T-8 strip fixtures at the big box

[tom baker]

I am writing an information sheet for our local master gardners to use with flouresent fixtures for starting indoor flowers and veggies.
At our big box, I find a 4 ft T-8 strip with refelector for $32, and a 4 ft T-8 strip with cord and pull chain for $18.00.
Without purchasing, I can't see what the difference is.
I do know the old T-12 shop lights for $12.00 had a very poor ballast that would barely light up the lamps.
But the T-8 strip with cord and pull chain seems like the better deal. Or is it?

 

[K2X]

I've been running into a bunch of gardeners with the new Colorado MMJ laws.

If you buy a box store fixture with ballast, the ballast are varying degrees of junk with the best being still junk but may work for your purposes. But they do have some good ballasts on the shelf . If I see a half sized, (3 or 4 inch long) ballast in a Home Depot fixture it goes in the trash right away an then is replace with a good Advanced, Sylvania, Howard, etc. ballast . Then you have a pretty nice fixture.

The old 8 dollar shop lights didn't even have a place for a real ballast. The new 12 dollar shop lights do have room for a real ballast under the cover. So if you buy a $12 shop light , cut the lamp leads and put in a $17 advanced ballast, for 29 bucks you have a decent light.

 

[peter d]

I bought a "premium" T8 Lithonia shop light at HD not that long ago and it had a Keysone ballast. I've never seen any supplier sell Keystone replacement ballasts off the shelf but I do seem them as OEM ballasts all the time. Much better than "Shen Xhou Electric Industrial Works, LTD" ballasts I suppose. :roll:

 

[RETRAINDAILY]

I thought the t5 was the way to go for indoor growing operations.