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Platonic Solid

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Nov 29, 2014
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CT-USA
32x23x11 light grey walls & ceiling assumed reflectance = 35%

Qty. 24 2-lamp 4ft strip lights (48 Lamps) 5280 lm/fixture = 94fc @ 30" workplane
 
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Platonic Solid

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Qty.9 10,400 fixtures spaced 8'8" x 10'8", but you will have more shadow and glare issues. Probably better off with the flat panel. See prior post edit.
 

Wrigley

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Dec 1, 2017
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SE IA
I just saw this light at the local Menards store. Probably not the best specs but what I like is the mounting for this flat panel. The driver is contained inside so no driver sticking out. There is a flat metal bracket that is attached to your round light box to hold it up and it is either screwed into stud or toggle bolted to the drywalled or other material ceiling. Once that is up there are four hooks that hold the light up. This looks like a really clean way of mounting these lights without buying an additional flush mount kit. I have not seen this type yet on some of the common internet sites listed. Anyone use this type or know where it can be had for a good price on the internet? Here is the link.https://www.menards.com/main/lighting-ceiling-fans/indoor-lighting/strips-shop-lights/patriot-lighting-reg-4300-lumens-2-led-flat-panel-light/v1713/p-1491978002851-c-1472133557086.htm?tid=6872622483914153001&ipos=1

Update: found a video that is very similar to what I describe above.
 
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Wrigley

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Dec 1, 2017
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SE IA
Has anyone purchased the lightup flat panels? They were not able to answer my question as to what the back of the panel looks like. They told me to watch the video and I took a screenshot. The video shows hooks what appears to be on a 2x4 panel. I have seen a couple different versions. The others I have found online, different supplier, that have pictures have what some refer to as a hurricane clip for a grid ceiling installation. Can anyone confirm which way the lightup panels come. See two pictures below.

Thanks
 

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smalltown

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Western Maine
Wrigley I have two of the 2x4 panels arriving this Thursday. From the web site information there is supposed to be a driver "box" sitting somewhere on top of the panel as in your first photo. Not built in.
I will gladly take any photo or measurements if they arrive Thursday as expected.

P.S. took a quick look at the Menards you linked to. The 2x2 looks expensive. The 2x4's I ordered are $79 for 9000Lm with 125Lm/W efficiency.

The Menards are expensive, and lower efficiency. 105Lm/W
Lumegen 2x2 5000Lm, 125Lm/W $$38 + $20 for the mount is cheaper than the Menards,

I hate the idea of paying so much for the mount, but I did look into making mounts out of pine. The cost of wood, routing the slot for the panel, and painting made it unrealistic. So I bit my tongue and ordered the first two 2x4 models to test.
 
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Wrigley

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SE IA
Smalltown, Yeah please let me know for sure. I called back and the technical guy there told me they were actually the hurricane type clips.
I knew the specs were not great on Menards fixture and have not found any online that are much better. I wonder if the internal driver on this is the reason. A year from now they will all be like that with better specs., after we get ours ordered and hung.
Thanks
 
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smalltown

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Western Maine
Hang in there Wrigley. UPS has notified me that because of yesterdays snow storm the package has been delayed. Looking at the tracking there is still hope the lights will arrive Friday.
 

Wrigley

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SE IA
Wrigley tell me what you would like a picture of.

On the back side does it have the hurricane clips for the Grid ceiling or the hooks like they show in the video on Lightup website, or is there anything? Suppose it could be void of either.

Thanks for doing that Smalltown.
 
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smalltown

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Wrigley on my 2x4 panel there are six of these, three on each side. If there is anything else you need a picture of ask away.
 

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Wrigley

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SE IA
Wrigley on my 2x4 panel there are six of these, three on each side. If there is anything else you need a picture of ask away.

More pics are always great! :). Now those are not hurricane clips?? Hmm, those look like they are made so that a person could hang the fixture with them, I could be wrong. I assume the instructions that came with it are the same as on their website? Thanks for posting it Smalltown.

Edit: I just went to their site and see for that 2x4 flat panel it does show the hooks and that they can be used to mount the fixture. I have been looking hard at the 2x2’s recently and no instructions there. I think u said u got the surface mount kits to, correct? Are u happy with the quality of those?
 
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smalltown

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Western Maine
Yes the surface mounting kits appear to be of good quality.
The instruction sparce as they are show that you can hang the fixture by a type of suspended wire. I see Lumegen has a suspension kit available.

My own problem (the oh sh*t moment) was the way the surface mount assembles. It will not allow me to slide the light panel in from the long side. I do recall Platonic saying that the 2x4 fixtures can be rotated without much difference. So I rotated my fixtures 90 Degs., and took another look. Surprisingly (for me) the light as it "plays out" stayed the same.

Just a few more measurements to see if the new layout interferes with my ceiling access scuttle.
 

RayBob58

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Jan 1, 2015
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282
Location
St. Louis, MO
I've found a local source for the LED-ready T8 fixtures at a decent price. $15 for 4-footers, or $25 for 8-footers. I'm leaning toward the 8's. My shop is 28x36, with 9' ceilings in white metal. I'm considering installing 12, laid out in 4 rows of 3, flush mounted. I'm looking to light up the entire space, not concerned with task lighting or anything else at this time. This could possibly be too much light, but I plan to wire them on multiple switches, plus I haven't chosen bulbs yet. My real concern right now is deciding between the 4's & the 8's. Any opinions?

Sent from my SAMSUNG-SM-G890A using Tapatalk
 

RayBob58

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St. Louis, MO
RayBob58 - I assume the 8ft are using four 4ft bulbs. Yes?
You're considering installing 12 what - 4ft or 8ft?
I took it for granted that the 8-footers used 8ft tubes, but the same question hit me after I left the place. I'm not sure of the answer. I'm considering 12, 8ft fixtures.

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RayBob58

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St. Louis, MO
I took it for granted that the 8-footers used 8ft tubes, but the same question hit me after I left the place. I'm not sure of the answer. I'm considering 12, 8ft fixtures.

Sent from my SAMSUNG-SM-G890A using Tapatalk
Alright, I called, and they are tandem fixtures. They use 4ft tubes. I think I like that even better. Cheaper to replace if one eventually goes bad. My plan, which is based on no knowledge whatsoever of lighting, is for 3 8-footers running lengthwise, in 4 rows evenly spaced. So, end to end, I'd have about a 3 ft gap between fixtures, and about 5 1/2 ft gap side to side.

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Kenswheels

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Dec 5, 2017
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Location
Sequim, WA
Okay, I admit I'm a bit lost and am running out of time.

Just poured the slab for a 20' x 50' x 16'H garage and need to tell the electrician what lighting to wire for.

I want it bright for detail work, but dimmable for retina retention!

I like the look of the high bay LEDs. Money in NOT much of a concern, doing it right the first time is.

If any of you were designing your dream garage, what would you do?

Any and all help would be highly appreciated!
 

revamped

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May 23, 2012
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Bremerton, WA
Okay, I admit I'm a bit lost and am running out of time.

Just poured the slab for a 20' x 50' x 16'H garage and need to tell the electrician what lighting to wire for.

I want it bright for detail work, but dimmable for retina retention!

I like the look of the high bay LEDs. Money in NOT much of a concern, doing it right the first time is.

If any of you were designing your dream garage, what would you do?

Any and all help would be highly appreciated!

Check out my link in signature for my Hi-Bay thread. Lots of help in there as we already worked through 16-17ft ceilings and I am amazed at how good my lighting is with only 6 fixtures. You should be able to follow a similar plan.

revamped
 

Kenswheels

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Dec 5, 2017
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Location
Sequim, WA
Thanks, that will helpful.

So you're in Bremerton, huh? Not too far from Sequim. Hmmmm.....

That floor looks AWESOME! Love stained concrete!
 

Kenswheels

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Sequim, WA
I like beer!

I went through the thread. Incredible amount of info!

Based on your results, do you think 3 rows of 165's would work (50 x 20 x 16h)? How close to the walls is most effective? Or maybe 165's down the middle and 110's along the walls?

3 lamps or 4 per row?
 

cybrdyke

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Sep 9, 2014
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USA
Wrigley on my 2x4 panel there are six of these, three on each side. If there is anything else you need a picture of ask away.

Those are mounting clips. Many electrical codes require that lighting fixtures in a grid ceiling have an independent means of support, other than the grid itself. That way, the lights dont add so much to the weight of the grid and potentially cause it to fall. Those clips will be bound with aircraft cable and attached to purlins above. They can also be used as suspension points if the fixture will be mounted where there is no grid.
You'll also find fold out tabs in the corners of most LED panels. These are grid hangers and are only there to hold the fixture into the grid. It's a loose fitting bendable tab.
CD
 

Wrigley

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Dec 1, 2017
Messages
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Location
SE IA
Those are mounting clips. Many electrical codes require that lighting fixtures in a grid ceiling have an independent means of support, other than the grid itself. That way, the lights dont add so much to the weight of the grid and potentially cause it to fall. Those clips will be bound with aircraft cable and attached to purlins above. They can also be used as suspension points if the fixture will be mounted where there is no grid.
You'll also find fold out tabs in the corners of most LED panels. These are grid hangers and are only there to hold the fixture into the grid. It's a loose fitting bendable tab.
CD

I got a couple of 2x2 LumeGen, same brand as smalltown above. It’s a 40w 5200 lumen fixture. It did not come as small towns did with the hooks. It’s got only the grid hangers u describe above. However, the instructions show that they can be used with with suspension mounts in the corner hole. These things are so light I doubt it would be a problem doing that.
 

cory58

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Dec 23, 2015
Messages
234
Location
Charlotte, NC
Only need 10 LED tubes, do I have to buy 25?

Question for the group: I'm outfitting my garage with a combo of high bays and the Maxlite fixtures from Bees Lighting in the OP. When I made my original purchase from Bees last summer, I was able to buy the LED tubes individually. Here is the tube I bought.

https://beeslighting.com/led-t8-bulb/p/T8R-48-18L-50K-B

I chose them for the 180 degree beam spread (and I swear the brand was something other than GLT, but that may or may not be relevant). Bees now only sells them in boxes of 25. I called Bees about a lesser quantity and they said they only sell in the box quantity because they were getting too many broken tube claims from shipping in smaller quantities.

I only need approx 10 more tubes. Any ideas to keep me from spending $100 on tubes I don't need? Any way to determine if someone else sells the same Chinese tube under a different brand name? Any help would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks, Cory
 

penusai

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Jan 21, 2013
Messages
11
Location
Nassau County, NY
I purchased the Lumegen 1x4 panels.

Please ignore the tape work, previous owners didn't care much for detail in the garage.

Drywall Anchors
Rope Loop
Carabiners
Small Chain

Holes are drilled(after pics) for the two center loops to attach small chain to the beams above, in case sheet rock gets wet, etc.
 

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nsula_country

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May 23, 2013
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Northwestern Louisiana
I purchased the Lumegen 1x4 panels.

Please ignore the tape work, previous owners didn't care much for detail in the garage.

Drywall Anchors
Rope Loop
Carabiners
Small Chain

Holes are drilled(after pics) for the two center loops to attach small chain to the beams above, in case sheet rock gets wet, etc.

Those flat panels are very compact. How are you going to power them? Ceiling box then SO cord?

CT
 

penusai

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Jan 21, 2013
Messages
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Location
Nassau County, NY
Those flat panels are very compact. How are you going to power them? Ceiling box then SO cord?

CT

Honestly have no clue yet.

I'm going to pull power from the light in front of it as I won't need it anymore and just put a cover to access it.

The light has a termination box attached to it as well.

I'm unfamiliar with electrical code here in Nassau County.

I'm not sure if it's acceptable to have 1ft of NM cable hanging down into the light, with the proper fitting at the termination box so the cable doesn't rub on the opening.

There is exposed NM cable throughout the attic space of the garage going to all the lights, outlets, etc.

The lights are all on their own 15A circuit.

25w x 20d garage.

Will have 3 lights in each "bay". 6 panels total.

Based on load calculations I shouldn't have any issues with 14/2 NM on the 15A circuit.
 
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