I’m thinking of buying some low profile under-cabinet fluorescent light fixtures for layout lighting. These fixtures use small T5 bulbs, which are not widely available (Lowe’s carries the fixtures but doesn’t have the appropriate replacement bulbs). Can anyone recommend a store or online source that carries a wide range of fluorescent bulbs? Thanks.
The T5 bulbs are available at my local Home Depot, Wal-mart and K-mart. We don’t have a Lowe’s yet, and I’m surprised to hear that they don’t have them.
I know McMaster-Carr has the T5. Go to www.mcmaster.com and search for T5. That will bring you to the Lamps page. Select fluorescent, scroll down and select T5. They have a good variety. I have been using this company as a machine mechanic and I also buy from them for home use. A couple of times I needed a ballast for my older under the counter lamps. Home Depot did not carry the ballast. They are in New Jersey and I usually get the order in no more than two days, plus the shipping charges are ok.
Rich
Wow, McMaster has an impressive selection. That’s just what I’m looking for, thanks!
Interesting that you’ve had the same experience with Lowe’s. We had some halogen lamps from them, and when the bulbs started to go, we found it was impossible to get replacements. Their store computer listed them as in-stock, but there were none on the shelves or in storage. Of course, since the computer said they had them, they never got re-ordered. Eventually we made them give us our money back on the lamps.
I hope this is just an isolated incident. Lowe’s is a convenient place to buy MR supplies like primer, caulking and Dremel disks.
Mr. B.
This business of Low’s not having what they claim is in stock is not unusual. I called 5 Low’s stores in the Sacramento, CA area looking for an item they normally stock. All 5 Lowe’s stores claimed they had the item in stock based on their computer inventory. Not one store could visually find what their computer claimed was in stock. So much for accurate inventory control.
Chuck
I’ll be using either the T4 or T5 fixtures from these guys:
http://www.pegasusassociates.com/products/FluorescentFixtures/FluorescentFixtures.html
Relativly cheap and works great. I have a single T4 I got to test for use in the kitchen.
They carry the replacement bulbs as well.
One caveat regarding buying puchasing flouresecent bulbs: Pay attention to the specified Kelvin temperature. This gives you an idea of how “white” the light is. A bulb listed with a 2300 degree temperature is going to give you a yellow hue. You need at least a 3500 degree bulb to give you a white light.
The McMaster-Carr site gives all that information. Even if you do not buy from McMaster, the information is usefull.
Rich
That’s a good point, but what if you’re actually going for more of a “natural” light hue, rather than the harsh white of standard fluorescents? What Kelvin range is “natural”? I’ve seen “daylight” bulbs etc., but not sure of the Kelvin range.
I have recently done some extensive research on fluorescent lighting for my new layout. I plan to use the lighting system that was described by Dave Barrow in Model Railroad Planning 2005 starting on page 78. In this article, he describes the use of GE Chroma 50 fluorescent tubes in single-tube strip lights above the front edge of his layout. These Chroma 50 tubes have a color temperature of 5,000 degrees Kelvin which is very close to the color temperature of natural sunlight which is 5,600 degrees Kelvin. Further, the Color Rendering Index (CRI) is 90. The higher the CRI, the more accurate colors appear. I purchased some of these Chroma 50 tubes at my local Lowes store in Martinsburg, WV today for $6.98 for a two pack. They are marked “Sunshine” on the packaging, but if you look on the end of the actual tube it has Chroma 50 imprinted on the glass. Lowes stocks them in 48" and 24" T12 size. They may also have them in the T8 size. I’ve not been able to find them in 36" T12 size as a stock item available in individual packages. If anyone knows where you can get them in 36" T12, please let me know. There is also an interesting article on fluorescent lighting for layout photography in Model Railroad Planning 2007 on page 38. In this article, the use of GE Chroma 50 tubes is described.
Another good source of info on fluorescent lighting and lighting in general is the General Electric website at: www.gelighting.com/na/business_lighting/education_resources/learn_about_light/
This website explains about the importance of color temperature and color rendering index in making colors appear true to your eye. It also has a demonstration of how a scene appears with different light sources, i.e., how color temperatur
Great, thanks for the helpful information!