New member here, lighting questions

[MY FYN 79]

Hi all,

Great site here. The construction of my 32x36x10 garage is getting close to finished, and I'm now looking into the lighting situation.

I'm not a big Ebay guy, but after looking around for lights these sure seem interesting. Pretty good feedback considering how many of these things they sold. Anyone have experience with these?

http://cgi.ebay.com/8-Foot-T8-HIGH-...39:1|66:2|65:12|240:1318&_trksid=p3286.c0.m14

Thanks for any input guys, dont wanna end up doing this twice!!

 

[bluesman2a]

I there are 2 things wrong with the ebay approach for those:

1) T-8 fixtures are a dime a dozen. You can get then locally at a big box or supply probably cheaper than you can get those for essentially the same thing.

2) As a personal preference I tend to like 4' fixtures you can **** them up against one another for the same effect and gives you more options.

I would check around locally before I pay to have 8' fixtures shipped in (and probably mangled by UPS).

 

[VPRKLR]

That is not a bad price for a triple tube with reflector fixture.
You could do twin tube T-8's which are a dime a dozen and be fine. Just make sure they are a name brand like Lithonia. Or if you want to be cool, do T-5 HO fixtures, more money but lots of punch.
-Joe

 

[Palmetto]

I have the 8' long, 4 bulb T-8 fixtures in my shop. Bought them from Lowes last week, and installed them in my 30'x40' shop. They are approx. 14' high, and put out allot of light. I installed the "daylight" bulbs as well, and I am happy with the color. right now I only have 4 fixtures, but i plan on putting in 2 more.

Good lights IMO.

 

[MY FYN 79]

Thanks for the replies guys!

I there are 2 things wrong with the ebay approach for those:

1) T-8 fixtures are a dime a dozen. You can get then locally at a big box or supply probably cheaper than you can get those for essentially the same thing.

2) As a personal preference I tend to like 4' fixtures you can **** them up against one another for the same effect and gives you more options.

I would check around locally before I pay to have 8' fixtures shipped in (and probably mangled by UPS).

Blueman, the lights in the link actually are 2 4" fixtures connected. Plus they are high output lights. Its very possible I'm looking in the wrong places, but I've never seen HO lights like this (even 2 bulb) for $50ish each.

The ad claims the ballasts to be made in the USA. That said, are the lower quality lights all made overseas, or are there lower quality ones made in the states too?

VPRKLR,

Are there low-bay T5 fixtures?

Palmetto,

Whats the brand name on the lights you got from Lowes? I wonder how the quality of these Ebay lights compare to the ones bought from a place like Home Depot or Lowes...

Sorry for all the questions, but I really do appreciate the input!!

Thanks everyone!

 

[PurdueSD]

try a local electric supply house. You will get a commercial grade ballast (zero degree start) and not have to deal with shipping. 3-bulb seems kind of gimmiky to me. I went with 8 foot T8 (4- 4foot bulb) fixtures from the above mentioned supply house and they cost me ~$45. The cost was about 10 bucks more if i wanted the shades if i can remember....

 

[e-tek]

One thing I keep suggesting is running lights on both walls, 6' or 8' high (depending on your overall height I guess). Mine are 6' high. I have them on seperate switches (ceiling, each wall), but always turn them all on. Sure was a great call after I installed my lift too. As well, I hooked two flourescents up to a rolling trolley. That way I can pull it up to whatever I'm working on. The more light the better for my eyes!

 

[e-tek]

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[Bevis]

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[G-force]

The tandom 4' T8 Lithonia lights that HD sells for like $43 are working great for me. The 4' bulbs are cheaper, easier to handle and easier to dispose of. Plus you can do like I did and add a single 4' to the end of the tandem 4' and bring your lighting to the size you want while maintaining visiul consistency between fixtures. I have a total of 20 4' T8 in my garage and it is incredibly bright.

Here are some older pictures from the day I installed them...

Here's an example of the kind of light they put out. (I'm using Phillips 4100k bulbs)

 

[e-tek]

G-Force - sorry to go of topic, but are those pull-down stairs?

 

[G-force]

G-Force - sorry to go of topic, but are those pull-down stairs?

Yes it is. Goes into the attic.

 

[67pete300]

So Gforce, do you have RFI problems with all those lights? I have been reading the other thread and in need of some lighting, but a bit taken back by all the RFI issues.

 

[Dawgfan]

I put 9 of the t-8 tandem fixtures in my shop 30 x 40. These are the 8 ft. from HD, use 4 x 4 ft. bulbs. I've got a 14 ft. ceiling in gloss white. The fixtures are hanging from chains. These have work well for me.

 

[Everyday]

I installed recessed light fixtures throughout my entire 40 x 60 pole barn. They're cheap, you can run the flourescent flood lights in them for a cost savings.

I like them because they give off a lot of lot, don't make any noise and they don't hang down. They're easy to wire and install too.

 

[MY FYN 79]

Convinced me. I think I'll go with the tandem T8s from Home Depot. Just gotta figure out a layout now.

Thanks for the input!

 

[G-force]

So Gforce, do you have RFI problems with all those lights? I have been reading the other thread and in need of some lighting, but a bit taken back by all the RFI issues.

RFI meaning what? Relative fluorescence intensity? Radio Frequency Interference? Right Foot Itch?

I have not had any issues. I'm usually just operating by the light of my Liftmaster and neons, unless of course I need the light.

 

[ddawg16]

RFI = Really F/U Instructions....ok...it really means Radio Frequency Interferance.

There has been a discussion regarding the lights and RFI....in many cases, some fo the guys can't listen to an AM radio with the lights on.....hence, they miss out on the talk radio.....

I haven't had a chance to check into it yet (since I DON'T HAVE A GARAGE AT THE MOMENT!).....sorry about that...I'm having a 'few' issues with the contractor who is 1 week LATE on completing the foundation for my new garage.....

Oh yea, lights....anyway, I suspect the issue is the new electronic ballasts...the standard ballast is basically a tranformer operating at 120 hz...the harmonics off that are not enough to interfer with an AM radio....however, the newer electronic ballasts operate I believe at around 50Khz which is more than enough to generate substantial harmonics that would interfer with an AM radio.

What I want to find out is if there is a way to squelch the noise....I would think that if you had the ballast and the fixture properly grounded, RFI would not be an issue. I would also like to find out if there is in fact a difference between manf of the fixtures.

I'm also glad to see someone else is using recessed lights. That is what I planned to do...in my case, it is for safety....nothing worse than hitting a flourescent tube with a 2x4....ok, there are worse things like a my radial arm saw blade coming off and sailing across the room....but we won't talk about that.....

 

[MisterCMK]

One thing to think about is that a fixture with 2 8 foot bulbs is going to use less electricity than 2 fixtures with 2 4 foot bulbs. 120 watts in bulbs vs 160 watts. It is not a huge difference, but something to think about at any rate.

 

[Jiffycake]

G-Force - That is a nice mk2 interior. It is so different. I want that dark blue dash, wheel, and door cards. Want to trade for a gti black interior? lol j/k

 

[G-force]

G-Force - That is a nice mk2 interior. It is so different. I want that dark blue dash, wheel, and door cards. Want to trade for a gti black interior? lol j/k

It's actually an MKI. '83 Rabbit GTI. I sold it about a month ago after 9 years of ownership.

About the RFI. I live in an area that has practically no AM reception whether the lights are on or off. I thought about getting an amplified antenna but figured with as much as I have invested in my garage audio, why the hell would I want to listen to AM, especially since they yanked Phil Hendrie off the air again.