If I'd asked this question a few years ago...sure it wouldn't have been a hard one to resolve!

So...I've got a bunch of 100W switch-start ballasts for 8-foot tubes here.  I've got a standard white tube in use in the corner of the room just now for when I need serious light here.

Given that it gets dark here <16:00 in the winter, it would be nice to have some proper "daylight" available though...and this thing seems like the most logical source given that it produces more light than everything else in the room combined.

Google searches however have come up dry when looking for 8-footers in anything other than standard white though - anyone got any ideas where I might find such a thing?  Only need one!

Failing that I'll just have to go overboard and convert every fixture in here, which isn't impossible.

We have 95 watt daylight tubes here in the USA that work just fine on your 100 watt gear (I've tried!). Might look for High Output Super Saver tubes if any US dealers are willing to export. Look for General Electric part 12131. Sylvania does not make 95 watt tubes in daylight, however, and they are usually my preferred brand. You could try Sylvania 25185 which is a 110 watt daylight tube. Others here have reported success using 110 watt tubes on 100 watt ballasts as long as you use a capacitor.

If you buy Sylvania tubes, you can just pull off the recessed double-contact base adapter and you have a bi-pin tube. However, the tube will be an inch or two short of 8'. Alternatively, when you purchase the tube, you could also buy a pair of recessed double-contact sockets to use with the tube.

Don't know how practical this would be, I'm just offering one more possibility if you can't find the right daylight tubes.

Nogden,

Thanks for the suggestion.  Unfortunately shipping from the US would likely be prohibitively expensive - plus I'm not sure what odds I'd give an 8-foot long piece of glass on surviving the trip!