Help me install better garage / shop lighting - Page 2

Daox · 11-11-14, 10:29 AM

Woo, thats great news. I thought I remembered hearing that when switching to the LED lights you just removed the ballasts, but I wasn't 100% sure.

randen · 11-11-14, 11:37 AM

I just thought of something. Perfect for the man cave. What about those light tubes. These are a inside mirrored tube that you put through the roof and presto you have natural daylight inside the building.

I've been in some homes and an airplane hanger that had them. They bring in a lot of light.(during the day of coarse) and I think their fairly inexpensive.

Randen

Daox · 11-11-14, 12:10 PM

I've seen and I like the idea of the light tubes. However, I haven't found a place that sells them cheap. The least expensive I've seen is ~$300.

Daox · 11-11-14, 12:17 PM

Is there anything specific to look for (or look out for) when searching for these bulbs on ebay?

celblazer · 11-12-14, 05:28 PM

Here are the ones I got and my garage is nice and bright. Im not sure about harsness with the clear but they don't bother me yet. If they do seem harsh later I figure I would just get some glass frosting spray paint to take the edge off.

Linky

jeff5may · 11-13-14, 07:11 PM

This is the big difference between buying cheap chinese ebay stuff and something from your local small guy:

In Their Element: How Elemental LED makes sustainability stick - YouTube

I understand that if you're poor, you have no choice. But for all the rest of us, places like elemental led are what makes America such a great country. Gobs and tons of small businesses exist everywhere. Please try to help keep the doors open for them.

If she can do it, you can do it:

How to Install Under Cabinet LED Lights with cabinet gaps - YouTube

Yes, you can find all this gear a whole lot cheaper. But it is not as easy to rig up, and then the guys at elemental might not be teaching young kids about this stuff in a few years... and she might lose her job. Then who would help spread the word?

celblazer · 11-13-14, 09:29 PM

I love american made things but at 5x the cost in this case I just can't justify it.

7 48" USA Seller led tubes 120v $90.
7 36" elemental USA made strips 120V $455.

gasstingy · 11-20-14, 12:46 PM

My garage / workshop project inside dimensions are ~ 22'w and ~34' long. I put in three 8 foot T12 fixtures that I converted to T8 before installing. Each 8' fixture is two 4' bulbs wide, by two 4' bulbs long. Two fixtures are installed 4' in from the long side walls and one is crossways at about 26' away from from the overhead entry door. Ceiling is painted white, walls are Mountain Dew green. The pair running along the side walls are switched together and the crossways fixture is on its own circuit. I rarely use all three fixtures at once. It's close to an operating room in their when I do. Of course, 12 x 32w bulbs is 384w if I run all three fixtures.

I plan to go LED when the price per bulb for the Energy Star bulbs falls below $20.00 wholesale. At the rate prices are dropping, I think that is a year or less away. The cheaper Chinese bulbs don't meet the quality standards of Energy Star, so the ones that fit my budget today aren't going up in my garage. The tombstones {what we call the bulb holders here at work} for an LED only need powered at one end of the bulb. The other is only there to hold the other end of the LED bulb in place, so when the ballast comes out, the wiring should be super simple.

Will follow along to see what you wind up choosing.

Daox · 11-20-14, 01:20 PM

Thanks for bumping this. For now I just went with a super simple fix. I put up what I had. This is three dual 4' bulb T12 fixtures. Unfortunately, it seems one isn't working (physically damaged fixture), so its really just two dual 4' fixtures. As they go bad, I'll upgrade them to LEDs.

I'm kind of happy with the results. Obviously, the cost is nice (zero). But, they are magnetic ballasts and take some time to warm up to full brightness. I'm willing to wait as I had been working in less light before (for years).

Here are some images of it.

I put one fixture on either side of where the car's hood is.

Here is a before and after shot of the engine bay of the car. The pictures don't do it justice. Its actually quite a bit brighter than either picture shows.

gasstingy · 11-20-14, 01:32 PM

I'm certain when the time and funds come along, you will be amazed at the increased available light when you put sheetrock on the ceiling and paint it white. It might even encourage you to insulate and sheetrock the walls. The lighting and comfort levels will be dramatically brighter.

I'll try and get pictures this evening of how ours looks with all the lights on. Since our country cadillac is residing in their, I'll pop the hood so you can see the amount of light it sheds there as well. I did build it with 10' ceilings, but can't begn to tell whether that would make the lighting better or worse.

Oddly enough, the two pictures with the lights in them don't appear quite as bright as reality and the underhood picture is a little brighter than reality from the camera flash.

11-11-14, 10:29 AM	#11
Daox Administrator Join Date: Aug 2008 Location: Germantown, WI Posts: 5,525 Thanks: 1,162 Thanked 374 Times in 305 Posts	Woo, thats great news. I thought I remembered hearing that when switching to the LED lights you just removed the ballasts, but I wasn't 100% sure. __________________ Current project - To view links or images in signatures your post count must be 0 or greater. You currently have 0 posts. To view links or images in signatures your post count must be 0 or greater. You currently have 0 posts. & To view links or images in signatures your post count must be 0 or greater. You currently have 0 posts.

11-11-14, 12:10 PM	#13
Daox Administrator Join Date: Aug 2008 Location: Germantown, WI Posts: 5,525 Thanks: 1,162 Thanked 374 Times in 305 Posts	I've seen and I like the idea of the light tubes. However, I haven't found a place that sells them cheap. The least expensive I've seen is ~$300. __________________ Current project - To view links or images in signatures your post count must be 0 or greater. You currently have 0 posts. To view links or images in signatures your post count must be 0 or greater. You currently have 0 posts. & To view links or images in signatures your post count must be 0 or greater. You currently have 0 posts.

11-11-14, 12:17 PM	#14
Daox Administrator Join Date: Aug 2008 Location: Germantown, WI Posts: 5,525 Thanks: 1,162 Thanked 374 Times in 305 Posts	Is there anything specific to look for (or look out for) when searching for these bulbs on ebay? __________________ Current project - To view links or images in signatures your post count must be 0 or greater. You currently have 0 posts. To view links or images in signatures your post count must be 0 or greater. You currently have 0 posts. & To view links or images in signatures your post count must be 0 or greater. You currently have 0 posts.

11-20-14, 01:20 PM	#19
Daox Administrator Join Date: Aug 2008 Location: Germantown, WI Posts: 5,525 Thanks: 1,162 Thanked 374 Times in 305 Posts	Thanks for bumping this. For now I just went with a super simple fix. I put up what I had. This is three dual 4' bulb T12 fixtures. Unfortunately, it seems one isn't working (physically damaged fixture), so its really just two dual 4' fixtures. As they go bad, I'll upgrade them to LEDs. I'm kind of happy with the results. Obviously, the cost is nice (zero). But, they are magnetic ballasts and take some time to warm up to full brightness. I'm willing to wait as I had been working in less light before (for years). Here are some images of it. I put one fixture on either side of where the car's hood is. Here is a before and after shot of the engine bay of the car. The pictures don't do it justice. Its actually quite a bit brighter than either picture shows. Attached Thumbnails __________________ Current project - To view links or images in signatures your post count must be 0 or greater. You currently have 0 posts. To view links or images in signatures your post count must be 0 or greater. You currently have 0 posts. & To view links or images in signatures your post count must be 0 or greater. You currently have 0 posts.

11-20-14, 01:32 PM	#20
gasstingy Journeyman EcoRenovator Join Date: Feb 2010 Location: Arab, AL Posts: 491 Thanks: 109 Thanked 49 Times in 43 Posts	I'm certain when the time and funds come along, you will be amazed at the increased available light when you put sheetrock on the ceiling and paint it white. It might even encourage you to insulate and sheetrock the walls. The lighting and comfort levels will be dramatically brighter. I'll try and get pictures this evening of how ours looks with all the lights on. Since our country cadillac is residing in their, I'll pop the hood so you can see the amount of light it sheds there as well. I did build it with 10' ceilings, but can't begn to tell whether that would make the lighting better or worse. Oddly enough, the two pictures with the lights in them don't appear quite as bright as reality and the underhood picture is a little brighter than reality from the camera flash. Attached Thumbnails Last edited by Daox; 11-28-14 at 06:29 AM.. Reason: Add pictures

11-11-14, 11:37 AM	#12
randen Uber EcoRenovator Join Date: Apr 2011 Location: Strathroy Ontario Canada Posts: 657 Thanks: 9 Thanked 191 Times in 129 Posts	I just thought of something. Perfect for the man cave. What about those light tubes. These are a inside mirrored tube that you put through the roof and presto you have natural daylight inside the building. I've been in some homes and an airplane hanger that had them. They bring in a lot of light.(during the day of coarse) and I think their fairly inexpensive. Randen

11-12-14, 05:28 PM	#15
celblazer Helper EcoRenovator Join Date: Mar 2010 Location: South Jersey Posts: 57 Thanks: 42 Thanked 17 Times in 11 Posts	Here are the ones I got and my garage is nice and bright. Im not sure about harsness with the clear but they don't bother me yet. If they do seem harsh later I figure I would just get some glass frosting spray paint to take the edge off. Linky

11-13-14, 09:29 PM	#17
celblazer Helper EcoRenovator Join Date: Mar 2010 Location: South Jersey Posts: 57 Thanks: 42 Thanked 17 Times in 11 Posts	I love american made things but at 5x the cost in this case I just can't justify it. 7 48" USA Seller led tubes 120v $90. 7 36" elemental USA made strips 120V $455.

11-20-14, 12:46 PM	#18
gasstingy Journeyman EcoRenovator Join Date: Feb 2010 Location: Arab, AL Posts: 491 Thanks: 109 Thanked 49 Times in 43 Posts	My garage / workshop project inside dimensions are ~ 22'w and ~34' long. I put in three 8 foot T12 fixtures that I converted to T8 before installing. Each 8' fixture is two 4' bulbs wide, by two 4' bulbs long. Two fixtures are installed 4' in from the long side walls and one is crossways at about 26' away from from the overhead entry door. Ceiling is painted white, walls are Mountain Dew green. The pair running along the side walls are switched together and the crossways fixture is on its own circuit. I rarely use all three fixtures at once. It's close to an operating room in their when I do. Of course, 12 x 32w bulbs is 384w if I run all three fixtures. I plan to go LED when the price per bulb for the Energy Star bulbs falls below $20.00 wholesale. At the rate prices are dropping, I think that is a year or less away. The cheaper Chinese bulbs don't meet the quality standards of Energy Star, so the ones that fit my budget today aren't going up in my garage. The tombstones {what we call the bulb holders here at work} for an LED only need powered at one end of the bulb. The other is only there to hold the other end of the LED bulb in place, so when the ballast comes out, the wiring should be super simple. Will follow along to see what you wind up choosing.