I really hate those Y-shaped lampholders i have them in my shoplite and they're just a big pain with the 4ft lamps. Know i know why 8ft lamps have pluger sockets! (well also because of vibration, right?)

I don't mind them or at least the Leviton version. They actually have plunger sockets for bi-pin lamps but they're not common and impossible to retrofit because they need a longer fixture body to fit properly. This is why 4' HO and SL lamps are actually shorter than 4' bi pin lamps so the plungers fit a standard 4' fixture.

Fun fact: the 100w and 125w 8' lamps used in the UK are bi-pin (also they are preheat ) I wonder if they have problems twisting those in. O_o

I have the leviton version in my fixture. I almost dropped both lamps several times. My grandpa's industrial grade F40T12s in the garage have plunger sockets and they use normal bi-pin lamps.

Heh, the Y slot holders tend to drop lamps if you don't fit them in properly, however it also means stuff like this won't happen too.

Have you measured that fixture with plunger holders, it'll probably be longer than your average 40 fixture since the plungers holders are thicker and you'll need some extra space for the lamp to spring back.

No I've never stood on top of his car with a tape meaure before. I could always measure the spare one he keeps in a corner in the basement with an NOS F40T12 shoplite. I think the shoplite is LOA but i don't know for sure. The lamps are Philips though and they have plain end caps and the shield logo. He has for plunger-type lights total.

BTW, my great-aunt told me there are more fluorescent fixtures in my great-grandfather's old tool shed! I never knew about those! I'm going to check them out and take pics the next time i see her. I won't know if they work though since the power was cut to the shed. My great-grandfather had an over head feed (i think it was duplex wire painted black LOL) and a tree limb came down between the house and the shed and took the feed with it.

She has since remodeled the house on the outisde but never had the feed restored since she doesn't use the tool shed. She said i can take those fluorescent lights too but i don't need to put up any new fixtures since there's no electricity in it anymore. I'll wait a few year though until i get my own house then i'll clean her house out for her and leave behind replacements per her request.

I prefer 'normal' lampholders over the Y-shaped ones (but in the case of the 4' fixture here I used the Y type because they are longer than what it originally had (originals were too short, it was a real pain to get lamps in)

@streetlight98 there's probably some cool old fixtures in that shed!

@joe_347V I was gonna mention the UK bipin 8-footers til I read your comment. I would LOVE to get ahold of a pair of those lamps
I know some of their fixtures have spring-loaded lampholders (actually have a couple of them). It'd be interesting to see if any have the same/standard lampholders that are used here.

The home depots around here only sell the Y-slot lampholders here for some reason. They're Levitions but sold in GE boxes. Thr starters are HN branded but also sold in GE boxes. Yeah I can't wait to peek into the shed. She's only been in it once to take the lawn mower and other tools/objects out of the shed and put them in the garage. The garage is one of those huge 2-car ones with two single car doors. She has the left side cleared out for her car and the right half is for the lawnmower and lots of other stuff. The right door isn't hooked up to an opener so she has to use the one on the left.

Odd, over here HD sells all Leviton fluorescent sockets: the tall and short doughnut type and the slimline plunger sockets, Lowe's sells Sylvania branded HH sockets: the short doughnut, Y-slot, and slimline.

Rona sells Cooper sockets IIRC, Canadian Tire sells the short Leviton doughnut and Home Hardware sells the screw in Levition Y-slot, short doughnut, slimline and occasionally HO. Starter sockets, sockets with starter sockets, and T5/T17 sockets are very rarely seen here.

Lowe's here doesn't sell any sockets or starters nor do they sell trigger start or preheat choke ballasts. I have to go to HD if i want those items. I've found some interestign stuff at a local mom & pop hardware store. They became tied with True Value. The name used to be Durfee's Hardware but now it's Durfee's True Value Hardware.

Heh no one sells preheat choke ballasts here, all of my spares was from a HD in NY anyways both HD and Lowe's here sells trigger start ballasts...HPF version too.

I've also noticed that small hardware places tend to have more interesting stuff, I've gotten a BT 28 cleartop, T17 sockets, HO sockets, 75w MV bulb, gold fluorescents, and even T shaped incandescents (in 2011 O_o) from small hardware places.

Yep the hardware store i mentioned has T-shaped EXIT sign lamps in pretty old looking GE sleeves. There's a bunch too. How uncommon are they? I might return with a larger sum of cash next time.

Well, EXIT sign lamps aren't really that common here but I might have grabbed a pair if they were vintage. I'm surprised none of us here found any rarer stuff like Tulamp ballasts, BT25 mercs, T17 lamps.