Conventional Fixtures - New tool I've never heard of

[derekleffew]

Milwaukee Tool | Lighting Testers | Fluorescent Lighting Tester



Street price just under $200. Worth it? How does it work?
Is Greenlee 5715 Gas Lamp Tester that does more but also costs 50% more, a better value?

[len]

Seems like a toy to me. Most buildings that big that would justify the cost of a one-use gadget they instead send a guy out to walk the whole facility and change out any lamp that's not working. So to walk around with that thing (or any other) seems like a waste of labor.

[Kelite]

If the fluorescent tester actually works from the floor w/o having to remove the lamp to test- I think it would be a good investment. And yes, if the building is THAT big chances are good the fixtures would be too high to check with this device. For smaller offices, or for electricians called in to troubleshoot/do routine maintenance, it may be worth the price.

[Nelson]

Looking at lamp end banding has always worked well for me. If its dark on the ends, the tubes probably need to be changed. If the ends look good, its probably the ballast, though before changing a ballast, I'll check the lamps and connections.

Edit: Wait, are these lamp testers basically radio transmitters, intended to make the tube glow? If so, that doesn't check for open cathode filaments which can sometimes be a problem. Additionally, it seems like even a dead lamp could still glow to some extent if excited by RF.

[TimMiller]

We have these tools at work, they have slots in the side of the tool so that you can insert the pins of the lamp to test the cathodes. The maintenance guys use them to try to troubleshoot the fixture before calling the electricians. Maintenance guys change lamps anything else the electricians take care of.

[JD]

We have these tools at work, they have slots in the side of the tool so that you can insert the pins of the lamp to test the cathodes.

I have this mental picture of the lamps dislodging and the worker dodging florescent bombs!

(Unless you have to remove the lamps to test them, which would kind of defeat the concept of a walk-around test.)

[gafftapegreenia]

Kino Flo has one too.

I think this product, for HPS or metal halide lamps could be very useful for some people.