This review is specifically for the Lite-Systems 3 panel LED Fin Billiard Light.
Quite simply, this is the best billiard light I have ever played under. In my opinion, it is better than any of the traditional exposed “3 bulb” lamps in the market or any with the “grid” insert in the underside of the lamp. It is extremely high quality in all of the components, from the beautifully machined aluminum frame to the LED panels & hardware for hanging the light. The light provides uniform lighting of the entire table surface, has very little noticeable glare on the balls and has very little shadowing. It is extremely non-intrusive in it’s slim design as it appears to float over the table.
While the light can be assembled and installed DIY (Do It Yourself) by someone with experience hanging light fixtures or ceiling fans, the manufacturer recommends a licensed electrician perform the assembly and installation, as do I. I was able to do most of the installation myself, but I did have an electrician wire it into the ceiling. Assembling the light fixture and hanging it were a bit time consuming, so splitting the time & effort between what I was comfortable taking on and what I was more comfortable letting an electrician handle provided me a cost effective, yet safe solution for installation. Also, I felt having a licensed electrician handle the electrical work put me on more solid footing with the manufacturer, should something have malfunctioned with the light (which it didn’t).
I had played under this light for some time in my local pool hall and finally decided to purchase one for my home. I purchased this billiard light as a consumer, not as a reviewer. So it is important to note that through my experience with this light, including purchasing the light at retail price with my own funds, installing the light or the customer service I received, the company did not know I was going to author a review of their product.
The following is my complete experience and review of the Lite-Systems 3 panel LED Fin billiard light.
Ordering
I ordered the product through the company’s online website http://lite-systems.com/ . The site is well designed and very easy to navigate. I found guidance there in terms of which of the lights would be appropriate for my 8 foot table and purchasing the light was an easy few clicks. I had one issue that I didn’t realize until after the light arrived, and that was to indicate the length of cables I would need to hang the light with given the height of my ceiling. The default length was too short and I had to contact the company for longer cables, which they sent me at no additional charge. Be sure to measure the height of the ceiling relative to your table and specify that in the special instructions section when you fill out the online purchase form. If you do, the company will ship the appropriate length of cable with your light.
Customer Service
The customer service was outstanding. I needed to reach out to them on several occasions. The first was when I needed longer hanging & electrical cables. With absolutely no hassle whatsoever, they simply asked me what length I needed & they packaged & shipped them to me at no additional charge. The second time I needed to reach out to them was for some clarification on how to install the jump cables from one panel to the other. While they advised me to consult with an electrician, they did walk me through the process. On both occasions, I reached out to them on their social media Facebook page, as their offices were officially closed at the time of my questions. In both cases, they responded to my posts within an hour of my posting the questions.
What I received in the shipment
This product was shipped from the east coast to the west coast, so I was a bit concerned about shipping something so fragile so far. But I received the light in perfect condition and it was extremely well packed as you can see in the images below.
The panels were securely packaged and individually wrapped for protection.
Each aluminum frame section was individually wrapped for protection.
What you get with your light
The package includes the light panels, frames, electrical cables, electric cable jumpers (to connect the cables to the multiple panels), airplane wire & associated ceiling mounts, all hardware for hanging the light and an instructional booklet. It includes basically everything you need as far as the light is concerned. But you will need some tools for installing the light, which are not included. That will be covered in the installation portion of the review. See the following images below which depict what ships with the light.
Assembling the light fixture
I found the instructions were easy to follow and the light assembled quickly. I utilized my pool table to assemble the fixture on, using the cover of my table to protect both, the fixture and the table. Using my pool table as the working surface allowed me to work on the light in place, eliminating the need to transport the light from place to place, minimizing the risk of something happening to it.
I laid out all the panels and frame sections according to the instructions prior to beginning the actual assembly
Then I bolted the frame together, locking in the light fixture into the frame
I then wired the light panels together, utilizing the power cables & jumpers provided with the light fixture
Hanging the light fixture
Hanging the light fixture was more difficult than other billiard lights I have installed. Most of those, in essence, had one chain that hung from a hook installed in the ceiling, wired into the electrical box. In this case, you need to hang 4 independent cables. It was fairly straight forward using the hardware and cables provided, but it is a delicate task in terms of being sure the light is hung properly, completely level, centered appropriately over the table and mounted safely, insuring it is well secured to the ceiling.
Airplane wire, supplied with the light, is run through the light fixture up into special ceiling mounts supplied with the fixture that are screwed into ceiling joists. Special mollies can be used if you do not have ceiling joists in the right place, but I would advise consulting a contractor about using them. The airplane wire will need to be cut to length and you will need a special tool for cutting this kind of wire. Typical wire cutters will not get through the airplane wire. Finally, the electrical cable is run from the light fixture into the ceiling electrical box. Again, you should consult with a licensed electrician for this.
There are four individual mounts for the light. The mounts have a unique capability of pulling the wire through and locking each into place. This allows a really convenient way of leveling your light. As you can see from the picture below, I hung the light from a vaulted ceiling with very difficult angles and dimensions. The fixture and hanging system made this extremely easy to level the light.
Complications can quickly come into play if you do not have the appropriate tools and experience, or if you do not have an electrical box in the right place or if you do not have ceiling joists in the right place. While you can do it yourself, I encourage you to have an experienced electrician hang the light.
Here is the final installed product.
You can see from the images above, the uniformity of the lighting on the surface of the table. You can tell from the images below, there is some glare and shadowing on the balls, but minimal and virtually unnoticeable when you are shooting.
Bottom line
As I stated in my opening remarks, this is the best billiard light I have ever played under and I highly recommend it. It provides outstanding, uniform lighting across the entire table, has little glare and minimal shadowing. It is a bit modern looking, so for those who are going for a specific themed decor for their home billiards room, this light might have a bit less “character” than some of the other old fashioned or themed lights that you may find. But it is a sophisticated, high quality, functional light that you absolutely cannot go wrong with.
