Verilux Heritage Natural Spectrum Deluxe Floor Lamp, Antiqued Brushed Brass
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Our Price: $199.95 Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days Category: Health Care See more product details |
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Customer Reviews of Verilux Heritage Natural Spectrum Deluxe Floor Lamp, Antiqued Brushed Brass
Customer Review: Critical design flaw leads to failure; parts unavailable
Summary: 2 Stars
The bad: the threads holding the base to the lamp's neck stripped on mine, just like it has for other reviewers. These threads are made from soft metal, and are only about an inch in height. They don't need much coaxing to fail catastrophically. When they do, this relatively heavy lamp can flop over, threatening anything within its path.
If you frequently push this lamp aside, in a way that makes the neck rotate, I promise you, yours will also fail. It ain't no swing lamp!
Verilux won't sell you replacement parts on this, their most expensive lamp. Their Customer Service comment:
"Unfortunately we do not sell separate parts for this lamp, but advice I can offer is trying teflon tape, also known as plumber's tape and wrapping that around the threads to help make a tighter connection. . . "
This advice is dubious. Teflon tape is a lubricant, and a very, very thin product. I gamely tried the tape, and it was a waste of time. Worse, the threads are attached to the base very securely; I couldn't figure a way to remove them, despite a healthy collection of tools.
What has worked for me, at least temporarily: the old Christmas Tree Stand approach. I drilled and tapped three holes arranged around the base of the neck, and screwed three half-inch, #10x24 stove bolts through both the neck and the stripped threads. IMPORTANTLY, I attached nuts to the bolts to help limit how far the bolts go into the thread/neck assembly. The bolts should not penetrate to where they put pressure on the lamp cord (which passes through the neck, duh).
Yes, the result is rather inelegant. It looks like a Red Green Show hack. But it is not that noticeable, with the lamp in use. And it seems sturdier than the original product.
WARNING: if you try this, you must be very careful not to penetrate the insulation on the lamp cord!!! Be sure to check it visually and by feel, once you've drilled your holes. If you damage the cord, I strongly suggest you discard the lamp. If you perform this repair, you should periodically check the lamp cord, to be certain that the bolts are not abrading it.
Another bad: if you buy a Verilux, you've committed yourself to their proprietary replacement bulbs. There are comparable fluorescent bulbs available at your local hardware store, but Verilux has designed plastic tabs into their products, simply to make the competing bulbs incompatible. Yes, some generic bulbs may be cheaper and/or brighter.
The good: the Verilux Heritage Deluxe floor lamp is otherwise, an attractive, reasonably bright, and otherwise seemingly durable product.
Customer Review: 0 stars for durability -5 stars for sustainability
Summary: 1 Stars
My mother purchased the Verilux Natural Spectrum Floor Lamp a couple of years ago and about 6 months ago it stopped working.
My husband tried the following:
1) Replacing the $25.00 bulb (these bulbs are difficult to find - fortunately we live in a larger urban area and have a specialty lighting store) - Didn't fix it
2) Purchasing a new "transformer"/plug for $50-$75 from Verilux - Didn't fix it.
3) Went to a lamp repair shop and were told that they couldn't fix it and that it probably couldn't be fixed without sending it back to the factory.
4) Called Verilux support and was told that it was probably the bulb fixture mechanism and that they not longer make that part for the lamp so she would just have to buy a entirely new lamp.
The bulb store did take the bulb back and Verilux took back the plug, but we now have a pristine unfix-able $200 coat-rack that has sat in our garage until we decide relegate it to some landfill or try to recycle.
Oh yes, we are now on their mailing list.
Happily, we can recycle paper.
P.S. It is no small irony that this lamp that died so soon after purchasing has the name HERITAGE and a nice ANTIQUED Brushed Brass finish.
Customer Review: Just so-so
Summary: 1 Stars
I was mislead into thinking that this was a bright and stylish lamp that would enhance my room and my vision. None of these happened. Yes it is a flourescent lamp and yes it look "brass" but it looks very ordinary and just not bright enough.
I would have been happier with a cheaper Walmart/ Home Depot lamp.