How much lighting is too much

[Garage5.9]

I already have 2 t8 i think fixtures in my small 2 car garage in a T formation and its pretty bright but while working on projects at night i still have shadows on the sides of cars etc especially when working on brakes and it really irritates the **** out of me. This got me to thinking of putting some fixtures on the walls for extra lighting , but dont know what fixtures to use. I was thinking of something enclosed for obvious reasons. also the fixtures that i have now are pretty old as well as the bulbs witch i got for free so i was wondering how often ballast's go bad ? because sometimes i have to flick the switch couple hundred times for one or both bulbs to come on.

 

[weegaz22]

do the fixtures have starters? they might be past their best, also one of the tubes look like it could do with replacing with the amount of dulling at the ends, this also might be why they are struggling to start.

 

[OccupantRJ]

A get-by method of helping a bulb start is to swipe your hand down it's length while the power is applied to the fixture, assuming you can easily reach it.

 

[Norcal]

do the fixtures have starters? they might be past their best, also one of the tubes look like it could do with replacing with the amount of dulling at the ends, this also might be why they are struggling to start.

Starters are not used in the US market unless very old (60+ years) or smaller fixtures. The blackening of the lamps are a indication of ballast issues, & the exact ballast had production stopped per Federal law in July 2010.

Replacement of the fixture w/ a 8' 4-lamp tandem T8 would be in order IMO, 8' lamps are more costly then 4'.

 

[fefarms]

The tubes blacken with age normally. Difficult starting is usually a sign of a worn-out tube. Additionally, all fluorescent tubes lose lumen output as they age. Ballasts usually either work or fail completely.

The picture is a little fuzzy, but those look like they may be F96T12HO tubes. (Look at the end -- there appears to be a single-pin spring connector, not a medium bi-pin).

The old-school high-output fixtures put out considerably more light than tandem T8s, albeit at considerably more power and a lot of 60 hz hum. If you replace it, you'll probably want to add an additional fixture.

 

[rsanter]

its not all about the amount of light but the placement of the lights
often in a general use are you are better with more lights of lower wattage
to have better distribution and reduced shadows.
for specific work areas a single point source of light on the work space works well


in a garage a single light over the car only works to light the area to walk out and get in the car. to work on a car you need lights above the car on either side of the car and one across the nose of the car

bob

 

[bczygan]

Ceiling lights are good for general illumination, but they do NOT provide task lighting. Get some portable lights on tripods and work lights you can hang or reposition as needed. Cars are difficult to light from every angle and for every purpose so your task lighting has to be flexible and movable. Halogen, incandescent and fluorescent work lights, snake lights, lights with magnetic or weighted bases, even head mounted LED lights. To eliminate shadows you need 3 lights on a subject from different angles just like when taking photographs of someone.

 

[darkk]

When the guys in the space shuttle start wearing sunglasses, that's when it's to much light...

 

[klhitman]

you can never have enough light. i have 4-4ft fixture in my 2 car and i want to take them down and replace with 8-8footers. if i had the space and power i would go to metal halide lights.

i don't want to see a shadow!!

 

[Kevin54]

Never enough light. I have about (20) 4' two bulb, fluorescents in my garage and at times I still drag out the 500w halogen worklight. this is in a 28'x36' garage.

 

[Jeff]

never enough light

x4

 

[NUTTSGT]

Too much is just enough.


As long as you put it on different switches, I don't think the average person can have too much light.

 

[silber]

I have six four bulb fixtures in my two stall (20x24) and I've been thinking about adding another fixture. You can never have enough.

 

[rwhite692]

Too Much = Never Enough.

 

[soap]

Too Much = Never Enough.

I agree. Before I did the garage makeover I had three 135 watt quartz-halogen lamps over my workbench and thought it was great. Then I put two 100-watt incandescent task lights on the bench and thought it was even better.

When I replaced that bench with two bigger ones (the 8x2 foot butcher block dealies) I put five 100 watt incandescent lamps over each bench, plus another five over the mill and lathe area, for a total of 1500 watts! My friends laughed at me, but the laughing stopped when we worked on a project together and we could actually see what we were doing!

(Admittedly, 1500 watts of lighting warms up the shop a bit.)

 

[zoomzoomjeff]

24x24 garage, (24) 100-watt equivalent CFL's in Daylight color spectrum spread evenly throughout.

Great lighting, cheaper up front, puts out serious lumens, and takes MANY years to equal fluorescent tube maintenance costs. I also like the color of the light better. I made a spreadsheet to help me decide. I can PM you if you want to look at it.