That's a gloat, of sorts, in my book. I'd classify it as a nanogloat though.
JP
******************************************************************************************** How 'bout a Walker-Turner cabinet saw with a Biesemeyer fence for 80 bucks?
Heeeheeee! I'm headed down with the trailer right now. I also picked up two *large* piles of hardwood for $12.50 each. The 100 bdft. of clear poplar sitting dead nuts on top of it would have been worth the $25, and that doesn't even begin to touch the oak, cherry and god knows what else piled underneath. I'm a bit giddy. Of course this will mean I have no excuse not to actually *build* something.
Considering the 8' fixtures are $50 around here, and the bulbs are what, $5 apiece (haven't replaced mine yet), that doesn't sound like a simple neener.
*doing the math* 8 fixtures and bulbs * ($50 + $10) = $480 worth of lighting. For free. I wouldn't turn that down.
I don't know where you live, but in many big cities now, it is almost impossible to get rid of the long florescent tubes. They are considered hazardous waste.
I used to have these fixures in my house and shop. The tubes were cheap and plentiful. When I moved recently, it was almost impossible to buy the long tubes and no garbage dump in town would take them. I used to put them out for curbside removal. They won't take them any more. Not even the four footers.
I had a friend who would put them in a specially constructed box and break them up. He would them transfer the shards to lined plastic bags. This was the only way to get rid of them. Even the four footers are getting hard to get rid of.
It is turning into a form of ecological blackmail or embargo. If in fact these things need to be disposed of in a certain way, waste companies should provide a solution of some kind. Now large amounts of these tubes are being disposed of in ways that they would never approve of.
You have to commit a crime to dispose of them. I heard of one waste company designate one day a year to receive these tubes. They are accumulating around people's houses. You can't sell your house if there are any of these tubes laying around. I have no idea what businesses do. Probably have a hazardous waste company take care of them.
But what choice do consumers have? I was made to feel like a leper for having these eight foot fixtures and tubes. Never again. I am not even sure about the four footers any more.
Hmmm... Haven't dealt with that issue at all. I guess I probably would have done what your friend did, but without forethought. Just that the bulbs wouldn't have fit into a garbage can.
Around here, we have a "hazardous waste" disposal area at most land-fills. Used motor oil, paint, etc. There's also places to send old electronics (TV's, computers, etc). BTW, around here is in Alberta, Canada. Guess we're more progressive than I thought. Of course, we pay an extra fee for those services. I think on my LCD monitor purchase, I paid $12 up front for it's disposal at the end of it's life.
My garage/shop is 22 x 25 x 11 and I have 3x 8' two bulb units and 2x 4' units. It is plenty bright for me. If you want to use all of them, consider putting them on two switched circuits for when you may not want/need all of them on. My 4' units are on a separate circuit and I rarely turn them on.
Good advice - I am thinking of putting in 6 of them, leaving the original bulb sockets in place and putting pull chains on each 8' section. That way I only turn on what I need plus others as the traverse the garage would only use the regular lights.
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