Lighting the shop in winter.

[Rickstir]

Although it is 90 degrees in NE MO today, I know cold weather is coming. I got several "commercial" fluoresent 4-bulb fixture from work. I want to put up two in my shop and a couple in the un-heated pole barn. The shop is un-heated. It can get to zero and below up here in God's country. I have incandesent bulbs and they work okay in the cold. What about the fluoresents?

 

[1969]

Years ago we used fixtures with high-output ballasts. They worked quite well in cold weather. I recall a couple truck-stops that had these fixtures outside. Temps would drop below 0*F. Off course this type of fixture took different tubes also. Don't know if these still exist, been a few years. Those in the trade today will know for sure.

 

[Gary S]

Take a look at the high output lamps available today. They are rated at -20F. If you don't need to start at -20, look into the standard 4 footers with electronic ballasts and T8 lsmps. They are rated at 0F.
I use the 0F rated lamps in my garage and it does get to around +10 inside sometimes. They work.
Outdoors I'm running dusk to dawn florescents to light my yard. they are rated at -20 and have lighted reliably for me every evening for the last 6 winters even when the evening temp was down around -20.

 

[Charles (in GA)]

These are probably T-12 bulbs. If so, they are likely to not start in the cold. I would try them and if you have problems, buy replacement T8 ballasts and convert the fixtures to T8 lamps, which will start in the cold, and give off more light and consume less energy doing it.

My dad was born and raised in Atlanta, in Macon County and said that is why he was so happy to leave home and go to college in Texas, was the cold. His parents moved to Norborne, over toward KC while he was in college.

Charles

Charles

 

[Falcon67]

I use T8 fixtures with cold start electric ballasts. No issues in the "cold" as it were, here. And it's only July here, it hasn't even gotten hot yet.

 

[Cuda]

I installed over 100 outdoor two bulb T8's two years ago and have never had an issue with them coming on in even the coldest weather.
If you have T 12's you'll need HO ballasts and bulbs. Not cheap.