 bulb T8 fixtures from Home Depot. $40 each. One I put up was a little bent about the middle in the long direction, which I didn't notice until it was screwed to the ceiling. Other than that, no issues since mid 2012.

Edit - like Steevo, I did have one dead bulb out of 30 purchased.

I also have a couple Walmart Lights of America shop lights (4' two bulb) and about 6 of the Utilitech (lowes) shop lights. These are use as task light, more or less. No problems with those either. The old shop had 12 Utilitech 4' x 2 bulbs and no issues there either. The T8s in that shop were about 3 years old when we moved.

Edit 2 - no radio interference. Have an small old cassette AM/FM "boom box" sensitive to interference and a hacked antenna - no difference in reception lights on or off.

 

[Gary S]

I installed the cheap white 4' fixtures from Menards in my garage about 5 years ago. I don't even know what brand they are. They are the ones that Menards puts on sale for $10-15 regularly. So far, they all have worked perfectly every time they are turned on.

 

[Steevo]

I bought and installed 17 of the 8-foot T8 fixtures with four 4' bulbs.
I got them at Lowes for about $39 apiece, and I believe they are these Metalux units.

http://www.lowes.com/pd_163723-337-8TSNF-232-UNV-EB81-U_4294856999__?productId=3181905&Ntt=fluorescent+lighting&pl=1&currentURL=%3FNtt%3Dfluorescent%2Blighting&facetInfo=

They seem sturdy enough, installed easily, all worked, with no failures.
In one year of use, I have had one fluorescent tube fail.

 

[40cpe]

I used the lights from Contractor Lighting
http://www.contractorlighting.com/8ft-lamp-watt-fluorescent-double-channel-strip-120277-p-176.html

They don't have a brand on the box and seem to be similar in construction to the ~$40 light from the box stores EXCEPT they have Philips ballasts that are rated for 120/277V and they are energy star rated. They are listed for residential, commercial, and institutional use which leads me to believe that they might be better for reduced RFI. I suspect that Contractor Lighting's volume is such that they can order lights to their specs to sell a good light at a competitive price. I paid no tax and shipping is fast and free for orders over $250. Their tubes are $2.25 for the 3000 lumen and I used the 5000 K.

They have been up for just a couple of weeks but they all come on instantly and light the shop better than I had hoped.

 

[GShelton]

I am shopping for lights now. I was looking at the ones here:

www.contractorlighting.com/8ft-lamp-watt-fluorescent-double-channel-strip-120277-p-176.html

Although I would much rather buy from Lowes as I have a commercial account there and my inside sales guy gives me good discounts.

 

[bookman51]

Great information guys. Thanks, and keep it coming.

Bookman

 

[jaker10]

4 ft twin tube T8 with reflector, from lights of america. Bought from walmart. Very happy. $11.00 each.

 

[bookman51]

4 ft twin tube T8 with reflector, from lights of america. Bought from walmart. Very happy. $11.00 each.

I am a bit surprised (but pleasantly) by how good of experiences some folks have had with some of the cheaper brands. Any bad experiences out there with either the cheap or expensive brands?

Thanks in advance for sharing.

 

[pattenp]

4 ft twin tube T8 with reflector, from lights of america. Bought from walmart. Very happy. $11.00 each.

I got a couple of those and had to return one of them because of a flicker and then had to return the new one because of a constant flicker. I still have the two and the other one has now developed a random flicker. They're mounted in a garden shed so I don't care too much. If they were in my shop they'd be returned for a refund. What can you expect for $11 a fixture?

 

[bookman51]

4 ft twin tube T8 with reflector, from lights of america. Bought from walmart. Very happy. $11.00 each.

And what about any interference with a radio?

 

[Steevo]

The Metalux units from Lowes have caused me no radio interference at all.
They are sold for residential use, so they have to comply with the stricter RFI regs.

 

[SSAAHemiFan]

Bookman - Is your wholesaler's price on the Metalux better than Menards ?

I am getting ready to buy a bunch from Menards tomorrow.

 

[bookman51]

Bookman - Is your wholesaler's price on the Metalux better than Menards ?

I am getting ready to buy a bunch from Menards tomorrow.

I cannot say I am comparing apples to apples without looking at model numbers but the local WinElelctric in Kearney, Nebraskas quoted me 6 bulb T-5 HO fixtures with bulbs at $173. The online price for T-5 HO on Menards website is about $240 (HBL654HT5-UPL-L5).

Another wholesale supplier in town quoted me 6 bulb T-5 HO fixtures at about $200, but I do not have the brand. Again, without the model number or more specific specifications, I don't know if I am comparing apples to apples. Generally, I have found Menards pretty good in price matching.

 

[SSAAHemiFan]

thank you for the information.. I held up on my planned purchase today.

I will do some checking locally and if I find a good price on the Metalux I will pass it on.

 

[jaker10]

Out of the 25 4ft. twin tube light I bought from walmart I had 1 out of the box that was bad. No radio interference. They say they will light down to -20 degrees. I will say at 0 to 10 degrees they come on dim and have waves in light but brighten up fine with in 5 minutes. Also come with plug in and hang chains, No pull cord, have to plug into an outlet. I'm very happy.

 

[bookman51]

thank you for the information.. I held up on my planned purchase today.

I will do some checking locally and if I find a good price on the Metalux I will pass it on.

And somewhere I have the model number for the Metalux light priced by the local WinElectric wholesaler. When I find it, I will share it. I was surprised that they priced the lights less than Menards since Menards claims to be very price competitive, but then it may be comparing oranges with tangerines. I also used the online Menards price, and in looking at the local store, I did not see much in t-5.

Through a friend of a friend kind of deal, I have gotten t-5s priced to me as low as $146 (with bulbs...and 6 bulb units). I don't know the brand name or the bulb specifications, but maybe t-5s are getting more price competitive.

Thanks to everyone for sharing information.

 

[itsAfram]

I used the lights from Contractor Lighting
http://www.contractorlighting.com/8ft-lamp-watt-fluorescent-double-channel-strip-120277-p-176.html

They don't have a brand on the box and seem to be similar in construction to the ~$40 light from the box stores EXCEPT they have Philips ballasts that are rated for 120/277V and they are energy star rated. They are listed for residential, commercial, and institutional use which leads me to believe that they might be better for reduced RFI. I suspect that Contractor Lighting's volume is such that they can order lights to their specs to sell a good light at a competitive price. I paid no tax and shipping is fast and free for orders over $250. Their tubes are $2.25 for the 3000 lumen and I used the 5000 K.

They have been up for just a couple of weeks but they all come on instantly and light the shop better than I had hoped.

Thanks for this.... I was a little weary about ordering from these guys.
I will probably order some of these in the next month..

 

[JerryC]

Although I would much rather buy from Lowes as I have a commercial account there and my inside sales guy gives me good discounts.

I bought a pair of the plug in 4' dual tube lights from Lowes a couple of months ago. They tripped the GFI. Was going to just get a different brand at Lowes, but they use the same brand for all of that type of lighting.

Picked up two of whatever brand HD had and they work fine.

 

[bookman51]

And somewhere I have the model number for the Metalux light priced by the local WinElectric wholesaler. When I find it, I will share it. I was surprised that they priced the lights less than Menards since Menards claims to be very price competitive, but then it may be comparing oranges with tangerines. I also used the online Menards price, and in looking at the local store, I did not see much in t-5.

Through a friend of a friend kind of deal, I have gotten t-5s priced to me as low as $146 (with bulbs...and 6 bulb units). I don't know the brand name or the bulb specifications, but maybe t-5s are getting more price competitive.

Thanks to everyone for sharing information.

The model number priced to me by the local WinElectric wholesaler is Metalux HBL654HT5-UPL-L5. I think they were priced at $173 with bulbs. I checked today and the Menards website has them at $207.09. Kind of surprised someone would be able to underprice Menards with the same item (so makes me wonder if I wrote everything down correctly...so beware).