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Re: florescent trouble lights

To: "Jim Juhas" <james.f.juhas@snet.net>,
Subject: Re: florescent trouble lights
From: "Phil Ethier" <pethier@isd.net>
Date: Wed, 29 Nov 2000 22:34:30 -0600
>I had a conventional trouble light hanging in my garage,
>like yours it sounds like, but on a retractable reel.
>Incandescent bulb type.  And I would usually bump this just
>enough to kill the bulb filament.  Frequently.

I suspect you are buying the wrong bulbs.  Rough-service bulbs with the
plastic coating and the wired-up filaments seem to last very well under
abusive conditions.

>For a lot less than the usual cost of the stick-type units,
>I bought a self-contained fluorescent bulb that replaces an
>incandescent bulb.  Screwed it right in to the same
>cage-type light.  No more "dropped" drop light filament
>kills.  At about $15 each at Home Depot, I've had a full
>return on my investment in the last two years in broken-bulb
>avoidance.

Hmm.  I've killed several fluorescent bulbs in drop lights that were
supposed to be bulletproof.  And the darn things are never bright enough.
One advantage has been that they fit in smaller places.

One thing I learned early:  Get a drop light with a perfectly opaque shade,
like reflective steel.  Not the yellow or orange plastic shade.  You want
light on your work, not in your eyes.

Phil Ethier    Saint Paul  Minnesota  USA
1970 Lotus Europa, 1992 Saturn SL2, 1986 Suburban, 1962 Triumph TR4 CT2846L
LOON, MAC   pethier@isd.net     http://www.mnautox.com/
"It makes a nice noise when it goes faster"
- 4-year-old Adam, upon seeing a bitmap of Grandma Susie's TR4.

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