Model Railroading > Free Flourescent light fixtures

I am doing a contract job wrecking out the fixtures in a retail store, and I can have all the fluorescent light fixtures and (premium) tubes for free (probably about 40). They are three-footers. Some are single tube but most are double-tube. They all have 110 volt chords on them. I know that the future is with LEDS, but I'm wondering since they are free that I should go ahead and take them. I already have them installed in the drop ceiling for my double-deck layout but nothing for the lower deck, though my deck is set up for them. I know that since they are so long, that I'll have to invest in some shorter ones for some locations. But longer tubes will also cover more area. I suppose I should look at the cost of replacement tubes. But if I only need 20, I can use the tubes from the other ones.

What do you all think?

Victor A. Baird
http://www.erstwhilepublications.com



Edited 4 time(s). Last edit at 02/19/18 19:31 by wabash2800.

I have walked away from fluorescent lights for three reasons:
They use more power than LEDs
Disposing of the tubes is much more difficult to do (legally)
They don't last as long as LED tubes and there are no ballasts to fail.
I have a lot of relatively new fluorescent 4-foot fixtures on an 11-foot ceiling, some over big islands of the layout. As often as bad tubes I find bad ballasts. Changing tubes or ballasts is too hard for this 74-year old body. I have almost changed all of them to LEDs.

Thanks for the input. Believe it or not, I have not replaced any of the tubes in my basement since I bought my house almost 20 years ago. I do get some blinking sometimes, but that's it. A friend tells me that a local hardware store will take your old tubes. LEDS are still quite pricy in quantity.

Victor A. Baird
http://www.erstwhilepubications.com

Here in FL we have to take tubes (and CFL's) to the county hazardous waste depot. Lots of folks just chuck 'em in the dumpster, though.

I would take them, but I am a packrat

I'm of the same mind as railstiesballast. Plus I didn't have as good of luck with my fluorescents. I bought some new fixtures in 2014 and 3 out of 8 tubs have gone bad in 4 years time. Plus my electric bill needs to be held in check. I'm definitely springing for LED's for my basement which I am working on readying for a layout this year.

Cheers, Jim

Trick is to replace the bulbs with led style you can get them that just plug into the original fixture. Saves money by using the old fixture that way, draw back is getting rid of the old bulbs. Sounds like an odd size is the problem so bulbs may cost too much.

Victor,

While I agree that free is nice, 3' is an oddball size, however if you get enough free fixtures and you save enough extra ballasts and lamps you might be ok. Currently the only mass produced inexpensive LED replacement tubes are 4'. 2'& 8'are out there but are hard to find and pricey. Also be aware that there are 2 types of replacement LED tubes, ballast in and ballast out. Ballast in you just replace the tubes. Ballast out you disconnect/remove the ballast and do a minor rewire in the fixture. Ballast out will give you a energy savings of 60%-80%. Ballast in not so much as you still are powering the ballast, you also have the disadvantage of having a future potential ballast failure. I have done thousands of LED retrofits in the last few years and highly recommend the ballast out option. If you can wire your layout you can rewire your fixture, just follow the wiring diagram on the lamp packaging (TURN OFF THE POWER FIRST).

Luke
California Licensed Electrical Contractor
since 1982

Got to agree with Luke in CA. Have replaced all tubes in the house and garage, using the "Toggled" brand from Home Depot.
You cut all the ballast wires off, use that wire to do the minor rewiring.
Didn't care about the cost since I was tired of buying tubes, trying to dispose correctly, and the garage lights didn't work when cold.
They also had the 24" tubes for closets and pantry. All have worked fine for several years.
Just my opinion.
Bill in Ft Worth

Thanks to Luke and Bill. I know what this weekend's project will be!

Fluorescent are known to gradually fade in light output over time. Companies that rent office space are known to write a specific light level into the contract. After a few years, the landlord has to replace the still-working bulbs to get the level back up in spec. again.

I decided to go with them as I have a limited budget right now and they are free. I hauled half of them home today and will pick up the rest tomorrow. There's about 40 altogether. Most are singles but there are dual fixtures and a few two-foot singles too. I'll have some extra tubes to replace burnt out ones. The way I see it, by the time I go to make a change, LEDs will hopefully be more affordable. What's nice about most of them is that they have flexible metal conduit with connection plugs so they can be hooked together in one string electrically.

Thanks all for your comments and suggestions.

Victor A. Baird
http://www.erstwhilepublications.com



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 02/21/18 18:36 by wabash2800.