which 8ft t-8 fixture

[Wistrick]

I plan on putting up (6) 8 ft fixtures in my 24 x 24 shop.....Looking for the type that take (4) 4 ft tubes... My question is are the ones from HD or Lowes really that bad....??? If so where should I buy fixtures....???

thanks in advance

Dan

 

[PhantomEB]

I found the ones I gonna get were cheaper at a local electrical supply store WITH bulbs included!

 

[Wistrick]

Checked with North Coast here in town and they where a tad higher for the same fixture HD sells and the ones at Platt where about double the cost....

Dan

 

[motofool33]

check out platonic solids thread on lighting

 

[Wistrick]

I did look @ is thread a I am wondering now if I shouldn't be thinking 4ft wraps based due to the ceiling height only being 8ft


Dan

 

[motofool33]

I did look @ is thread a I am wondering now if I shouldn't be thinking 4ft wraps based due to the ceiling height only being 8ft


Dan

if its going to be a working garage personally i would im always working with something long and banging into things.

 

[pattenp]

I did look @ is thread a I am wondering now if I shouldn't be thinking 4ft wraps based due to the ceiling height only being 8ft


Dan

I used the 4ft low profile with the wrapped covers due to 8' ceiling in my wood working shop. The lenses do disperse the light well and have protected the lamps from a few whacks from flipping around some long boards.

 

[c4cruiser]

I bought 3 of the 8 foot long 4-bulb T8 fixtures from HD some 4 years ago. No covers, just open bulbs which makes bulb replacement quick and easy.

The ballasts were advertised as "cold weather" and I have found that with freezing temps outside and the garage being uninsulated, the bulbs come to full brightness in about 20 seconds. In wearm weather the bulbs come up to full brightness almost instantly.

I'm using Phillips T8 bulbs with a 6500K color temp. The garage ceiling is 9'6" high and painted semi-gloss white along with the walls. It's pretty bright inside!!

The fixtures are mounted so that they run front to back, not across the garage. So far, I have yet to replace a bad bulb or a ballast. I think the fixtures were Lithonia?? IIRC, that was a pretty common brand name at both HD and Lowe's.

 

[PhantomEB]

I was given these from a a bud after his father passed away and wanted something of the old mans in my new shop. There will be 10 more of there getting notched into the ceiling at a later date. Whole garage which also is a 24x24.

They are from Lithonia and I bet the old man got them from Home Depot, I was just sayin my local supply is cheaper. ***** yours is not.

I needed flush ceiling as my big door is sucked right up to the 10' ceiling. Just an idea?

 

[exranger06]

I just bought two of these for my garage: http://www.homedepot.com/p/Lithonia-Lighting-Tandem-4-Light-Ceiling-Electronic-Fluorescent-White-Strip-Light-TC-2-32-MV-NAHD/206040286 I just finished installing them last week, so I can't comment on long-term reliability or cold weather performance yet. But so far, I'm loving them.

 

[AndyCBR]

I have the Lithonia ones from HD. I hear they are a Chinese ballast and have a short life.

So far so good and in a home shop environment even a short life may last quite a while.

If you get Lithonia fixtures form a commercial supply house you may pay a little more but it will be a higher quality ballast.

Get some prices and determine if the increased price is worth the higher quality ballast.

 

[TonkaJoe]

+1 for Lithonia lighting, I have the 4' T-8 dual bulb wraps . I installed the Philips 4' T8 32-Watt Daylight Deluxe (6500K) bulbs they are extremely bright in my shop and cast zero shadows. The Lithuania lights may be Chinese but they've been going strong in my shop through the cold Canadian winters without a hiccup. I should also mention I have a very high ceiling at 13.5'




Sent from my SGH-I747M using Tapatalk

 

[NedNorton]

Another positive vote for the Lithonia fixtures. I have had them in my shop (8foot, 4 bulb) for over 10 years without issue.

Hope that helps.

 

[FordTruckWench]

+1 for Lithonia lighting, I have the 4' T-8 dual bulb wraps . I installed the Philips 4' T8 32-Watt Daylight Deluxe (6500K) bulbs they are extremely bright in my shop and cast zero shadows.

At a non-profit where I volunteer, we have eight 4' T8 bare dual bulb units, all with 6500K bulbs. (Six are new buys from Home Despot, and two are older Lithonia fixtures updated with the same electronic ballasts as the new ones.) They experience at least 20 hours a week of "on" time. We have no climate control (no heat nor A/C.) We've had no problems with the fixtures yet.

We also have two "hang from chains" budget fixtures with 5000K bulbs. The bulbs have rotated / stopped making contact in these units a few times.

One of the 6500K units is in a back store room. The other seven, the two 5000K units and several compact fluorescents illuminate about 1000 sq ft of space. Approaching the shop at night from the street, it looks like an alien abduction is happening in the shop.