Great! Thanks to everyone for your suggestions. Lot more options than
I could find at my local borg. And it does appear there are many more
'under cabinet' lights than there are 'under counter' lights listed on
google. Of course if crime among your pots and pans is an issue you
might just want under counter lights. Looks like I'm going in search
of xenon. Hope to find a good price locally or online.
Mike... who is feeling overwhelmed by the kitchen project ahead.
Beware the 120VAC halogen hocky pucks, they blow frequently, at about
$3 per bulb. Or at least mine do.
Mike
On Thu, 23 Feb 2006 20:58:10 -0500, "Bruce T"
<[email protected]> wrote:
>The hockey pucks are actually quite good. They're compact and they can be
>controlled by a dimmer. The downside is that they're not as efficient as
>fluorescents.
>
>BruceT
>
>
>"Mike in Arkansas" <[email protected]> wrote in message
>news:[email protected]...
>> What do you recommend as the best undercounter light style. All I seem
>> to find are the little hocky puck disks and rope lights. Anything else
>> out there? Thanks. BTW these are going to be for new cabinets so I
>> can build the upper bottoms around the light.
>>
>
Mike Patterson
Please remove the spamtrap to email me.
"I always wanted to be somebody...I should have been more specific..." - Lily Tomlin
Mike in Arkansas wrote:
>
> What do you recommend as the best undercounter light style. All I seem
> to find are the little hocky puck disks and rope lights. Anything else
> out there? Thanks. BTW these are going to be for new cabinets so I
> can build the upper bottoms around the light.
I presume thins is for a kitchen. One thing to consider that most people
seem to forget is color temperature. Your undercabinet lighting decision
should follow you general area lighting decision. If you use halogen
lighting anywhere in the kitchen, all lighting in the kitchen should be
halogen. Same for fluorescent all tubes should be the same color
temperature spec. If you don't match the color temperatures even if the
amount of light and distribution are good things will never look quite
right due to the mismatch.
Pete C.
I found a number of different lighting types, strip and puck types at
American Lighting. Just Google the name and check the manufacturer's site.
They make fluorescent, halogen and xenon types. The reason I stumbled on
them, is because most of my cabinets are of a size 1/2" too small for other
manufacturer's strip lights, AL makes them a little shorter and fit into the
cabinet bottoms.
"Mike in Arkansas" <[email protected]> wrote in message
news:[email protected]...
> What do you recommend as the best undercounter light style. All I seem
> to find are the little hocky puck disks and rope lights. Anything else
> out there? Thanks. BTW these are going to be for new cabinets so I
> can build the upper bottoms around the light.
>
On 23 Feb 2006 17:45:01 -0800, "Mike in Arkansas" <[email protected]>
wrote:
>What do you recommend as the best undercounter light style. All I seem
>to find are the little hocky puck disks and rope lights. Anything else
>out there? Thanks. BTW these are going to be for new cabinets so I
>can build the upper bottoms around the light.
You probably mean undercabinet as undercounter wouldn't be very
effective.
I popped some fairly big bucks and went with Kichler xenon bulb
fixtures from my local lighting store. Later I saw the Kichlers with
halogen bulbs at the local Lowes, but now a year later, when my
daughter needs undercabinet lighting, Lowes only has hockey pucks. And
we've had previous zero success with hockey pucks.
I love the Kichler xenons. The light is very warm, much like a regular
incandescant lamp--not harsh white like the halogens.
I put in one 4-bulb, two 3-bulb, three 2-bulb, and one 1-bulb
fixtures. They totalled about $500, installed myself. There are two
brightness positions on the switches on the units, and of course I
have them all wired to 3-way switches by the doors. There are no
transformers or any other special wiring--they run off regular 120V
feeds.
They are also quite low profile, so they wouldnt be horrible under a
stock cabinet, but my cabinets had a trim molding so they are
completely invisible unless you duck your head and look up under the
cabinet.
Good luck.
--
LRod
Master Woodbutcher and seasoned termite
Shamelessly whoring my website since 1999
http://www.woodbutcher.net
Proud participant of rec.woodworking since February, 1997
email addy de-spam-ified due to 1,000 spams per month.
If you can't figure out how to use it, I probably wouldn't
care to correspond with you anyway.
On Sat, 25 Feb 2006 14:32:14 -0500, with neither quill nor qualm, Mike
Patterson <[email protected]> quickly quoth:
>On Fri, 24 Feb 2006 10:33:22 -0800, Larry Jaques
><[email protected]> wrote:
>
>>On Fri, 24 Feb 2006 00:11:39 -0500, with neither quill nor qualm, Mike
>>Patterson <[email protected]> quickly quoth:
>>
>>>Beware the 120VAC halogen hocky pucks, they blow frequently, at about
>>>$3 per bulb. Or at least mine do.
>>
>>The bulbs get really hot. If there's any oil from your skin which gets
>>on them, they'll blow quickly. Make sure you wear gloves when handling
>>them and wipe them off before installation, just in case someone else
>>wasn't as thorough, Mike.
>
>Yah, I do that, thanks, but they still only last about 2 months, and
>that's with only 2-3 hours per day usage.
Chiwanese or 'Murrican bulbs? It can make a difference. Sometimes the
price savings isn't enough to recoup for the short lifetimes.
- Woodworkers of the world, Repent! Repeat after me:
"Forgive Me Father, For I Have Stained and Polyed."
-
http://diversify.com Comprehensive Website Design
The hockey pucks are actually quite good. They're compact and they can be
controlled by a dimmer. The downside is that they're not as efficient as
fluorescents.
BruceT
"Mike in Arkansas" <[email protected]> wrote in message
news:[email protected]...
> What do you recommend as the best undercounter light style. All I seem
> to find are the little hocky puck disks and rope lights. Anything else
> out there? Thanks. BTW these are going to be for new cabinets so I
> can build the upper bottoms around the light.
>
We used hockey-pucks under cabinet lights in our
previous kitchen. Both Halogen and Xenon. 115V and
12V with transformers. We felt these tuna-can style
were more for decorative effect than task lighting.
When we remodeled (new everything) our kitchen, we had
the GE Premium fluorescent light fixtures installed
under the cabinets for task lighting. We had flood
light cans put in the ceiling. and the GEs under the
cabinets.
We have an interior kitchen; there are no windows in
the kitchen itself. There is little natural light
available. However, with our lighting scheme using the
GE Premium , we found the colors are good, food looks
good and there are few, if any shadows. These old eyes
really love all the heat-less task lighting.
The GE premium fixtures are available in several
thicknesses and lengths at your friendly home
improvement centers.
No commercial ties to GE.
Jack
Jacksonville, Florida
--
I've learned that an insatiable curiosity is important
to never feeling old.
"dd" <[email protected]> wrote in message
news:o7FLf.7215$u%[email protected]...
| Mike,
|
| About a year ago, I installed new kitchen cabinets
and used xenon task
| lights from National Speciality Lighting. They have
been great. They are
| dimmable, bright and give off much less heat then
halogen. They are
| supposed to have a much greater life than the halogen
also. I do not have
| any relation to National Speciality Lighting or any
lighting retailer or
| wholesaler at all. I am just very happy with.the
lights
|
| http://www.nslusa.com/xenontask.html
|
| "Mike in Arkansas" <[email protected]> wrote in
message
|
news:[email protected]
om...
| > What do you recommend as the best undercounter
light style. All I seem
| > to find are the little hocky puck disks and rope
lights. Anything else
| > out there? Thanks. BTW these are going to be for
new cabinets so I
| > can build the upper bottoms around the light.
| >
|
|
I installed some halogen units from a customer of mine....
Called "Counter Attack"
http://www.lightinguniverse.com/under-cabinet/view.aspx?family=169870
(These folks are gouging to the max)
They are MUCH less at wholesale Electrical & Plumbing supply houses...
The bulb prices will give you a "heart attack" but that seems to be
the problem with this sort of lighting.
Mike in Arkansas wrote:
> What do you recommend as the best undercounter light style. All I seem
> to find are the little hocky puck disks and rope lights. Anything else
> out there? Thanks. BTW these are going to be for new cabinets so I
> can build the upper bottoms around the light.
>
> What do you recommend as the best undercounter light style. All I seem
> to find are the little hocky puck disks and rope lights. Anything else
> out there? Thanks. BTW these are going to be for new cabinets so I
> can build the upper bottoms around the light.
I tried the puck type lights but didn't care for the little spots of light
on the countertop. They also ran rather hot.
Instead, I chose low profile fluorescent lights. I got mine at Home Depot,
in the fluorescent light section, not with the other undercabinet lights. I
think mine are made by GE and are their "premium" line. They come in
various lengths and are fairly expensive (about $40 for a 2' long light),
but they put off a nice even band of light and turn on instantly without
any flicker. They're only about 1" thick, so they hide easily behind the
face frame of the upper cabinets. They also run cool, so I can set a
chocolate bar or something in the upper cabinet without fear of it melting
from the light.
The fluorescent lights came with a cable that plugs into the wall, and the
other end goes into the light. You can plug it into either end of the
light, so it's really flexible. They also come with a connector cable to
daisy chain multiple lights together.
I used four of these lights in our kitchen and plugged them into outlets I
have connected to a light switch. I can flip one switch and turn all four
on.
I also used two of these lights in my home office, but opted to just use
the rocker switch on the lights themselves to turn them on/off.
Hope this helps,
Anthony
On Fri, 24 Feb 2006 10:33:22 -0800, Larry Jaques
<[email protected]> wrote:
>On Fri, 24 Feb 2006 00:11:39 -0500, with neither quill nor qualm, Mike
>Patterson <[email protected]> quickly quoth:
>
>>Beware the 120VAC halogen hocky pucks, they blow frequently, at about
>>$3 per bulb. Or at least mine do.
>
>The bulbs get really hot. If there's any oil from your skin which gets
>on them, they'll blow quickly. Make sure you wear gloves when handling
>them and wipe them off before installation, just in case someone else
>wasn't as thorough, Mike.
Yah, I do that, thanks, but they still only last about 2 months, and
that's with only 2-3 hours per day usage.
Mike
Mike Patterson
Please remove the spamtrap to email me.
"I always wanted to be somebody...I should have been more specific..." - Lily Tomlin
In article <[email protected]>,
LRod <[email protected]> wrote:
> People aren't going to take you seriously anymore
They already don't, Rodmeister... I'm shaping my future defense: "LRod
said so..."
=0)
In article <[email protected]>,
"Mike in Arkansas" <[email protected]> wrote:
> What do you recommend as the best undercounter light style. All I seem
> to find are the little hocky puck disks and rope lights. Anything else
> out there? Thanks. BTW these are going to be for new cabinets so I
> can build the upper bottoms around the light.
I completely agree with LRd's assessment. Xenon is the way to go, albeit
more money.
Those hockeypucks are nothing but a PITA... bulbs don't last.
I see a lot of kitchens and the only negative is the initial cost of
Xenon.
In article <[email protected]>,
"Mike in Arkansas" <[email protected]> wrote:
> Mike... who is feeling overwhelmed by the kitchen project ahead.
What could possibly go wrong?
;-)
On Thu, 23 Feb 2006 21:21:37 -0500, Robatoy <[email protected]>
wrote:
>In article <[email protected]>,
> "Mike in Arkansas" <[email protected]> wrote:
>
>> What do you recommend as the best undercounter light style. All I seem
>> to find are the little hocky puck disks and rope lights. Anything else
>> out there? Thanks. BTW these are going to be for new cabinets so I
>> can build the upper bottoms around the light.
>
>I completely agree with LRd's assessment.
That's the third or fourth time you've completely agreed with me
recently. People aren't going to take you seriously anymore if they
find out you think the way I do...
--
LRod
Master Woodbutcher and seasoned termite
Shamelessly whoring my website since 1999
http://www.woodbutcher.net
Proud participant of rec.woodworking since February, 1997
email addy de-spam-ified due to 1,000 spams per month.
If you can't figure out how to use it, I probably wouldn't
care to correspond with you anyway.
"Mike in Arkansas" <[email protected]> wrote in message
> What do you recommend as the best undercounter light style. All I seem
> to find are the little hocky puck disks and rope lights. Anything else
> out there? Thanks. BTW these are going to be for new cabinets so I
> can build the upper bottoms around the light.
A few people have mentioned small 120v pot lights and some of the heat and
burnouts associated with them. No one has yet mentioned 12v pot lights which
do not experience the same problems near as much, as well as being quite a
bit safer. Don't let the idea of 12v pot lights not supplying you near
enough light. The better quality ones are very capable in the light
department.
On 23 Feb 2006 17:45:01 -0800, with neither quill nor qualm, "Mike in
Arkansas" <[email protected]> quickly quoth:
>What do you recommend as the best undercounter light style. All I seem
>to find are the little hocky puck disks and rope lights. Anything else
>out there? Thanks. BTW these are going to be for new cabinets so I
>can build the upper bottoms around the light.
There are tons of compact fluor fixtures available, Mike, and they're
a lot cooler running than xenon pucks.
Google 'bout 10 million hits for "under cabinet light". The first:
http://www.pegasusassociates.com/products/Undercab/undercab.html
has some swing-down fluor fixtures that look pretty flexible.
From $14.40 each!
Also check eBay for lamps. I got some 10w pucks at 1/3 the store
prices for a display cabinet on my too-long list of To-Build toys.
--
It is only when we forget all our learning that we begin to know.
--Henry David Thoreau (1817-1862)
On Fri, 24 Feb 2006 00:11:39 -0500, with neither quill nor qualm, Mike
Patterson <[email protected]> quickly quoth:
>Beware the 120VAC halogen hocky pucks, they blow frequently, at about
>$3 per bulb. Or at least mine do.
The bulbs get really hot. If there's any oil from your skin which gets
on them, they'll blow quickly. Make sure you wear gloves when handling
them and wipe them off before installation, just in case someone else
wasn't as thorough, Mike.
--
It is only when we forget all our learning that we begin to know.
--Henry David Thoreau (1817-1862)
Mike,
About a year ago, I installed new kitchen cabinets and used xenon task
lights from National Speciality Lighting. They have been great. They are
dimmable, bright and give off much less heat then halogen. They are
supposed to have a much greater life than the halogen also. I do not have
any relation to National Speciality Lighting or any lighting retailer or
wholesaler at all. I am just very happy with.the lights
http://www.nslusa.com/xenontask.html
"Mike in Arkansas" <[email protected]> wrote in message
news:[email protected]...
> What do you recommend as the best undercounter light style. All I seem
> to find are the little hocky puck disks and rope lights. Anything else
> out there? Thanks. BTW these are going to be for new cabinets so I
> can build the upper bottoms around the light.
>
On Sat, 25 Feb 2006 14:32:14 -0500, Mike Patterson wrote:
> On Fri, 24 Feb 2006 10:33:22 -0800, Larry Jaques
> <[email protected]> wrote:
>
>>On Fri, 24 Feb 2006 00:11:39 -0500, with neither quill nor qualm, Mike
>>Patterson <[email protected]> quickly quoth:
>>
>>>Beware the 120VAC halogen hocky pucks, they blow frequently, at about
>>>$3 per bulb. Or at least mine do.
>>
>>The bulbs get really hot. If there's any oil from your skin which gets
>>on them, they'll blow quickly. Make sure you wear gloves when handling
>>them and wipe them off before installation, just in case someone else
>>wasn't as thorough, Mike.
>
> Yah, I do that, thanks, but they still only last about 2 months, and
> that's with only 2-3 hours per day usage.
>
> Mike
> Mike Patterson
> Please remove the spamtrap to email me.
> "I always wanted to be somebody...I should have been more specific..." - Lily Tomlin
I have a buddy that bought a bunch of white LED's (light emitting diodes)
and wired them up for his under cabinet lighting. It turned out great,
but I'd guess that fluorescent bulbs are more efficient. I've seen some
commercial LED lights recently, but they are expensive.
D. G. Adams
On Sat, 25 Feb 2006 15:32:08 -0800, Larry Jaques
<[email protected]> wrote:
>Chiwanese or 'Murrican bulbs? It can make a difference. Sometimes the
>price savings isn't enough to recoup for the short lifetimes.
Are there still American bulbs? <G>
Barry