My review: Walmart Blacklights...

[descrentl]

So I picked up 4 of the Walmart 9.99 blacklights and heres a quick review. For the money, they are really not that bad. They come packaged like this:

It comes with the ballast, bulb, plug and mounting screws. They mount really easy by screwing in the screws 19 1/2 inches apart and locking the ballast in. The ballast feels kinda cheap. Its made of plastic.

I mounted 4 of them on my black painted stud ceiling. Its painted flat black, so the black ballasts and bulbs blend right in. This pic makes them look washed out, but in reality, they put out a solid glow.

They glow pretty good for the price. Ive heard that GE bulbs block more of the light and look richer, and that these look more purple, but I think they look good. I gotta mess with my camera settings. Im sure I can get better pictures. And also, the light from my basement windows drowned out the effect a little, but when its dark, they look pretty dam sweet. Ill post more pics when I move the games in. My son thinks its cool.

And one shot of the carpet.

Overall, I think they are definitely worth the money. Im lighting up a 12x22 space, and 4 cover perfectly.

 

[Spunkmeyer]

Thanks for the review. Hope they last! (I'd be worried about them burning out too quickly.)

 

[Jeff F]

Cool. I'll have to stop by WallyWorld tomorrow and see if our store has any. Just tried looking online and I can't seem to find them.

Thanks for posting this.

 

[barrysfarm]

Whoa! I bought 2 of these a few months ago. I opened one up, turned it on, and was really disappointed, because the uv wouldn't glow past a foot or so in a dark room. I never opened the second. Looking at you pictures, I think I may have got a faulty one.

 

[SpartyMAC]

Maybe I will get to check out that gameroom someday, those look pretty sweet Dan.

 

[Broodwich]

10$ for a 2 foot fixture really isn't that bad even if the bulb sucks you can replace it with a better bulb

 

[cleverlyj]

i have one of those in my game room as well. they do work well, and put off a nice glow. that said, i need to get more...

 

[bradd]

i have been using one similar to that for over two years on an almost nightly basis and it still works great.

 

[DogP]

Yeah... I've got two of them to cover some areas shaded (by games) from my 48" blacklights, and I agree... they work pretty well.

DogP

 

[zfcamaro]

Those look exactly like the $19.99 Home Depot Black lights I bought... Been running them for 6 years now and haven't replaced any bulbs yet. But I probably have under 100 hours on them....

 

[jonathan1138]

Good write up. I have blacklight carpet but havent done anything about it until recently.

Your spot on regarding 4 24' fixtures doing a good job on a 12 x 22 room - my room is about the same. Figure these are 40 watt bulbs. So, that is a good reference for someone considering doing this in the future.

The approach i took - i knew about these 10 dollar lights as WM, but decided first to try a few different things (knowing i would pay more!). I ordered two 18 inch fixtures - they are garbage. Absolute garbage. Anyone considering this - dont do it.

I may just use those low somewhere since they are so small, but they will not provide sufficient lighting ever.

Next i knew i needed to go higher but not sure how much (wish i had your write up to get the idea - i did search here but didnt find a good estimate). I saw that i could get 24's for cheap, but decided i wanted to limit wiring and clutter so i ordered two 48s for 30 each.

They more than do the job.

Next, i am using wire mold (or something like that) wire covers from Amazon (20 dollar kit) to hide the run of wire from the fixture which i found is best mounted high, along the top of the wall. Still in the middle of that small project.

One final note is the length of cord off these fixtures - they suck at 4 feet. In all cases, you will need extension cords.


I figure i will have pics ready in a month or so, got other projects making the room a mess now.

 

[descrentl]

Its true about the cords. When I wired my basement, I wired up 2 outlets in the ceiling. Towards each side of the room. I put a light on each 4th joist. The plugs just reached the outlets on both sides. No extension cords needed. But under normal circumstances, I could see where extension cords would be needed. Ill post some pics of the carpet tomorrow.

 

[ChompingQuarters]

Maybe I will get to check out that gameroom someday, those look pretty sweet Dan.

Yes Mike... Maybe one day Dan will let us in the door? I even took a second shower last time I stopped by!

 

[descrentl]

A couple more pics for the full effect. If anyone could recommend a good shutter speed for pics like this, please let me know.

 

[DogP]

That looks really cool, though once the games are all on, the room brightens up a lot. The BL effect is still cool, but it's not the massive contrasting glow like it is now.

DogP

 

[Tighe]

I got my black lights from Wal★Mart, but I bought the $9 lamp and the tubes. They are very bright and really light up the room!

I have the regular lights on this photo:

The effect:

 

[DogP]

I also got a few of the 48" fixtures from Wal*Mart, except I got the T8 Stainless Steel (painted ) workshop light fixtures, and used them with the 48" T8 blacklights I already had. I then built wooden enclosures for them, since I thought the shop lights looked a little unfinished. I also found that lining the inside of the fixture with aluminum tape helped reflect more of the light.

DogP

 

[GackAttack]

Nice 'RAD' poster!

A couple more pics for the full effect. If anyone could recommend a good shutter speed for pics like this, please let me know.

Noticed the 'RAD' poster in the background - nice touch!

Where is a good place to get the arcade carpet?

 

[zappaf19]

I bought 8 long ones and 12 screw ins from Menards last year and they are still going and looking good.
Bill