cool.  how much do they typically cost?

Crg

In the case of speciality types of consumer bulbs you're going to have to go to a lighting speciality retail store. The G8's are common for puck lights but the special spectrum bulbs are somewhat controlled so people don't order and install them by mistake.

I ordered a set of puck lights online. They are really well made, not like the ones you get at HD or Lowe's. It said they came with warm Xenon. Not true at all. It looked like I had a row of old time blue tinted fluorescent lights under my cabinets. I hated them.

Some of them have different heat characteristics making them possibly dangerous for certain applications and puck lights.

The 2600K bulbs should be cooler and no problem but Lowes is not likely to carry them.

Yeah, Lowe's has them, that's where I got them. Here's a link. They look great. They don't have a very good rating, but none of them do. These kind of bulbs only last a few months, a lot longer if you use a dimmer though.

I found them by reverse lookup so to speak. I couldn't find anything out there that stated 'G8 26/2700K'. I happened to be looking at ceiling fans there one day and noticed they had puck lights that cast the exact light I was looking for. It took G8's, so I looked around the isle until I found the replacement bulbs. The guy there said those bulbs fly off the shelf. He said they've gone through 35 packs in the last 2 weeks and he had more on order. There's another Lowe's up the road and they had them.

These bulbs have that incandescent glow that I like. I don't like LED, bright white, cool white, etc. lighting.

I got the lights wired, I just have to tie them in to the outlets and put in dimmers. Not an easy task though since there's only a single gang box. I have to fish wiring, cut sheetrock, put new boxes in. All before this weekend. We're finishing up the remodel and the backsplash tile will be here on Friday. We're doing the tile work and we have to get it done this weekend before Thanksgiving. Actually, my wife is doing the tile work. She's really good at it. I just cut the tile and hand her what she needs.

My wife said I was crazy for making such a fuss over the light the bulbs put out until we finally got them up. The original ones completely changed the color of our new countertops and made them look horrible. That's when I got the 'ok' to get the correct lights. ;)

Beagle

Bub

In case anyone is interested ...

As for the CFL's ... even though they say they are 2700K, they aren't. I've tried a few different brands now and they all have a cool white fluorescent glow to them. They are what they are and it looks like I'll just have to live with it.

I found some G8 bulbs though that sit right in the upper 2700K range perfectly. $12 bucks for a 3 pack at Lowe's. They aren't with the light bulbs, those are $8 bucks each for some odd reason? You have to go over to the lighting department and look in the accent/puck lighting section. I don't know how long they'll last, but I'm wiring up dimmers for them, so that should extend their life.

I had a ceiling fan with lights that I wired a remote control unit in to in my old house. When you'd turn the light on, the remote unit caused them to slowly fade on, plus we kept them dimmed a bit. Those bulbs were 14 years old and still worked. There's something to be said for dimmers.

Just an FYI for those who take their lighting seriously.

@craigb: :-)

are you testing them to know they are 2700K?  just curious.  I assume you have a tester?  I've never even seen a tester.  where do you get them?

I'm not testing them, I'm just basing it off other lights (incandescent) that I know are rated at 26/2700K that look good.

It seems, and I don't know if this shouldn't be the case or not, that incandescent and fluorescent Kelvin readings are not equal. IOW ... a 2700K CFL doesn't look like a 2700K incandescent bulb by any stretch of the imagination ... at least none of the brands of CFL I've tried.

Bub

Beagle

Bub

In case anyone is interested ...

As for the CFL's ... even though they say they are 2700K, they aren't. I've tried a few different brands now and they all have a cool white fluorescent glow to them. They are what they are and it looks like I'll just have to live with it.

I found some G8 bulbs though that sit right in the upper 2700K range perfectly. $12 bucks for a 3 pack at Lowe's. They aren't with the light bulbs, those are $8 bucks each for some odd reason? You have to go over to the lighting department and look in the accent/puck lighting section. I don't know how long they'll last, but I'm wiring up dimmers for them, so that should extend their life.

I had a ceiling fan with lights that I wired a remote control unit in to in my old house. When you'd turn the light on, the remote unit caused them to slowly fade on, plus we kept them dimmed a bit. Those bulbs were 14 years old and still worked. There's something to be said for dimmers.

Just an FYI for those who take their lighting seriously.

@craigb: :-)

are you testing them to know they are 2700K?  just curious.  I assume you have a tester?  I've never even seen a tester.  where do you get them?

I'm not testing them, I'm just basing it off other lights (incandescent) that I know are rated at 26/2700K that look good.

It seems, and I don't know if this shouldn't be the case or not, that incandescent and fluorescent Kelvin readings are not equal. IOW ... a 2700K CFL doesn't look like a 2700K incandescent bulb by any stretch of the imagination ... at least none of the brands of CFL I've tried.

that's interesting that they're not the same "scale"

Beagle

Bub

Beagle

Bub

In case anyone is interested ...

As for the CFL's ... even though they say they are 2700K, they aren't. I've tried a few different brands now and they all have a cool white fluorescent glow to them. They are what they are and it looks like I'll just have to live with it.

I found some G8 bulbs though that sit right in the upper 2700K range perfectly. $12 bucks for a 3 pack at Lowe's. They aren't with the light bulbs, those are $8 bucks each for some odd reason? You have to go over to the lighting department and look in the accent/puck lighting section. I don't know how long they'll last, but I'm wiring up dimmers for them, so that should extend their life.

I had a ceiling fan with lights that I wired a remote control unit in to in my old house. When you'd turn the light on, the remote unit caused them to slowly fade on, plus we kept them dimmed a bit. Those bulbs were 14 years old and still worked. There's something to be said for dimmers.

Just an FYI for those who take their lighting seriously.

@craigb: :-)

are you testing them to know they are 2700K?  just curious.  I assume you have a tester?  I've never even seen a tester.  where do you get them?

I'm not testing them, I'm just basing it off other lights (incandescent) that I know are rated at 26/2700K that look good.

It seems, and I don't know if this shouldn't be the case or not, that incandescent and fluorescent Kelvin readings are not equal. IOW ... a 2700K CFL doesn't look like a 2700K incandescent bulb by any stretch of the imagination ... at least none of the brands of CFL I've tried.

that's interesting that they're not the same "scale"

I just picked up a 4 pack of 2700K Sylvania CFL's for a new rustic style chandelier light I put in our hallway yesterday. They are a lot better than the last brand I got. I forget what they were called, Utilitech or something like that. They both have stamped on the side of them 2700K, but they are by no means equal.

I'm going to swap them today. I mentioned the new hallway light because it was such an awesome deal. It was a $200 light fixture on clearance for $35! The box was all smashed, but I opened it and checked everything it was still like new.

Gotta go. Got some stuff to do in town.

mike_mccue

Cool!  Forget how much the bulbs are, how much is one of these testers???

craigb

mike_mccue

Cool!  Forget how much the bulbs are, how much is one of these testers???

I don't know, but he probably bought a couple just to prove me wrong.

;-)

A lot of cheap cameras can be manipulated to "white balance" on something white that you point the camera at and report the estimated color of the light.


Heck, I'll bet the iPhone does it.


best,
mike

Glad you found them. I'm amazed you found them at Lowes and not on the internet. Hope they work out.