Bulbs & Fittings Ideas

Update as of Jan 2015: I saw that my customer images were removed so asked a couple of friends to look under their account to make sure that it wasn’t just me. They confirmed that the images were gone. The images showed how 2 of these lights can be put up back-to-back and were uploaded and shown for years. I’m not even able to add back the images. Amazon has removed these offensive images for your benefit. Acts like this by Amazon are why they have become my last choice for purchases and why I don’t do reviews any more. Old review follows:I’m re-writing my review because issues mentioned in it previously are no longer issues. I have 2 of these now. I’ve uploaded 3 customer images to show how 2 of these can work together. One is an older design that uses two T12 bulbs, a pull rope for on/off switch and pull strings on the side for height adjustment. The newer design that is selling now is much better. The on/off switch is on the power cord. The height adjustment is much simpler using a friction/slip knob on a thicker cord. This newer design also uses only one T5 bulb.

I use this for growing vegetable plants from seeds until they’re ready to go outside. I have seen reviews that say that this fixture doesn’t supply enough light for seedlings and that is not true. For seedlings, adjust the light so that it’s as close to your plant tops as possible without touching them (no more than 1 inch from the light). The closer the better. Keep your light(s) on for 16-18 hours a day. I use a timer to turn my lights on and off. Adjust your light height once or twice a day as your plants grow, always keeping the light close to the plant tops but not touching. Touching the light for a period of time will burn your plants. I do not shorten the time that my light is on as the plants grow. I have had great success with tomatoes, peppers, cucumbers and others, all from seeds.

Another feature that comes in handy is that you can tilt the light at an angle (using the cord adjustment). My plants are different heights so I tilt my lights and tall plants go under the high end while the shorter plants go under the low end. If you just want a wider light, buy 2 of these and place them side by side. Again, see my customer images that show my setup.

As far as not being sturdy, once on the table top, they’re as sturdy as they need to be. I’ve had no problems at all and I’ve been using these for a few years. If you’re always moving them around then you need to be careful. The frame isn’t designed well enough to be banged around.

I have had this light set-up for a few years now, and still love it. The original fluorescent fixture conked out after 2 or 3 years’ use, but a shoplight fixture from a hardware store replaced it seamlessly. The stand is very light, and slightly aggravating to put together the first time, but it does the job beautifully. It is the easiest to adjust of all lighting systems I’ve used, allowing one-handed movement of the light up or down, making it great for seed starting. The one-handed-ness is made possible via some coiled metal strips within the cross-bar that create tension on the two strings or chains that connect to the sides of the light fixture. If you have to remove the fluorescent fixture for bulb replacement or storage, I recommend that you hook the two strings or chains to one another to avoid having to reassemble the tensioning mechanism, which can be annoying.This, plus a few heat mats and a small fan on a timer are all I’ve needed to start and grow thousands of strong seedlings in my tiny apartment, populating the neighborhood with flowers and veges for years now!