JCBritw T8 with Stand

I saw this light and it looked like a great balance of size, coverage, and spectrum to replace my existing T5 florescent fixture. The older fixture has four 24w tubes so uses about 100 watts where this fixture uses about 30 - so it will pay for itself in 2 years based on energy savings. Plus I will not have to buy any more replacement bulbs. I have only had the fixture a couple days but so far I am very impressed - the amount of light seems greater - although it is not the more "white" light you get from florescent - but it is more of the light plants can use and is full spectrum - not just red and blue. The fixture is small and I was able to mount it easily. In shopping around and looking at similar lights I chose this one because of the reflector that is part of the design by the LED's - some that were a bit cheaper did not have this. If I had one negative it is that it does not have a pass thru plug on the other side for easy daisy chaining of the lights. update about 10 months in - I have 5 of these now and they have all been working great. My orchids are doing really well and seem to like these as much as they did the older T5 lights.

This was a good choice and did just what it say's. I like it!

We have a brick planter at the head of the stairs going into the living room. Doesn't get enough light for plants. If I had to do it again, when the house was being built, I should have had the electrician put in three hanging spots over that area. Over half the planter I built a wooden, raised shelf under which I mounted two LED tubes. Didn't want the shelf to run to the very end of the planter because of appearance. But, there never was enough light over the other end of the planter to grow live plants. We got tired of just having artificials there. But, another built wooden shelf would infringe on the walking/living space. So, I've been thinking about how I could fabricate a metal frame over that part of the planter to hang an LED tube fixture. Just happened to see this item while browsing. It immediately struck my eye, my wife approved, and I ordered it. Super easy to assemble. Set it on the floor merely with the included stand and it stayed balanced/upright. Turned it on and am satisfied with the light output. The height is perfect to have over african violets. Ran the electric cord down the upright post and secured it with two pieces of electrician's tape. Ran the cord through the inside of the planter, into a short extension cord, into a timer. Set one violet directly on the light stand for stability. Solved a light problem without any fuss. Rated for 50,000 hours so when it burns out, just throw it away and buy another as the bulb is proprietary and not replaceable. Now, why four stars instead of five? The top of the tube is shielded and the light shines downward; however, for the bulb to work properly, the top shielding extends down half of each side of the tube. That means, when you're sitting in the living room, and look toward the light, it can be glaring. As my wife said, "you'll get used to it and there's no reason to look directly at the light anyway." She's correct, still, if I could improve the light tube, I'd add a super, light weight plastic shielding tent that would extent approx 1.5" down each side of the tube. In fact, I'll keep my thoughts working on what's super light weight that I could just lay on top the bulb -- kind of like a shade. But, it has to be light because of the stability of the base. Overall, yes, I'd buy this again -- it's the best I could find to suit my purpose.

Very bright!! The stand is very small and the weight is not evenly distributed. Tipping over and breaking lights is a very serious concern. The stand is not secured to the pole and the pole itself is not adjustable. Hopefully will last, though.

The lights are amazing! I searched all over for a plant light that I could stand on my windowsill and provide light to the plants below. This was the only one I found with generous length and height. Both the stand and the arms of the light bar are adjustable, so you can configure it to however you want it set up. I've had it plugged in and supporting my herb garden for nearly two weeks, and I've seen a tremendous increase in growth. My plants are so happy! My only gripe is that, while this was the best option available amongst all the products I've seen, I still wanted something taller. I ended up building a wooden stand to elevate the plant light an additional foot. This allows some of my larger plants to sit below without burning their leaves. This plant light does not come with a build in timer, which I was okay with since I was prepared to buy my own. It was very easy to assemble, it comes in three pieces (base, stand, and dual light bar) and has a separate switch for each light bar. Also, it stands sturdy even at max height. Overall, I recommend this to anyone who is looking for a standing over-head light bar solution. It works especially great for windows to provide extra light to your plants. I've already bought three more for the rest of my windows.

I just bought a second one of these, with both me and my plants liking the first so much. I've been growing Streptocarpus under the first one for about a month and getting excellent growth and flowering. Unlike a std gooseneck fixture, this one stays where you put it, no flopping. It's height adjustable and you can twist the lamp to angle into your plants to maximize efficiency. I like how minimal the fixture is to establish a set up this size.

I got this light because I already have been using the 45w light for a few years now on the orchids I grow in my bedroom. This product was well packaged. You can see this in the first picture. The second picture is this 100w version beside the 45w version I already had. The 100w is the smaller one. The third picture shows them turned on, side-by-side. You can't tell in the picture, but the 100w does appear to be apprx. twice as bright. Next, I'm not sure how much help it'll be, because I don't fully understand LUX, but I use this meter to figure out at what intensity my orchids like it. The first two pics are from the 45w version and are approx. 10" and 24" directly under the light, where I run them. To be honest, the 45w is too strong for most of my orchids and I get spots. I need to raise it up. I don't get etiolation the way I used to with (2) CFL plant lights and a window. Anyway, the first two are from the 45w and show 591 and 354 with a x10 multiplier. The 100w at the same distances shows 278 and 194 with a x100 multiplier. I'd say that this light would be good for orchids if I hung it much higher or it could easily be used to grow herbs indoors in the winter (which is what I plan) or used to start vegetable seeds. I'd even hazard to guess that it would fully grow something that fruits as long as it didn't grow too far outside the lighting zone. I really like this light. It has a sleek case, seems very solid, provides great light, and I haven't had a single issue out of a similar light by the same company in 3 years of running it for anywhere between 11-14hrs a day.

This grow light is mostly very good quality, but very poorly balanced and if not actively weighed down- will topple over again and again.