we had a gc recently who ordered his own 4" ic rated cans for a home. he found them from USA Lighting. i looked them up and they are super cheap, like $20 for can,trim, and lamp(par 20 50w). they havn't shown up yet so i can't tell if they are quality or not. i need to order some cans tue. for a really low budg. remodel and was wondering if anyone has used these amazingly(too good to be true?) cheap cans?
cheap cans
- Thread starter lat1
- Start date
- Status
- Location
- Chapel Hill, NC
- Occupation
- Retired Electrical Contractor
I only use Halo cans because they are the most available in this area and have been here for eons. The halo H7 can with a 30 WAT trim and bulb cost me about $20.00. Can-- $8.00, Trim- $9.00 and then the bulb-- (approx. prices)
How do you warranty a can that you found on the internet?
Are they UL listed?
Just a word of caution:
It’s good that you are looking for ways to be more competitive, that is the name of the game.
However, to some degree you assume responsibility for all material you provide, for any given project. If these cans have a counterfeit UL, or are otherwise defective, you are exposed to any liability that may arise from the use of these cans. To a much lesser extent, if a part breaks within the warranty and you get hooked into replacing it, where do you find it a year later.
Ok best case scenario here, the client loves the cans, they work perfectly and a year later they want more for an addition to the project. Now does that online supplier still have them or is he even still in business?
For fixtures and gear I prefer to deal with a local supply house, to help insulate me from the issues above. If you have any issues with the fixtures, and you bought them from a supply house you then have the assume buying power a supply house has to deal on your behalf with the manufacture of the fixtures. If there is a law suit, the supply house also gets a part of that pie too, and it goes up from there to the manufacturer.
In a nutshell, there is a lot less exposure buying that Halo for $30 than there is for the generic brand off the net for $20, and that is $10 well spent.
My experience has been that some customers will pinch pennies until they hurt themselves and then expect you to fix it out of your own pocket.
Are they UL listed?
Just a word of caution:
It’s good that you are looking for ways to be more competitive, that is the name of the game.
However, to some degree you assume responsibility for all material you provide, for any given project. If these cans have a counterfeit UL, or are otherwise defective, you are exposed to any liability that may arise from the use of these cans. To a much lesser extent, if a part breaks within the warranty and you get hooked into replacing it, where do you find it a year later.
Ok best case scenario here, the client loves the cans, they work perfectly and a year later they want more for an addition to the project. Now does that online supplier still have them or is he even still in business?
For fixtures and gear I prefer to deal with a local supply house, to help insulate me from the issues above. If you have any issues with the fixtures, and you bought them from a supply house you then have the assume buying power a supply house has to deal on your behalf with the manufacture of the fixtures. If there is a law suit, the supply house also gets a part of that pie too, and it goes up from there to the manufacturer.
In a nutshell, there is a lot less exposure buying that Halo for $30 than there is for the generic brand off the net for $20, and that is $10 well spent.
My experience has been that some customers will pinch pennies until they hurt themselves and then expect you to fix it out of your own pocket.
Last edited:
LawnGuyLandSparky
Senior Member
I agree with ITO here but consider this:
This IS the age of the internet. Often, competition was limited due to market saturation and other venues are persued to get a perfectly legitimate product to market.
If I were a supply house, I probably wouldn't want more than 2 or 3 of the most popular brands of cans. That doesn't mean a brand I never heard of, or a new player is peddling crap.
The music industry has room for only 6 new "stars" every year. Due to the internet, there's a lot more and better out there that you and I can now access, because 3 or 4 leading recording labels aren't dictating who I have to listen to.
I say order one or ask for a sample, incl the spec sheets and judge for yourself.
This IS the age of the internet. Often, competition was limited due to market saturation and other venues are persued to get a perfectly legitimate product to market.
If I were a supply house, I probably wouldn't want more than 2 or 3 of the most popular brands of cans. That doesn't mean a brand I never heard of, or a new player is peddling crap.
The music industry has room for only 6 new "stars" every year. Due to the internet, there's a lot more and better out there that you and I can now access, because 3 or 4 leading recording labels aren't dictating who I have to listen to.
I say order one or ask for a sample, incl the spec sheets and judge for yourself.
it didn't take long to get an answer to my question. i ordered and installed(roughed and trimmed out) ic rated slope ceiling cans from usa lighting. stopped in to talk to the owner today and noticed one of the lamps not on and part of the trim a little melted. can was pretty hot when i took the lamp out. i let it cool down and put the lamp back in and it worked again so i guess the thermal overload had kicked in. the lamp, 75w par 30, was what had been spec.'d from usa lighting for those cans. i didn't tear into the j box to check connections yet. of coursre i'll contact the co. on monday , just wondering if anyone has any idea (besides cheap cans) why this thing overheated?
bradleyelectric
Senior Member
- Location
- forest hill, md
75w is pretty hot for a 4" can. I usually use juno 4" cans with 50w par30
stickboy1375
Senior Member
- Location
- Litchfield, CT
bradleyelectric said:
You mean Par 20? If not, which 4" trim accepts a par 30?
peter d
Senior Member
- Location
- New England
I avoid the internet junk like the plague. I'm pretty much a die hard Halo guy and I don't see that changing anytime soon no matter how cheap that other stuff is and how enticing the prices are.
chris kennedy
Senior Member
- Location
- Miami Fla.
- Occupation
- 60 yr old tool twisting electrician
peter d said:
Well said.
How many posts do you have on the internet? About 3225?:grin:
peter d
Senior Member
- Location
- New England
chris kennedy said:
Yeahhhh...hmmmmm....uhhhhhhhh....you got me there.
Well, there is that one guy here who has almost 18,000. Maybe we should do an intervention, like take his computer and NEC away from him?
chris kennedy
Senior Member
- Location
- Miami Fla.
- Occupation
- 60 yr old tool twisting electrician
Go ahead, make his day.peter d said:Well, there is that one guy here who has almost 18,000. Maybe we should do an intervention, like take his computer and NEC away from him?
chris kennedy
Senior Member
- Location
- Miami Fla.
- Occupation
- 60 yr old tool twisting electrician
lat1 said:
You look inside the can. That gives you the approved trims and the lamp(s) that go with it.
bradleyelectric
Senior Member
- Location
- forest hill, md
stickboy1375 said:
my mistake
- Location
- Chapel Hill, NC
- Occupation
- Retired Electrical Contractor
I just installed my first WAC cans. There is a lighting consultant on the job and he supplied them. They are the worse cans I ever had to install. The brackets are very thin and will barely fit in a space of 14.5 inches. 14.25 and you have to bed the brackets. I did alot of cussing with these-- there is also very little space between joists to slide the fixture because of the orientation of the JB.
The wiring box is mounted in the direction that the can needs to slide. Halo boxes are parallel with the brackets so it has easy access. Anyone else use these.
The wiring box is mounted in the direction that the can needs to slide. Halo boxes are parallel with the brackets so it has easy access. Anyone else use these.
stickboy1375
Senior Member
- Location
- Litchfield, CT
Dennis Alwon said:
Be happy the joist were not 12" on center... talk about a little cussing...:grin:
- Location
- Chapel Hill, NC
- Occupation
- Retired Electrical Contractor
stickboy1375 said:
I starting cutting the brackets but they were a bear to take out so I just mad 90 degree turns on the brackets. Yuck
stickboy1375
Senior Member
- Location
- Litchfield, CT
Dennis Alwon said:
I've done the same, but most of my jobs are T&M, so I usually just cut them...:grin:
cschmid
Senior Member
- Location
- Northern cold country
I hang out with the guys from the supply house and watch their kids at sporting events..so my money is well spent...dont know anyone from Internet shop..never seen there face no idea where our local money went too..wow no help to our community..support America shop local..by the way I like halo as well and we even get deals on them..
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