Customer Reviews

Westek FA201HBCC 20-Inch Plug-In 16-Watt Fluorescent Ultra Light Under Cabinet Light, White

5 star:		(6)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(3)
1 star:		(4)

 

 

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!

...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.

For months my wife had been agitating for an under-the-cabinet light for a poorly lit corner of our kitchen, but somehow I never got around to looking for one. Finally, one day I came home from work and my wife presented me with this light, which she had ordered here. The unit was small and light, and didn't have a lot to it. I read the simple instructions, and installed the light in about five minutes, including reading time. Really, all you had to do with screw in the two included screws, and plug it in.

We've had the light going for about six months now - sometimes turning it off at night, but sometimes leaving it going - and we have had no trouble with it. What can I say? I think that it is great. Mind you, I have not had to replace a bulb yet, so I have no idea how hard it will be. But, how hard could it be?

No, we are very satisfied with our purchase of this light, and we definitely recommend it.

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.

Purchased this item to replace an older broken one. When I received it, the wiring had been changed to a plugin arrangement, causing 2 problems. 1st, the unit is no longer 20"; it is 21" or 22" depending if you are trying to link them. 2nd, the older model was not plugin, so in fact you can not link the newer ones to the older ones, even though the model # is the same. The units themselves are very slim & work fine.

I didn't trust the other reviews that said it stopped working after a few months. My mistake!! I bought this in August 2011, and in January 2012, it stopped working. There was a little "pop" sound and the lightbulb didn't turn on. I figured that the bulb had gone out, but it was still emitting a little bit of light from the edges of the bulb, actually. I bought a replacement bulb, and it did the exact same thing with the brand new bulb. The light fixture clearly has something defective about it. Do not buy this brand.

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.

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.

I was expecting a fluorescent fixture using the common 18 inch bulb which has a diameter aprox that of a penny. This bulb is much thinner, more like that of a AAA penlite battery. However, I am not disappointed because the brightness seems to be at least as high as the one I was expecting. Only hope this new tube does not turn out to be difficult to find for replacement.
Jimmy

I have had these lights under my kitchen cabinets for 6 years (have moved twice and reinstalled in new digs). Have had no problems. Originally found them at Gracious Home in NYC for triple the Amazon price. Based on my experience I recommend highly. They are not fancy or expensive. Note: I would have preferred xenon or halogen lights, but the ones I tried (I reviewed both on Amazon) were absolutely awful.