JCBritw 2ft T8 Bar on 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.

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.

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.

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

I lights, but looks like someone threw together some random parts in their garage.

Very impressed. Sleek yet bright, my plants are growing much fuller and faster after a month of daily use. It was Surprisingly hard to find a self-standing grow light that doesn’t restrict the pot size on the stand. This light is much brighter than some of my other grow lights. Only wish it had a timer function, but a smart plug took care of that issue.

Given that the light bar is so long it seems like you need to set a plant or something heavy on the stabilizing bar that’s on the bottom, so it doesn’t move around a lot. Other than that it has been working fine. I don’t know how great of a grow light it is, but my plants are still alive.

Bought this to keep my miniature roses alive since I have cats and can't put my plants in windowsill. My roses bloomed and everything is so happy. I have new aloe buds, mother in laws tongue, and a drooping plant I got as a gift that are all LOVING the light. Only wish is that they went a few inches taller.