Reviews of Westek FA201HBCC 20-Inch Plug-In 16-Watt Fluorescent Ultra-Slim

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I've had one of these lights under one of my cabinets for more than three years. It stays on as long as I'm awake and at home and I've only had to replace the bulb once. I bought the light at Home Depot (or Lowe's -can't remember) and found the replacement bulb at the same place I bought it. I've just purchased four more to complete all the cabinets in my kitchen. They're very energy efficient!

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Rather than using a T4 light bulb in a common size, this lamp uses a unique bulb that is 17 inches long. This bulb is available only from Westek. It may use the same G5 base as a T4 bulb, and it may be the same diameter, but only the Westek bulb will fit. This means you won't find a replacement at Home Depot or Lowe's when the bulb fails--even if they sold the fixture in the past. You may also not find it in stock at local lighting stores. You'll be stuck paying $10 plus shipping for a fragile, easily-broken bulb from an Internet retailer... and the fixture goes through lamps MUCH more quickly than T12 or T8 fixtures. Plus, when the first bulb goes, you'll take off the light cover to find the lamp's plastic distressingly yellowed by the UV output of the bulb. This yellowing signals a chemical change in the plastic, and can mean the plastic is becoming brittle. UV-stable plastics are available, and have been used in home electronics for the better part of a decade; it's distressing that Westek chose not to use UV-stable plastic--especially considering that all florescent lights emit some UV radiation, because that's how they work.

There are better options available, such as standard T4 fixtures or LED fixtures.

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I bought it in Wal*Mart but wanted to put the review here to make sure that people don't get cheated by this manufacturer.

It worked ok for first few months. After 4 months the fluorescent tube burnt out. My complain is not for that. This tube size is manufactured only by Westek. You will be out of luck going to Lowes, Homedepot or Walmart looking for a replacement.

Honest reviews on Westek FA201HBCC 20-Inch Plug-In 16-Watt Fluorescent Ultra-Slim

...the product I was looking for, one which I could not find in my local stores, delivered quickly and at a great price. Thank you.

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I purchased several fixtures and one went out on me after a few months (not the bulb but the fixture itself). Its cheap to replace and that is not my main gripe about this product. My main gripe is that Westek is the ONLY company that makes this particular size bulb so you can only replace the flourescent tube through Westek (or a Westek supplier). The color of the bulb is a WARM WHITE so if you were hoping to upgrade the bulb to a cool white or a 6400K spectrum you are out of luck. Energy Wiser makes a T4 in that spectrum only the bulb is about an inch longer. At this point I am looking into LED type fixtures that are sleeker and more compact.