Garage Flourescent Quality

[kartracer55]

Who makes some decent quality flourescents? or rather, are there any brands I shoudl stay away from?

Today my flourescent fixture about my work bench (THE MOST important one ) realesed the magic blue smoke on me. So, now im going to replace the single 4ft fixture with 2, to light up the area better, and I know somebodyu said they boguht ones that sucked.


Thanks

Jim

 

[Luckydevil]

A lot of people seem to be happy with the Diamond Plate Lights that home depot sells. I don't know the exact brand name, but I love mine and they look good.

 

[kartracer55]

Yeah, I saw those, but I was pissed that they were T 12. T 8 bulbs (the small ones) are just all around better bulbs, so i wound up getting the one with the cage over it. I already have them in the garage, and they seemed to work well.

Thanks

Jim

 

[Luckydevil]

I don't know much about the bulb differences, so forgive my ignorance. What makes the T8's better than the T12's if they are smaller?

 

[kartracer55]

T8 lights start up mush quicker, basically instantly, and I read that 4 t8 bulbs are twice as brite as 3 t 12 bulbs. I jsut remembered being impressed with the advantages of t8 over t12 bulbs when I read about them.

Also, they are only 1 inch, instead of t 12's 1 1/2, so you can get them closer together, Hence, a smaller fixture with more light.

Jim

 

[dlynch]

How would they work in the cold? Our garage temp is often in the 0 to 32 degree F range.

(winter of course ;-)

Dave L

 

[kartracer55]

They work very well. I have T8 fictures in my garage, which is uninsulated, and it does get down to 20 and below up by me in jersey as well. No problems. I have the fixtures from home cheapo with the "cage" on the bottom. Easy ot assemble and put up. They have been going strong for about a year now.

Jim

 

[Oxjockey]

They work very well. I have T8 fictures in my garage, which is uninsulated, and it does get down to 20 and below up by me in jersey as well. No problems. I have the fixtures from home cheapo with the "cage" on the bottom. Easy ot assemble and put up. They have been going strong for about a year now.

Jim

Jim,
How did you mount those? I bought some with the intention of mounting them straight to the ceiling, but I'm concerned that these will run hot and create a hazard.

TIA,
Bryan

 

[kartracer55]

In the garage or in the basement?

In the basement, I just drilled right though the back panel and used wood screws. Flourescent lights dont run hot at all. You can sit there all day and hold on to one. They simply get a little warm, but its no danger. The fixture we replaced has been there for as long as I can remember mounted the same way. No problems.

My garage is all exposed rafters so you can see right up to the roof, no cieling, so We just used chain like they supplied, only longer, and got it to the hieght we wanted. Mounting them up solid is a much better way to mount them, because its a hell of alot more stable, its just that they would have been to high if mounted solid in the garage.

Jim

 

[Oxjockey]

In the garage or in the basement?

In the basement, I just drilled right though the back panel and used wood screws. Flourescent lights dont run hot at all. You can sit there all day and hold on to one. They simply get a little warm, but its no danger. The fixture we replaced has been there for as long as I can remember mounted the same way. No problems.

Jim

I've been reading about the ballasts heating up and causing the wood to dry out, etc. I guess I could plug one in and see for myself.

Edit: I'm shooting for zero clearance to get lights over the rollup garage door. (rather than only lighting half the space)

Thanks!

 

[SteveL]

I have the T8 type in my garage and basement shop and love them. Instant on even in the coldest weather, brighter than T12's and I think better quality light.

Only down side is they cost a little more and it's hard to find the bulbs that keep colors accurate. Warm white and cool white bulbs are not great for a color sensitive environment. Most of the bulb mfg's make the color correct bulbs, but you may have to go to a lighting supply company to get them, and expect to pay a fair amount more than the ones at Home Depot or Lowes.

The fixtures that I have were around $30/ea at HD and are very slim lined. Mine are mounted directly to the drywall ceiling and put off very little heat. Probably less than a T12 and for sure less than an incandescent bulb. I installed 12 two bulb 4' fixtures in my 22' x 38' garage and the neighbors think I'm running a nuclear power plant!

 

[kartracer55]

I dont think theya re gunna dry out wood??? The whole fixture itself only gets warm. Its not like they will burn you or anything. If you are concerned, test it out, but I havent noticed any problems.

Jim

 

[bmwpower]

I dont think theya re gunna dry out wood??? The whole fixture itself only gets warm. Its not like they will burn you or anything. If you are concerned, test it out, but I havent noticed any problems.

Jim

I think he's referring to the fact that some lights are designed NOT to be mounted on the ceiling for cooling purposes. If the light is mounted on the ceiling, it will not dissipate heat as it should and therefore, potentially burn up.

 

[krooser]

I've been reading about the ballasts heating up and causing the wood to dry out, etc. I guess I could plug one in and see for myself.

Edit: I'm shooting for zero clearance to get lights over the rollup garage door. (rather than only lighting half the space)

Thanks!

I've had my 8' lights screwed to the plywood ceiling for almost ten years...and they were in another building for longer than that before I got 'em... Dry the wood? I guess I've got more important things to worry about....

 

[alfacanuck]

Lighting Info

Found this freebee today for charting light output etc using different types of flourescents:

http://www.lithonia.com/Software/Lightware7/Visual/Default.asp

It is kind of cool as it figures out the spacing and the lumen values and how to get an even light in the whole shop.

Cheers, Andy

PS Our Home Depot in Canada is selling Tandem 4 foot T8s for $52, make a nice bright 8 foot fixture.

 

[byrdman]

In case you missed it - a thread from the "salad days" of GJ.net:
http://garagejunkies.net/showthread.php?t=9