Which T8 Bulb????

[Rickochet]

This site has been a blessing! All of the experience amassed has helped cut down on the trial and errors for many. So with that said, I am installing eight 8' T8 fixtures using four 4' bulbs per fixture in my 32x32 garage with 8' ceilings. The walls & ceiling are finished in the OSB sheeting, unpainted.

My question is: What bulb would be the best to use. There are so many to choose from. I want to have some of the brightest light without breaking the bank. Your help is appreciated!

 

[Junkman]

You have to decide by looking at them. Daylight is a more white bulb, and cool white is more pinkish. I used to use GE Chroma 50, which is as close to natural daylight that you could find, and was the old judging standard for judging diamonds under artificial light. When I was purchasing them, it was long before the T-8 bulb became popular. I wouldn't base my purchase on the cost, but the effective light of a particular bulb. Cheap bulbs might burn out more frequently, so any cost savings will be lost in replacement cost.

 

[JohnK007]

Rick,

Take it from me, invest in a few gallons of paint and paint that OSB white. You will be simply amazed how much brighter your garage will become. It really makes a difference. I had to see it myself to believe it.

 

[4me2nou]

I am finishing my 32x40 and have put 14 of the 8' 4 bulb fixtures on 5 different switches. I found a local electrical supply house to order me the bulbs in full case qnty. I got the SLI 6500K bulbs for $1.70 apiece. These are good white daylight bulbs with a very good CRI index(90 or 92) and lumen output. I have painted two walls so far and it does make a big difference.

 

[Mr_fixit]

I'd paint the walls. And I'd use the easy to find, cheap 4100 bulb. 3500 looks too dim and too warm. The others will be a bit more expensive.

 

[Dragster Racer]

I bought a pair of GE Ecolux 4100K, 78 cri, 2650 lumens today for my shop bathroom. It is fine for in there, but it sounds like I can do much better. The Menard's ones I bought the other day are worse than these GE's. The ecolux's were the only T8's that my local lumberyard had. Looks like I need to make my way to the nearest home depot.

 

[Matti]

Just put in new Daylight bulbs (4 or 5000k ?? and 90 something cra). I really like them. The full spectrum were about 4x more money so I didn't try them.

 

[benvila]

Rick,

Take it from me, invest in a few gallons of paint and paint that OSB white. You will be simply amazed how much brighter your garage will become. It really makes a difference. I had to see it myself to believe it.

this will help tremendously. 20-30% brighter.

Just put in new Daylight bulbs (4 or 5000k ?? and 90 something cra). I really like them. The full spectrum were about 4x more money so I didn't try them.

high kelvin temp bulbs 'appear' brighter and 90 CRI is nice if you find them.

http://genet.gelighting.com/LightPr...scent_Straight Linear_T8&SearchFieldCode=null

high lumen lamps... i couldn't find the 3500k one, but it exists.

Ben

 

[hansen1]

I have been impressed with this companies lighting. I have used their bulbs in regular fixtures as well as used their high bay fixtures as well. I have not found better lighting for garages and the instant on makes it much better than other high bay lighting.

The bulbs are slightly more expense but IMO, well worth it.

Bulbs are located here:http://www.fullspectrumsolutions.com/full_spectrum_fluorescent_bulbs_33_ctg.htm

High bay fixtures:
http://www.fullspectrumsolutions.com/commercial_lighting_fixtures_35_ctg.htm

 

[rsanter]

natural daylight is 5000 to 5500 kelvin (color temp) and you will want the highest CRI that you can get.
the better the CRI the less actual light you need because of the way the human eye senses light

bob

 

[jjkrjh]

My fixtures came with 3500k bulbs in them. They give off a soft light and the cars look extremely good with them,warmer. In the areas that I work in, the 4100k have been installed, and might even try a higher K value. I've had people comment on how they like the lights.(3500k) Also if the guys are in the garage BS'ing , they always end up in the 3500k area. It's like a moth to the light but backwards. I would go for the higher K-value for working.

 

[bluesman2a]

The walls & ceiling are finished in the OSB sheeting, unpainted.

Take it from me, invest in a few gallons of paint and paint that OSB white. You will be simply amazed how much brighter your garage will become. It really makes a difference. I had to see it myself to believe it.

Others have already said it, and I will reinforce it yet again... Paint the walls AND ceiling bright white. This will be a pain, OSB soaks up a LOT of paint. I primed with KILZ2 Latex and followed up with exterior latex, it worked very well. On my project, I brought the white down to a little above eye level, then when with a 50% grey, to hide dirt. It's the best of both worlds.

Here's a picture of mine, it's the front wall of my shop. You'll notice the fixtures I mounted on the front wall to give better under-hood lighting (overhead never seems to be enough).

 

[Cobra4B]

Can someone explain CRI to me? Im redoing my garage lighting and going from generic 2-bulb 4 foot fixtures to some nice 8 foot high output T8 setups. I have 6500k bulbs in there now and its like a surgical room... I want something that mimics true sunlight and from what Ive heard thats about 5000k. My Z06 is a custom variant of a Ford yellow (screaming yellow) and I want it to pop in the garag and look yellow... not green.

 

[Cobra4B]

Nevermind... answered my own question... great link here: http://www.sylvania.com/LearnLighting/LightAndColor/LightColorCharacteristicf/

 

[rsanter]

5000 to 5500 color tempature will give the truest color and you want the highest CRI (color rendering index)

bob

 

[Cobra4B]

Can I get high CRI bulbs from Home Depot or Lowes?

 

[Mr_fixit]

Probably, but 3500 and 4100 are most common, and least expensive. You'll probably pay double or triple the cost of a 3500 or 4100 for the ones you want...

 

[TRDon]

I only have and will only put 5000K lamps in my home and I insist on them in friends homes. They are double the price and I can only find them at menards but, at 3.50 a bulb, I think they are well worth it considering how often you actually change them out. The strain on your eyes is a noticable reduction vs the 3500 or 4100 IMO. It is nice to have a true white light too.

 

[terry1769]

I'm using these and am very happy with them.

 

[Rickochet]

I'm using these and am very happy with them.

Terry,
I was going through some old threads and tried your link to no avail. Do you have another hot link?

Thanks,

 

[Cryptic1911]

I bought a bunch of Litetronics L-337 bulbs from www.1000bulbs.com which are t8 32w bulbs, 3100 lumens, 36000?hr life, 85cri 5000k color temp bulbs and they were reasonable. I think $52 for a box of 25? I haven't hung them all up yet, but they are very bright

just checked, they are like $40 a case of 25, so the $52 must have been the shipped price

 

[CraigP]

I just replaced a single incandescent bulb with a dual 4' T8 fixture with 5000k bulbs from Lowes and it is completely worth the money. Fixture and two bulbs were about $35, but the garage is now usable! I would highly recommend bulbs in the 5000k range.

 

[Falcon67]

I buy the 6500K by the case, makes them way cheaper. But I put in a lot of 4' lights too.

 

[SgtRauksauff]

I just used the Philips 'daylight' 6500K bulbs a couple weeks ago. I'm very happy with them so far.

 

[Steevo]

White walls, white ceilings, and no less than 4100k for color temp.
5000k is better for color matching in a paint shop environment, and 6500k will have you wearing sunglasses indoors.

This is my shop, with 17 eight-foot four-bulb T8 fixtures, using 4100k, 2850 lumens tubes.

 

[CrashTestDummy]

Rick,

Take it from me, invest in a few gallons of paint and paint that OSB white. You will be simply amazed how much brighter your garage will become. It really makes a difference. I had to see it myself to believe it.

^^What he said! Even shelving (top and bottom). Makes a HUGE difference.

I find 3500K bulbs to look a little yellow. I got some T5 lights for over my workbench. They came with 3500K bulbs. I found some 4100K bulbs and installed them, MUCH better. I find many of the 'daylight' bulbs to look a bit blue. Because of all the confusion about light colors, many of the major hardware stores have displays that show the differences side-by-side. Find one of these, and it may help you make your decision a little easier.

Gene Beaird,
Pearland, Texas