Garage lighting

[ednorton]

I'd like to take a step beyond hanging ballast and tube, any sugestions for surface mount lighting systems.

Thanks
LTR

[Canukwaco]

I wouldn't toss out the ballast and tube idea....have you looked at electronic ballast with E8 bulbs?

[chain]

good call on the eballast w/e8's . are you looking for something that looks better, lights better or both. directional task lighting, general lighting? I come across alot of cool lighting doing demo on retail projects, might be able to help you out. drop me a pm.

[Apxgrndr]

Fluorescent lighting mounted high on the wall as well as on the ceiling works great.

[johnjen]

If you're into tweako try getting color corrected lamps. Standard cool white lamps suck for proper color balance. It's amazing what happens with really good lighting.

JJ

[porterdog]

Originally Posted by Canukwaco

I wouldn't toss out the ballast and tube idea....have you looked at electronic ballast with E8 bulbs?

I don't know anything about lighting but I do need more light in the garage.

Can you point me at what you're talking about?

Thanks!

[SpeedStar]

I have some questions about ballasts for fluorescent fixtures.

I have two six foot twin bulb lights in my garage. I have replaced the fixtures once already. I bought the regular ones sold at Home Depot for about $50 each.

One just died on me recently. It was always loud when on.

My question is should I replace just the ballast or go with the whole fixture and just replace with a similar one?
Do these usually only last a few years with normal use?

Thanks.

[Canukwaco]

I use the T8s in my business. You can see them at Home Depot or Lowes. Sorry about the typo in my earlier post I meant T8 not E8....anyways. I am not sure what you are looking for but here is my .02: I am presuming you don't like them because the hum and sometimes they just won't come on! I mentioned the T8 because they are instant on and have no hum. (not to mention they last MUCH longer than a standard fluorescent)
Here is a link:

http://www.lowes.com/lowes/lkn?actio...0AE&lpage=none

If you want to learn more just google T8 and Electronic ballast. Good luck!!

[Pete™]

has anyone done anything with the portable halogen work lights? I saw some at costco awhile back and it got me to thinkin....

[Canukwaco]

You have to be careful with halogen...it gets REALLY hot!

You can just buy some cheap track lighting made for halogen.....you would spend about 30-40 bucks and you can adjust them!

[pecos]

I believe what Waco has is that I have. Just make sure you do not get ones that buzz in cold weather. It will drive you nuts when you are working on your bikes.

[Boatman]

When I built my shop I was on a budget and ended up going with the "standard" 8' flourescent fixtures. The noise drives me fickin' crazy sometimes. What I found out was these fixtures are industrial rated (high noise) and had I spent a little more on the T8's they would be quieter. This summer I plan on switching them over.

Also there was a ggod tip on the color corrected bulbs. A little pricey but worth it if you plan doing any type of finish work.

[Ricardo Kuhn]

you can always try something like this(I have tread somewre but I can not find it)


ussing old wasted camara tripods


fully adjustable, you can even diffuse the light inwards into the corner of the wall, or directed anywere you want in to the ceailing a wal or directlly into the work space.


cost ...

pretty much nothing to make, Damage tripods from fleamarkets and salvation army, the light come from the stupid "light towers", that everybody used to have at their houses and you find them on the street all the time (were I live at least),plus a few wood screws and cable tyes..

the cost of operation is kind of high if you use the stock 500Watt bults, I use 300W and is plenty

[FixxiT]

Originally Posted by Canukwaco

I use the T8s in my business. You can see them at Home Depot or Lowes. Sorry about the typo in my earlier post I meant T8 not E8....anyways. I am not sure what you are looking for but here is my .02: I am presuming you don't like them because the hum and sometimes they just won't come on! I mentioned the T8 because they are instant on and have no hum. (not to mention they last MUCH longer than a standard fluorescent)

I use T5 fluorescent fixtures here...no flicker...no hum...54W light output from a tube thats 15mm in diameter!
20,000 hr lamp life, 90% maintained light output, electronic ballast.



(I think the T8 lamps 32W...I need more light for MY old peepers)

[ReCycled]

T8's are a great choice. Quiet, cold weather starting, longer lasting, and brighter than the old style T12's. There are some easily available bulb options now too. Generally, the higher the temperature of the gas, the brighter, whiter the light output. Try a couple of different kinds, you may find a preference.