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Re: [RFI] Recycling fluorescent tubes

To: rfi@contesting.com
Subject: Re: [RFI] Recycling fluorescent tubes
From: "Roger (K8RI)" <k8ri@rogerhalstead.com>
Date: Thu, 28 Apr 2016 18:25:16 -0400
List-post: <rfi@contesting.com">mailto:rfi@contesting.com>
I found many of the places listed as recycle points for fluorescent lights will not take the 8' tubes used in garages and shops. IIRC I go through about 22 8 footers around every 18 months. When one fails the others will soon follow, so I change them all when the first one or two fail. I could get more use out of the ones that haven't failed, but then that would involve positioning and climbing a 10' step ladder in a shop with very little unused floor space, making some of the fixtures difficult to reach and changing the 8' tubes dangerously awkward, once or twice a week. As I can no longer climb safely, I need to hire the tubes changed. Once or twice a week to change one or two out of 22 tubes results in a lot of trips. Now I know why many companies change their fluorescents. They could save considerable money for the 8' tubes, but the labor for changing them as they fail would quickly eat up any of those savings and more. It takes a lot more labor to change them as they fail when you look at the extra time to get the equipment out and to the site. The increased time is counter intuitive.

Changing to 4' LEDs would be the way to go long term, but with surface mount EMT to all fixtures, the change over for my shop would likely run three thousand dollars or more. The payback would take many years even if the lights were on 24 X 7 X 365. I have 11 fixtures holding 22 8' tubes with 5,000 lumens for each tube depending on the type of tube. I generally use full spectrum. . That would take about 22 4' LED fixtures plus the conduit change and I don't think I'd get the current 110,000 lumens for the shop.

73

Roger  (K8RI)


On 4/11/2016 Monday 8:27 PM, qrv@kd4e.com wrote:
You mean setting them in a garbage can & wacking them
with a long pipe then tossing them in the dumpster
isn't the right way to dispose of them?

40 years later they tell us ...

;-)  David KD4E

David Robbins wrote: lets give this a proper subject...

Hmmm, talk about timing... where I work we just got a delivery of
fluorescent bulb recycling boxes... if you are interested go to:
http://www.ezontheearth.com/ for more info if you can't find a
collection place in your area.





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