Compare Shatterproof Products

	POPGUARD®	HOT VAT METHOD	RE-USABLE SLEEVES
Assembly	No assembly required. Product ready to install. Fluorescent tube self contained. Employees and food stuffs are safe. No deterioration of strength due to age.	No assembly required. Product ready to install. Fluorescent tube self contained. Structural failure of coating over a short period of time due to temperature fluctuations - can cause severe brittleness.	Assembly required. On some fluorescent items two people needed to assemble both sleeves and end caps. Quite often breakage occurs during assembly. Studied estimation of assembly time is well over 1 hour per box.
contacts Pins Endcaps	The process of manufacturing POPGUARD® KENLON® Shatter-proof Tubes uses very little heat and leaves 1/8" margin around the pins so that they are never disturbed on coated.	The hot vat method requires the immersion of the fluorescent tube in a vat which is 400° F. Two problems occur. The pins may be coated, causing loss of electrical contact. The glue that holds them in place is loosened, and then re-hardens, causing misalignment, making the tube useless.	Within the first three months, the heat of the tube itself may split and crack the caps. However, the re-usable sleeves do not affect the pins.
Light Loss	POPGUARD® KENLON® Shatter-proof Tubes lose only 1.5% - 3.5% of their light due to coating. Severe dust and food product waste can be wiped clean with little effort returning tube to original luminescence.	Hot vat method has immediate 5% - 8% light loss. Due to uneven surface (deep grooves) within the first two months dust and food waste products fill in the grooves and cause as much as 15% - 20% light loss. Because of the nature of the coating all conventional cleaning methods will not work.	Diffusion causes 10% - 16% light loss with at least 5% increase the first month due to dust and bacterial build-up followed by insect accumulation. Heavy yellow streaking as bacteria colonies multiply.
Margin of Safety	The POPGUARD coating will retain its contents even dropped from 40 feet. Indeed, it is possible that a POPGUARD fluorescent tube can still be used if accidentally dropped from only 3 feet.	The hot vat method contains breakage of the tubes initially, however, the margin of safety is decreased due to coating breakdown from constant heat emitted by the fluorescent tube itself.	When a fluorescent tube breaks, the explosion is quite dramatic. A force is generated that can push the end caps away from the sleeve; glass can spray out contaminating food products and endangering employees.
Disposal	If fluorescent tube falls from fixture, all glass is contained. Simply throw away and replace.	If fluorescent tube falls from fixture, check for split and failed coating. could require extensive clean-up and replacement.	If fluorescent and re-useable sleeve assembly fall from fixture, great probability of end cap breaking loose and broken glass contaminating large area. Extensive clean-up before throwing away.
Cleaning	To clean and maintain POPGUARDS® simply wipe down using your favorite cleaning materials. POPGUARD® coating cannot be harmed.	The nature of material retains dust and particles, To clean requires a strong industrial solution and an immersion bath. This is labor intensive and costly.	To keep re-useable sleeve clean is a time-consuming task. You must dis-assemble, immerse sleeve in a special bath, separately clean the tube and take extra care to dry both thoroughly before reassembly. It is quite common for the re-useable sleeve to be discarded and a new one put in its place.
Labels	Bright prominent labeling directly under the coating. No possibility of peeling or contamination of food or machinery.	Hot vat method does not allow for labeling under coating. Therefore, a plastic label is glued on the outside. During use glue can dry up allowing label to fall off product causing contamination.	No labels used.
Inventory	Valuable inventory space is saved by combining all elements of fluorescent protection in a finished product. Storage is safer due to less breakage.	Valuable inventory space is saved by combining all elements of fluorescent protection in a finished product. Less breakage in storage.	Requires far more shelf space. You have to inventory tubes, bulky sleeves, and small easy-to-lose end caps. Sleeve are not packed in the same quantity as tubes. It is quite common to run out of one or the other when needed.