New lights, Old question

[nfuriate]

I'm pretty sure this has been asked in some form here before, but I can not find the exact answer I'm looking for. I'm pretty sure some have done this exact thing before.

I'm soon going to pick up 2 of the infamous Walmart $10 single tube T8 light fixtures for my garage with the intention of putting up 2 more later on. Right now, I have one light switch in the garage that turns on 2 single bulbs in the ceiling. My plan is to replace the ceramic (I guess ceramic, they're white anyway) bulb holders with outlets and plug these lights (pull chain always on) into the outlets. I'd rather stay away from hard wiring in case I need to replace. This is similar to the undercabinet lighting I put in the kitchen, but is there anything wrong with doing this? At some point when I get the garage in better order, I'd like two more of the same fixture a little closer to the door. I wouldn't think these would be very high draw, but will I be ok running 4 lights off 2 outlets from 1 switch? I can't remember right now what else might be on that breaker. It's easy enough to check, but I can't remember when I'm nearby.

Or is there a better way to do this?

 

[Mike662]

I am not an electrician, but I recently installed some flourescent fixtures in my garage too.

The short answer is this is probably fine the way you want to do it.

A couple things to consider. The wattage on a single T8 lamp (usually 32W, I believe) is considerably less that the incandescent bulb you are already running. Even after you install 4 of the single-bulb fixtures, the total wattage will be ~ 128W. That equates to a current draw of just over 1 A. If you are currently running 2 100W incandescent lamps, the total draw will be less with the 4 flourescents.

Of course, make sure your installation conforms to code (fixtures and outlets properly mounted, etc.)

Also, I think it's always nice to know if anything else is on the same circuit. When I bought my house, my garage had a single light and a single outlet. Both shared a circuit with my kitchen!

 

[pattenp]

You can not calculate the amperage draw of a florescent fixture by using the wattage of the lamps. You have to use the amperage draw of the ballast. The amps will be on the label of the ballast.

 

[Mike662]

Thanks pattenp, live and learn