Best store price for 6' flouros please?

[T i m]

Hi All,

I need to get some 6' flouros to put up in my garage owning mates sorta store / side workshop.

The last time I went to my local 'Trade electrical supplier' I was assured they were cheaper than the sheds so bought a couple of fittings, tubes and diffusers. From memory, subsequent visits to the sheds revealed the 'Trade' supplier wasn't that (or as) cheap?

Anyone noted / compared the flouro prices in any of the popular National stores and could point me in the right direction please?

Would I get them that much cheaper mail order (I didn't like the thought of mail order bacause of their size etc).

All the best ..

T i m

[r.p.mcmurphy]

i bought 10 5 footers at 8 quid each from a local electrical shop. made by Fitzgerald -a British make. they work fine.

Steve

[usenet]

... and Denmans have 5' ones with electronic starters (instant, non flickering start-up) for about £13 or so if I remember correctly.

I think you'll find that 4' and 5' fluorescents are the cheapest as they are the ones used (and thus manufactured) in the largest quantities.

[Dave Plowman (News)]

I reckon for this use you really want fittings with metal reflectors - not plastic diffusers. Gives a deal of protection from being whacked with a length of timber etc.

But you'd probably need a wholesaler for these.

[Andrew Gabriel]

CPC have cheap basic ones at 11.57 ea for 5+ (look like Fitzgerald but it doesn't actually say). Cheap metal ones will often potmark with rust in even slightly damp areas. They also seem to have a special offer on plastic IP65 ani-corrosive ones at 26.33 ea for 3+. I haven't compared their prices though -- just had catalogue handy.

Prices drop significantly if you come down to 5' fittings (8.86 and 18.80 respectively). Cheaper to buy those including one extra if it fits the lighting layout.

[T i m]

Thanks for that Dave .. I wouldn't fit diffusers .. that was just as an example ;-)

And I assume the price would slide up again ..

All the best ..

T i m

[Dave Plowman (News)]

If you've got any large industrial estates near by, worth doing a tour to see if any factory etc is having a re-fit. This sort of thing gets junked.

[T i m]

I guess Fitzgerald make most of them?

Cheap metal ones

I like the idea but I can't see him running to that sort of money for a 'store room'?

I haven't compared

So they will be mail order (if you live in Nth London)?

Hmm good point .. so 5' are the favourite eh?

All the best ..

T i m

[T i m]

I know .. I was helping my builder brother-in-law a while back and saw a skip full of the things ..

Maybe if I drive round slowly over the weekend (with the missus on the bell), maybe someone will bring me some out ?

All the best ..

T i m

[N. Thornton]

6' are long obsolete, 5' have been the replacement standard for decades now. 4' will give even better lightspread. Use them as shelf fittings, much better, ie sit on shelf with bulb facing white wall, then you get no glare.

Check to see what tube you get before buying, if it says cool white or

4500K, run. Or at least buy some acceptable tubes. 3500K is the best low price all rounder.

NT

[Dave Plowman (News)]

Eh? All the cats I have show them still available in all the usual styles. Single, twin, corrosion resistant, etc.

[Andrew Gabriel]

6' is not obsolete -- it's just not as popular in discrete fittings, and never has been, but it's not going away. Likewise 8'. They are both heavily used in continuous lighting runs. 8' switchstart can have difficulty starting in cold temperatures, which makes them unsuitable for unheated premises.

4' has a lower light output per unit length than the longer tubes.

Fittings normally come with 3500K tubes.

[T i m]

What I'm trying to do here is provide 'basic', economical (running cost) lighting to a lean-to like estension down the side of my mates car repair garage. It's about 6' high at the low side and 7' at the high, 10' wide and about 30' long (or a bit longer than the old Daimler that's in there at the moment!).

What I want in these is cheap to buy, cheap to run lighting that I can fix to the roof timbers to allow anyone to be able to walk through there in the dark without tripping over stuff etc?

I can't remember what colour the walls are (it's too dark!) but I could slop some whitewash (or whatever is cheap functional?) over them once I've cleaned it all up a bit to make it 'lighter'?

All the best ..

T i m

[N. Thornton]

Its so unpopular for domestic use that they cost more, you cant get free tubes for them, and some shops dont stock 6' at all. Theyre very unpopular anyway, and not recommended. With 2' 4' and 5' you can get lots of free tubes and fittings.

but not all, so eyes open.

NT

[T i m]

Before the 6' 5' thing was mentioned here I went to my local trade counter and asked for cheap 6' fittings. I was given a price of 12 quid plus vat and when I mentioned tubes he offered to throw them in?

I'll have to ask after the 5' ones now .. ;-)

All the best ..

T i m

[Andy Luckman (AJL Electronics)]

I thought my cats were clever, but yours are amazing. :-)