OTT-LITE(R) TrueColor(TM) Original 18W Grey Floor

by MAGNIFYING AIDS

Product Description

The same "sunlight" that increases contrast and brightness, while reducing glare, is available in this attractive floor lamp. Its weighted base gives it stability while its flexible top section lets the user rotate the light to the best location. Height can be adjusted from 4 to 5 feet by extending the top section. Uses an 18 watt fluorescent bulb (included) that is rated to last 10,000 hours. It is the equivalent of about a 75 watt incandescent. Its light is composed of a specialized phosphorous mix that makes this light particularly bright and useful for individuals with vision problems. See optional magnifier attachment. Height: 64" Base: 11.75" Weight: 16 lbs. Color: Dove Grey. #369210

Product Details

• Shipping Information: View shipping rates and policies
• ASIN: B000140KE6
• Average Customer Review: 2.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (23 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #131,563 in Home Improvement (See Top 100 in Home Improvement)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

127 of 129 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Watch out for the ballast issues..., March 28, 2008

By 

Viking One Alpha "Inspector Gadget" (Miami, FL) - See all my reviews

This review is from: OTT-LITE(R) TrueColor(TM) Original 18W Grey Floor (Misc.)

I bought two Ott-Lite lamps, one desk lamp and one floor lamp. The light is great from the lamps when they work. Unfortunately the ballast in the Ott-Lite lamps will die prematurely and the lamp becomes totally useless as soon as that happens.

My floor lamp ballast died and I was able to buy a replacement a couple of years ago from Ott-Lite. The only reason they had ballasts available and were willing to sell them was due to the fact that the same ballast type had been recalled, and they were forced to offer replacements. When calling Ott-Lite, you will deal with snooty and arrogant people who treat you like you are a telemarketer at dinnertime. That is if you are lucky enough to talk to anyone at all. I suggest if you want this or any other Ott-Lite lamp, to call the company in Florida and try to order a replacement ballast before you buy it. Of course they won't sell you one, but it will save you $100 and untold aggravation.

As soon as I bought my desklamp, I had a bad feeling it wasn't going to last very long. Sure enough, couple of months later, the ballast died and the lamp became useless.

On my desk I still have a $20 fluorescent lamp I bought 12 years ago and use continuously. It still works like new and the ballast and lamp have never failed.

The bottom line is Ott-Lite could care less about your faulty lamp and frying ballasts. Unless you are willing to buy a new lamp every year for around $100, don't waste your time and money on this junk.

My $80 Ott-Junk desk lamp that lasted less than 20 hours is going to the scrapheap and will be replaced by a Bluemax from Full Spectrum Solutions, or a Verilux desk lamp, or any other manufacturer that has an ounce left of self respect and quality control.

You will love the light, but at $4 an hour, there are better lamps out there that will last a lot longer.

UPDATE: I had by chance saved the 13W bulb from this scrap heap Ott-Lite desk lamp and had it sitting in my file drawer. Looking at my trusty old $20 desk lamp I bought 14 years ago and still works great, the bulb in it looked kind of similar to the Ott-Lite bulb.

So I did the expected thing and yanked the bulb out of the lamp and compared the two. They happened to look very similar and the plug in base is almost identical.

I figured, not much to lose here, I plugged in the Ott-Lite bulb in my trusty old fluorescent lamp and turned it on, and it works!! I mean perfectly, the lamp now has the daylight true-color bulb, no flicker and no problems.

So if you find or have a 13W fluorescent desk lamp and want to turn it into a working Ott-Lite like Full Spectrum lamp for cheap, AND have it last more than a week, buy any desk lamp that takes 13W fluorescent lamps such as the Advantus Black Desk Lamp, sold at Staples, then get a Full Spectrum bulb (See the GEF13BX bulb for how it looks), replace the stock bulb with the Ott-Lite OTL13R, or the Bi-Pin Ott-Lite TruColor and you have the same light for half price.

As a bonus, that lamp will probably last 10 years, not 10 days like the ballast burning Ott-Lite.

UPDATE 2 - Nov 2011: Apparently, the wrath of many frustrated Ott-Lite buyers has caught the attention of Ott-Lite, which has changed its tune in the ballast division. They now sell replacement ballasts to those afflicted by the Burnt Ballast Syndrome. It only took them 3 years, but anyone who decides to mend their ways for the better, years later or not, deserves some kudos for paying attention to their customers.

I have upgraded my rating to 3 stars, for two reasons. First, is that the Ott-Lite floor lamp has hung in there on the replacement ballast and is still on the original bulb, so I must give credit where credit is due. Second, since Ott-Lite is now selling replacement ballasts, I feel more comfortable knowing that if it does decide to croak in the future, I have some options for it besides forced retirement inside Mt. Trashmore.

As a side note, I am becoming more and more a fan of LED lamps. They tend to run cooler, last practically forever and no ballast issues. Their lifespan is also not affected by turning them on and off frequently, unlike CFL lamps which shortens their life significantly, and shortens the lifespan of the ballast.

My point in mentioning this is that for those that have 13W PL-13 lamps with a dead ballast, or simply want to get away from ballasts of CFL lamps, there is now a LED bulb which is a plug in replacement for those lamps. It is available at elightbulbs and the bulb is a Watt-Man 36103. I have not tested this myself, but the cost of the bulb should be similar or less than a replacement ballast and a replacement bulb. You simply bypass the ballast, (cut it off the cord and replace it with a standard 120V plug on the cord), plug in the LED bulb and you are ready to go.

Figured I would toss that in there for those that are interested. It uses 3W and is probably not as bright, but for an office desk lamp, might suit your needs.

35 of 36 people found the following review helpful:

1.0 out of 5 stars NO STARS for OTT-LITE, January 19, 2009

By 

Theodore Gottlieb "Tguy" (NYC) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: OTT-LITE(R) TrueColor(TM) Original 18W Grey Floor (Misc.)

I received two OTT-LITE lamps (Key Largo and Hampton)directly from OTT-LITE. Right out of the box one of them did not work!! When I got in touch with Customer Service I found out that I HAD TO PAY THE FREIGHT CHARGE TO RETURN THE DEFECTIVE LAMP!! I'm sending both back. When I asked why their return policy is not made clear up front, I was told it wasn't in their interest to dissuade customers when they "rarely" have these issues.

43 of 47 people found the following review helpful:

1.0 out of 5 stars Run Away from Ott Lamp, June 13, 2006

By 

D. Gulczynski - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: OTT-LITE(R) TrueColor(TM) Original 18W Grey Floor (Misc.)

I bought an Ott lamp for $120.00. It worked for 6 months light usage then the ballast burned out. Thank God it didn't cause a fire. When I unplugged it, it was extremely hot and making hissing and crackling noises. I emailed Ott Lamp's customer service about getting a replacement ballast but they never even bothered to email me back. These Lamps cost to much to for so much junk both in product and service. I am looking for a competitors lamp now instead. I know others make daylight lamps.