Wiring fluorescent lights

J

jeteast99

New member
I was recently shopping for fluorescent lights at the home depot and was wondering if i can hook up a plug to it instead of hardwiring. The rep at home depot said that this could not be done and i have to hard wire it. To me it seems like this can be done and just want to get your opinions and knowledge on this.
 
Yes there are some that come with plugs and you can hang them anywhere as opposed to the ones that bolt directly to the wall.
 
What would be the difference? I put plugs on all mine. Open up the casing and there should be a wiring diagram on the ballast.
 
I just bought my house last year, before me an electrician owned it. All the florescent fixtures in the garage are plugged into outlets in the ceiling. Just look for the ones at Home Depot with a cord. Most times it's only a 4'-5' cord so not a lot of reach. I also have a fixture that I lean on the wall or lay on the floor depending on where I want a little extra light.
 
I bought 2 4" florescent plug-ins for my garage for some much needed added light when detailing. Menards has them on sale almost every other week for $15 a pop (these are the 0* starters). The catch is the bulbs usually aren't on sale that week and you have to buy a case of 10 (not the 4 you'll need). But oh well. I've run out of outlets to put them for now. I'm done until I move, then I'll hardwire..
 
mhadden said:
Menards has them on sale almost every other week for $15 a pop (these are the 0* starters).
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I need to replace mine with 0* starters. I'll have to watch at Menard's for them to go on sale. I like the daylight bulbs.
 
thanks for the help guys. i didn't think there would be a difference since its drawing from the same electrical source. so I'll head up to home depot tomorrow and buy four 8' lamps
 
The tard at HD doesnt have a clue. Any fluorescent light fixture can be wired to run off an outlet instead of hardwiring. And, as BigJim said, you can even buy them with plugs
 
Most lighting fixtures have their wiring enter through standard sized holes called “knockouts.� They punch them in standard sizes so you can attach them to standard sized conduit using a thing called a conduit connector.



To attach an appliance cord instead of hardwiring with conduit you use something called a “cord grip,� which attaches to the fixture much like a conduit connector but clamps solidly to a power cord rather than conduit.



Be sure to use a three-prong plug and ground the chassis of the fixture, just as you would if you were hardwiring it.





PC.
 
I bought 2 fixtures that were meant to be hardwired. I attached a plug on each one and turned an existing socket into a receptacle for them to plug into. I've since cleaned up the installation by feeding the wires through plastic conduit that attach to the ceiling. Works great.



Don't mind the filthy car!



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I personally think they look better with no cords plugging into outlets and all the wiring ran up through ceiling. Just my opinion though. Good Luck.
 
i know the fluorescent are a huge favorite of body shops and detail shops cause they are cheaper to buy and run versus halogens but you have to be very selective when picking your bulbs. without a high enough C.R.I. or kelvin temp. there will be a huge difference when car is out in sun. C.R.I. should be 93 or higher and kelvin temp 5500.



i was also looking to setup lighting in my garage for detailing purposes and called about 20 different lighting consulted companies and they all recommended to go with halogens. they are a truer replica of the actual sun. but if you still want to go with flourescents check out this site. it will explain alot so you can mke an educated choice. if i had the money i would have bought lights from this site. but the 2000 watts of halogen light that i have now works great



Natural Lighting Compared to BlueMax Lighting Technology
 
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