In the Dark

We have a very pleasant fluorescent fixture in our bathroom.  The ballast died. Went to two stores in town to find replacement, but nothing similar was in stock. Mail ordered ballast. Elapse ~ week.

New ballast arrives and is perfect fit. Yeah. But we broke one of the tube holders. Having seen them at the hardware store when we were shopping for ballasts, we assumed them easy to replace and tossed them out. Next day and three hardware stores later, found that we were unable to  find the correct match.  Mail order parts. Elapse ~ week. Sadly these don't fit either.

We need the snap-in models, not the slide in models like "No #1".  We also learned we couldn't mutilate the tabs to force it to fit and stay in.  We also need a clearance of about 1" rather than the 1cm in "No #2".

It's so frustrating to know exactly what you want, but be unable to shop for it. One positive note, the teenagers have spent much less time in our bathroom.