McLean Eletronics Inc. Fluorescent Light Fixtures anyone know of them?

RedneckExpress · March 12, 2012, 01:46 PM

I picked up a couple of vintage Fluorescent Light fixtures for $5 of of craigslist this past weekend, both are 18" 30w units that use the F15T8 tubes.

The model is 2M15 from Mclean Electronics Inc of San Obispo, CA. I can't find any details of the company these days, however, the Model 116 Classic fixture from ThinLite (From Camarillo, CA) looks identical to them even down to the styling on the diffuser.

My Lights:

Model 116 ThinLite Classic Fixture:

ClydesdaleKevin · March 12, 2012, 07:58 PM

Thin-Lite might have bought them out...they do look pretty similar.

We just shelled out a couple hundred bucks last year to get some new recessed ThinLite fixtures to replace some in our rig that had bad ballasts...the ballasts were almost as expensive as the complete fixtures!

Kev

RedneckExpress · March 12, 2012, 08:04 PM

What I'm wondering is if McLean spun off the Lighting Department as its own company. Shame those weren't classic 112 or 116 ThinLites, I can buy brand new ballasts for those for $30.

Lefty · March 12, 2012, 10:20 PM

Wow, those lenses are yellowed...compared to the others you posted pics of.
Any idea how to get them back white again without damaging them?

I do headlight polishing as a side business, so I run into a lot of yellowed plastic. I'm just thinking that polishing them with rubbing compound and a low speed wool buff pad might do the trick... followed by polishing compound on a foam buff pad. But I was wondering if they would be too brittle.

RedneckExpress · March 13, 2012, 12:36 AM

My hope is the thinlite 116 is simply a renamed version of the old McLean units, because I can buy brand new diffusers for $10 a piece over at the local RV parts store.

DaveVA78Chieftain · March 13, 2012, 09:52 AM

An errant thought:

If the pretty outside pieces are all in good shape, then you can go down to Wacky Mart and buy one of the 12VDC Fluorescent $13 trouble lights in automotive lighting section then move the innards from the trouble light to the old fixture. I have found those Wacky Mart $13 lights are great for 12VDC trouble and accessory lighting. Same bulbs used in camp lanterns so repacement bulbs are even available. You sure cannot beat the price.

Dave

RedneckExpress · March 13, 2012, 01:47 PM

Those fixtures still work and I can easily graft a new $30 ballast into that base unit if needed from a 116 ThinLite as they both use the exact same bulbs, F15T8 860 Lumen Cool White Tubes.

My main curiosity is if the diffusers from a thinlite will fit, as the diffusers I currently have with them are yellowed.

Oz · March 13, 2012, 10:18 PM

I cleaned yellowed and oxydized headlights at the car lot. Wal-Mart has Plast-X. It's even easier than using compounds. Wipe on and work it in, then wipe-off. That's it.

RedneckExpress · March 14, 2012, 03:44 PM

Thanks Mark, I'll have to find a bottle next time I'm at Walmart and give it a try, just gotta be careful not to be too rough with them, the plastic dates back to 1987.

ClydesdaleKevin · March 14, 2012, 10:27 PM

The easiest solution is to bring the fixtures with you to a local RV parts place that has the ThinLite diffusers in stock, and see if they fit.

Kev

Oz · March 15, 2012, 11:25 AM

Thinking more on this discoloration issue, I have to agree with Kevin. I got a couple from a junkyard to replace my own because the compound or Plast-X process simply may not work. It may be a matter that, due to age, the plastic is simply gone yellowed, like the old, Kodak instamatic photos from the 60's, and can't be removed. i??

RedneckExpress · March 15, 2012, 01:20 PM

Quote from: Mark Sobyak on March 15, 2012, 11:25 AM
Thinking more on this discoloration issue, I have to agree with Kevin. I got a couple from a junkyard to replace my own because the compound or Plast-X process simply may not work. It may be a matter that, due to age, the plastic is simply gone yellowed, like the old, Kodak instamatic photos from the 60's, and can't be removed. i??

From what I've been able to find, it's caused by bromine that was used in the plastics from that era, the UV output of the Fluorescent tubes at that proximity simply accelerates the process.

I've got one fixture installed and one in storage to take with me down to RV Parts Outlet to see if the diffusers will fit.

ClydesdaleKevin · March 15, 2012, 09:54 PM

Awesome, Redneck! Let us know if they fit! Another thing that can cause a lot of yellowing is cigarette smoke...ever see an old style computer monitor that came out of a smoker's house? Different kind of plastic, but in less that a year, all of my dad's computer monitor housings would turn from white or grey, to a nicotine yellow...and you just couldn't scrub it off. It sank down into the porous old style plastics.

Kev

RedneckExpress · March 16, 2012, 01:01 PM

Yeah, I'd thought of that, but the rig they came off of didn't smell of cigarette smoking, it was just an old 80s Monaco Truck camper that had seen it's last days and fell to the ground when the jack mounts gave way.

I've actually been wanting to find another round-style fixture to put in the kitchen area, as the slight draw back to these rectangular fixtures is that they have slightly darker zones coming from the ends where the bulbs plug in.

Since the second fixture will be in my kitchen area which is on both sides of the aisle, a round-style fixture would give an even output of light vs the rectangular standard tube fashion.