buy used florecent lighting ?

[woodsmaster]

I've been trying to decide what to use for lighting in my new shop and have been seeing a lot of used florecent lighting on craigslist. Is this worh buying for cheap or should I just get new, or somthing different alltogether?
T 8 ? T 12 ?

 

[seige101]

You can find great deals on used but like new fluorescent fixtures on craigslist all the time. It's mostly contractors taking out working installs looking to make a few bucks instead of tossing them in the dumpster. Probably save 50% vs the cost of buying new. Just make sure they are the correct voltage, units from a commercial building could have 277v ballasts in them

Go with the T8 versions if you can they are more efficient, an added bonus is the lamps are slightly cheaper to replace.

 

[peakbagger]

I wouldnt even look at a fixture that doesnt use T-8 bulbs. The older ballasts are a lot less efficient than the new electronic ballasts The other thing to consider is that old fixtures could have PCB's in their ballasts which is hazardous waste. I also find that the cost and life of the older style tubes are expensive., I bought a new T-8 fixure with tubes for not much more than the cost of old style tubes.

 

[oldspark]

The high out puts start in cold temps in case your shop is not heated.

 

[Former Farmer]

T-12's are being phased out. Within a few years, you will have a very hard time trying to find bulbs for them.

 

[Mroverkill]

im actually in to the t'5 (my job requires them in the building for energy savings ) i installed them in my garage at the new house (boss had a few extras) WOW they are bright and the bulbs are like your pinky

 

[peakbagger]

When the T-5's first came out, a lot of trade folks called them the "hot 5's" . Most applications with hot 5's are indirect through diffusers or high bay area lighting as most people think they are too bright. I worked in large tall warehouse a few years ago and they replaced the dreaded hi pressure sodium lights (with the orange glow and lousy color resolution) with high bay T-5's. Each fixture carried a whole lot of bulbs but the net result was lower energy costs and much better light quality.

 

[Mroverkill]

yea the ones i have you can run one bulb 2 bulbs or all three at once so you can adjust by what you need


Buying used is ok as long as its t5 or t8 anything other then that ts a waste to be honest

 

[burleymike]

I got (5) 4 lampT12 fixtures for $10 last year when they were tearing an old school down. I found 5 T8 ballasts on Ebay for $25. The old ballasts in them were very old (1940's) and probably did contain PCBs I called the landfill and they said they would dispose of them for free since I am not a business. If I was not able to find the deal on the ballasts first I would not have bought them. As previously mentioned T12 lamps will be banned due to the energy bill IIRC in 2015.