Fluorescent light issues with extra snowflakes
September 26, 2017 7:42 AM Subscribe
I have a large fluorescent light in my kitchen that is super slow to turn on, only turns on after I flip the switch several times, or won't turn on at all. When the light does turn on, all the lights seem fine. On top of that, the cover is cracked in several places and the person who changed the bulbs for me last time told me that he thought the cover would break for good the next time it was taken off. What to do?
To be clear, one of the four bulbs always turns on immediately, but the other three can take a half an hour or more to turn on.
From googling, this looks like something I could hire an electrician to fix (I am not even slightly handy), though I suppose it's possible that it's the bulbs. For me, the real problem here is that the cover is probably not going to live through being taken off, and I haven't been able to find anything that seems like it could be a replacement. And even if I saw something that looked close, I'm not confident about getting an exact fit. I did at one point find a company online that makes custom covers, but I'm worried about the measurement being slightly off. So I don't even want to replace the bulbs to see if that works before having the cover issue resolved. The light looks roughly like this. It holds four four-foot bulbs.
Since I have to hire someone, I want to be able to have the person come to the house only once rather than having to pay for two trips. Would it be better to just buy a new light and ask the person to install it? Is it OK if the new light isn't exactly the same? Is that something you hire an electrician for?
I am extremely afraid of heights and cannot even change the bulbs myself, but I can get a friend to do that part.
To be clear, one of the four bulbs always turns on immediately, but the other three can take a half an hour or more to turn on.
From googling, this looks like something I could hire an electrician to fix (I am not even slightly handy), though I suppose it's possible that it's the bulbs. For me, the real problem here is that the cover is probably not going to live through being taken off, and I haven't been able to find anything that seems like it could be a replacement. And even if I saw something that looked close, I'm not confident about getting an exact fit. I did at one point find a company online that makes custom covers, but I'm worried about the measurement being slightly off. So I don't even want to replace the bulbs to see if that works before having the cover issue resolved. The light looks roughly like this. It holds four four-foot bulbs.
Since I have to hire someone, I want to be able to have the person come to the house only once rather than having to pay for two trips. Would it be better to just buy a new light and ask the person to install it? Is it OK if the new light isn't exactly the same? Is that something you hire an electrician for?
I am extremely afraid of heights and cannot even change the bulbs myself, but I can get a friend to do that part.
We just did this -- had a old flaky fluorescent fixture replaced (by an electrician) with a new LED fixture -- and it's great! It's brighter and the color is good, not too blue as it sometimes can be with LEDs. We bought the LED ourselves at Lowe's and had the electricians install it. Our new one is this, Good Earth Manhattan 48 inch, and it was around $100 to buy. It's a slightly different style to yours. They had a display at Lowe's with a bunch of different kitchen ceiling fixtures like this, so you can compare the size and color to your current one. For us there was no electrical reason why the light had to be the same, the only issue was the ceiling paint is different under where the old one was, which, meh.
posted by LobsterMitten at 7:56 AM on September 26, 2017
posted by LobsterMitten at 7:56 AM on September 26, 2017
Sounds like getting a new light would be easiest. Yes, you can get an electrician to install a light you supply. It doesn't matter if it's not the same, they will be able to wire it up and attach it to the ceiling. I've had one out to do just this twice in the last couple of months.
posted by corvine at 7:56 AM on September 26, 2017
posted by corvine at 7:56 AM on September 26, 2017
The likely culprits are the bulbs or the ballasts. Given the other issues with the fixture, I would just go with the 'replace the whole unit' option. Replacing a lighting fixture is totally something that you can hire an electrician for.
Regardless of which way you decide to go, I would switch over to LED replacements for the actual lighting elements. They're not exactly cheap compared to fluorescent bulbs, but they last way longer, which will abate any need for you to replace them again in the near future.
posted by furnace.heart at 7:57 AM on September 26, 2017
Regardless of which way you decide to go, I would switch over to LED replacements for the actual lighting elements. They're not exactly cheap compared to fluorescent bulbs, but they last way longer, which will abate any need for you to replace them again in the near future.
posted by furnace.heart at 7:57 AM on September 26, 2017
Response by poster: I own this home and plan to stay here for a while.
Further question about replacing the light: what is underneath a fixture like this? Will I have to do a lot of other work to the ceiling to replace it?
If you have a light fixture you love, I'd appreciate a link. My vision is not great, so I prefer kitchen lights to be super bright.
posted by FencingGal at 7:58 AM on September 26, 2017
Further question about replacing the light: what is underneath a fixture like this? Will I have to do a lot of other work to the ceiling to replace it?
If you have a light fixture you love, I'd appreciate a link. My vision is not great, so I prefer kitchen lights to be super bright.
posted by FencingGal at 7:58 AM on September 26, 2017
In all likelyhood You'll also have to do some painting around where the old light was located.
If I were you I would just paint the entire ceiling in between when they take the old light down and put the new light up if you can live without a light for a day or two. That way you don't have to be careful about not painting on your new light fixture. Also depending on where the screws are and the size of the new fixture you might need to do some minor filling and sanding to fill the old screw holes.
This is all very easy stuff for you to do if you are so inclined, especially if the electrician is willing to take the light off for you ahead of time. If not then you just have to be careful painting/filling and it will be more fiddly but still not hard.
posted by koolkat at 8:26 AM on September 26, 2017
If I were you I would just paint the entire ceiling in between when they take the old light down and put the new light up if you can live without a light for a day or two. That way you don't have to be careful about not painting on your new light fixture. Also depending on where the screws are and the size of the new fixture you might need to do some minor filling and sanding to fill the old screw holes.
This is all very easy stuff for you to do if you are so inclined, especially if the electrician is willing to take the light off for you ahead of time. If not then you just have to be careful painting/filling and it will be more fiddly but still not hard.
posted by koolkat at 8:26 AM on September 26, 2017
Underneath:
Ours was a very old fluorescent (probably more than 20 years old), and it had been served by a much older electrical system. Underneath it was: plain flat ceiling for the most part, and one small hole with wires coming out that attached to the base of the fixture. Fixture was attached to the ceiling with screws that came out leaving just little holes. So, no major change to the ceiling needed, just needs new paint if we decide to care about that. I think you may be able to avoid that since your light is a modern size, so there might be an LED one that would match the footprint of yours exactly.
You can compare light fixtures by how many lumens they put out. The one we got is nice and bright without being like "whoa this is weird", and it's 4000 lumens.
posted by LobsterMitten at 8:31 AM on September 26, 2017 [1 favorite]
Ours was a very old fluorescent (probably more than 20 years old), and it had been served by a much older electrical system. Underneath it was: plain flat ceiling for the most part, and one small hole with wires coming out that attached to the base of the fixture. Fixture was attached to the ceiling with screws that came out leaving just little holes. So, no major change to the ceiling needed, just needs new paint if we decide to care about that. I think you may be able to avoid that since your light is a modern size, so there might be an LED one that would match the footprint of yours exactly.
You can compare light fixtures by how many lumens they put out. The one we got is nice and bright without being like "whoa this is weird", and it's 4000 lumens.
posted by LobsterMitten at 8:31 AM on September 26, 2017 [1 favorite]
If you get a new fixture with bulbs that screw in, you might be able to change them yourself with an extendable light bulb changer. If looking up for too long makes you dizzy, that might not work. Getting a cover off will still be an issue, though. Our kitchen fixture is a pendant light with exposed bulbs, so that is an option.
posted by soelo at 8:41 AM on September 26, 2017
posted by soelo at 8:41 AM on September 26, 2017
Sounds like the ballast is going bad. No matter the root cause I'd suggest like everyone else that you just replace it. If the new fixture has the same "footprint" as the old one mounting likely won't be an issue; whatever is anchoring your existing light will most likely be able to work with the new one.
The tidbit I'll add is the recommendation to study color temperature a little, and decide what will be best for this location as you shop for a new fixture. If you go with a florescent fixture the bulbs are separate and you pick what color you want, but if you are going with the recommendation to upgrade to LED then the "bulbs" are usually included with the fixture.
posted by achrise at 8:57 AM on September 26, 2017
The tidbit I'll add is the recommendation to study color temperature a little, and decide what will be best for this location as you shop for a new fixture. If you go with a florescent fixture the bulbs are separate and you pick what color you want, but if you are going with the recommendation to upgrade to LED then the "bulbs" are usually included with the fixture.
posted by achrise at 8:57 AM on September 26, 2017
FencingGal: "Would it be better to just buy a new light and ask the person to install it?"
Get someone to replace with an LED fixture.
Starting at about $200 you can get a dimmable fixture (possibly even a variable colour temp) that won't need servicing for 50K hours (45 years at 3 hours per day). The fixture won't be user serviceable but when it goes you just replace the whole thing.
Replacing the fixture is something that in most cases can be done by a handyman (though it never hurts to get an electrician in). In my jurisdiction fixture replacement isn't even regulated work. There should be a connection box under the fixture. Otherwise if you have a standard gyproc ceiling it should extend under the fixture.
posted by Mitheral at 9:01 AM on September 26, 2017
Get someone to replace with an LED fixture.
Starting at about $200 you can get a dimmable fixture (possibly even a variable colour temp) that won't need servicing for 50K hours (45 years at 3 hours per day). The fixture won't be user serviceable but when it goes you just replace the whole thing.
Replacing the fixture is something that in most cases can be done by a handyman (though it never hurts to get an electrician in). In my jurisdiction fixture replacement isn't even regulated work. There should be a connection box under the fixture. Otherwise if you have a standard gyproc ceiling it should extend under the fixture.
posted by Mitheral at 9:01 AM on September 26, 2017
Are your fluorescent lights set in to the ceiling? In other words, is the ceiling flat with lights tucked into it, is the cover that's falling apart flush with the ceiling? Or is the fixture something that is attached to the ceiling? If it is the former, then replacing them will be a bit more complicated because removing them will leave a big hole in the ceiling. Here's a link that shows different kinds of kitchen ceiling lights.
posted by mareli at 9:54 AM on September 26, 2017
posted by mareli at 9:54 AM on September 26, 2017
Nth-ing both "replace" and "replace with LED." I've replaced fluorescent light ballasts and it's a simple enough task, but between that and the issues with the cover on your current light, it seems like replacing the whole thing in one go would be simpler. LEDs should last longer and provide you more options for brightness and color temperature.
As far as what's on the ceiling, it depends on far too many things for anybody here to say. Best case, you get a new fixture that covers the existing hole and you don't have to change or repair anything. Medium case, the new fixture is a little smaller and you'll need to repaint. Worst case, you'd have to have a drywall person come fill holes before painting. If you tell an electrician they'll be installing a new LED fixture to replace a fluorescent one and you'd like a compatible dimmer installed at the same time, they should come prepared to do their part of the job in one trip.
Most worstest case: you want to change the location of the fixture or install flood lights in cans or something, in which case the electrician may need to be two electricians and you'll have a lot of ceiling repair to do.
posted by fedward at 10:28 AM on September 26, 2017
As far as what's on the ceiling, it depends on far too many things for anybody here to say. Best case, you get a new fixture that covers the existing hole and you don't have to change or repair anything. Medium case, the new fixture is a little smaller and you'll need to repaint. Worst case, you'd have to have a drywall person come fill holes before painting. If you tell an electrician they'll be installing a new LED fixture to replace a fluorescent one and you'd like a compatible dimmer installed at the same time, they should come prepared to do their part of the job in one trip.
Most worstest case: you want to change the location of the fixture or install flood lights in cans or something, in which case the electrician may need to be two electricians and you'll have a lot of ceiling repair to do.
posted by fedward at 10:28 AM on September 26, 2017
Underneath this fixture you will probably find an electrical outlet box. Also, the fixture is attached to the ceiling with two or more screws towards the end of the thing.
posted by Midnight Skulker at 12:01 PM on September 26, 2017
posted by Midnight Skulker at 12:01 PM on September 26, 2017
If you want the quick, cheapest fix, replace all four fluorescent tubes. It is rare for a ballast to go bad and it doesn't cost much to replace the bulbs first. You don't need an electrician, just someone handy with a ladder. You can do that for less than $20. The lights will work fine even without a cover, just not as nice looking.
You can probably repair the cover using clear packing tape. If this works for you, you can consider later whether you want the expense of replacing the entire fixture.
posted by JackFlash at 12:45 PM on September 26, 2017
You can probably repair the cover using clear packing tape. If this works for you, you can consider later whether you want the expense of replacing the entire fixture.
posted by JackFlash at 12:45 PM on September 26, 2017
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Side note: my brother replaced all the bulbs in his house with those LED ones they've got now, and while the ones he chose are brighter than I think a lot of folks would prefer for living rooms, etc, they are PERFECT for the kitchen and bathroom because they put out that super white bright light like fluorescents do. (And they last forever, so that's friend-requiring replacements in the future.) Might be something to look into? I rent so haven't had to care about these things yet.
Anyway, life is too short to hate something you use every day. Replace the whole thing if you're able.
posted by phunniemee at 7:54 AM on September 26, 2017 [2 favorites]