DIY Compact Fluorescent (CFL) Strip Light Retrofit
- Thread starter BoredAgain
- Start date
Since white is a near-perfect reflector, painting the inside of the All Glass fixture white is a great idea and imho gets you 90% of the way there compared with some expensive fixture you have been drooling over, for way less money. If you build a custom hood, just paint the inside white as listed on Hoa Nguyn's DIY page.
I just ordered 8 of the Westinghouse 2-lamp sockets for $2.40 each plus $6 shipping. Anyone have a good idea of how much the 24-inch All Glass strips should run me at BoxMart, WallyWorld or PetsCart? I will need the extended 30-inch fixtures also because of my 20 and 29 setups. Any more ideas would be helpful.
Bored, am I seeing this correctly that you used the zip ties wound around the Westinghouse fixtures and then screwed the zip ties to the hood? Seems like it would work, but a good clamp would be awesome. Please provide more details on how you screwed the lamp socket to the hood.
Thanks :headshake2:
You have it right, that's all I did. On other tanks, I just bolted them to the fixture using the holes already in the casing of the sockets....worked out better.
Have you thought about craigslist for fixtures, instead of buying new?
Craigslist is a great resource! Do you have Hoods stores in your area? (They are freight wreckage, overturned semi recovered goods, etc...) Stores like this typically have a lot of building supplies.
I probably should try Craigslist. Just cannot access those sites at work, and I am leary of meeting Billy Bob in the back alley with cash in hand. Think about it, umkay.
My hoods don't have reflectors in them. Just that cheap plastic mount that the lights come with. Anything you would recommend for a reflector? If i just use the CFL's and mount them to the hood itself, I'm afraid it would melt the plastic hood.
I say paint the insides white. Check out Bored's photos at the very beginning of this post and you can see how he painted the All Glass fixtures white on the inside. He also lists the paint that he used and where he got it. I think it's the best reflector you will ever find for $5 and some time.
The bulbs do give off a fair amount of heat, but I've seen no issues. I do suggest creating vents if none are already in the fixture, and even using a fan if you think heat will be an issue.
