Gunsmithing Lets Talk Lights

[jonaddis84]

I want to replace my old 8ft T12HO magnetic ballast lights that came in my shop, but want some opinions. My shop is 20x30 with 9ft ceililngs. Currently there are 4 of the dual T12ho fixtures with white reflectors and they are hanging about 1ft from the ceiling. I just cant stand the humming anymore!!

I was at Menards yesterday and they have a 4 lamp T5 with specular reflector for $120 including lamps, it looked bright as hell there, but its called a high bay fixture. Im wondering if that type of fixture is a poor choice for low ceilings? Should I just get a standard flush mount strip with say 4 T8's and no reflectors?

I wouldnt mind going the LED route, however, no one in town has them so I am not sure if they put out as much light as a T5 or T8 fixture. If someone has LED's that they like and could point me in the right direction that would be great.

T5 specular - http://www.menards.com/main/p-2360587-c-7495.htm

T8 flush mount - Lithonia Lighting Tandem 4-Light Flush Mount Ceiling Electronic Fluorescent White Strip Light-TC 2 32 120 1/4 GESB at The Home Depot

 

[LRI]

760-580-4271 Call this guy. Names David. LED BOSS

 

[Aeon1]

Can't help with LED's but I have these in T5HO (54W), white powder coat, enhanced alu reflectors and acrylic prismatic diffusers. I have one fixture per ~125sq ft. My ceiling height averages 10 1/2' and these work very well.

http://www.alumen8e.com/documents/specsheets/highlow/e_lbaw246_form.pdf

 

[Geno C.]

They make LED bulb that will replace any double pin tube style bulb. We use them all the time in my business. They simply install just like the old bulb. Only difference is you disconnect the old ballast and wire one end socket hot and the other neutral. They are significantly brighter than fluorescent bulbs that they replace. You can get them with the frosted face or a clear on. The clear are brighter but usually more expensive. Just look up LED T12 or T8 replacement, which ever you are looking for.

Led all the way!

Or check out LSI lighting if you want to change fixtures and switch to LED. We use them in our shop and found them to be the best.

 

[Rthur]

A quick question on the LED's, do they run cool? I'm getting more than a decent amount of heat from my fluorescent 8 footers.
BTW current shop is 16x16x9'6" with three rows of lights.


R

 

[Jake_2oo3]

I have been replacing the lights in my shop with these and couldn't be happier Lithonia Lighting 4-Light T5 White High Output Fluorescent High Bay-IBC 454 MV at The Home Depot

 

[Geno C.]

The ones I use are definitely cooler than the old style. That being said, I recently bought some led replacement bulbs for my flood light fixtures in my paint booth and they get very hot.

 

[ajwcotton]

If you are going to stay with fluorescent bulbs then the T5 HO are the way to go. I only have about 400 sq ft, I've got 3 ballasts of 2 bulbs each and it is very bright in the shop.

 

[EasyGravy]

^^^no need for leds with 9foot cielings.

 

[Geno C.]

None of this is about need

 

[Geno C.]

He said he wanted to get rid of the humming ballasts

 

[EasyGravy]

Yes but t5 or t8 with electric ballast dont hum.

 

[jonaddis84]

Yeah I don't mind fluorescent, I am pretty sure mine now are just loud because they are probably 15 years old at least, and magnetic. I bought a new T12 fixture for above my loading bench and it is quiet.

I'm guessing I would probably need two rows of three 2x4 fixtures, I don't know if I can afford to do that in LED. I'll give that number a call and see what the difference in price would be.

 

[EasyGravy]

You can buy t12's but noone is making them anymore. All the new t8 and t5 standard electronic ballasts are plenty for your application. If money is an issue go t8 and you can get several differant bulb temps depending on what light you want. With 9' cielings you go putting it too much light you'll get a tan or have a siezure.

 

[Geno C.]

What's wrong with a little tan or wearing sunglasses in the shop?

 

[jonaddis84]

What's wrong with a little tan or wearing sunglasses in the shop?

Funny you say that, my day job is a company that manufactures UV phototherapy machines that use 48 6ft UVB or UVA lamps in them. I could bring a few of those home and get a nice tan while Im working in the shop, all while "curing" psoriasis if I had it.

Im thinking Im just going to grab some T8 fixtures and line a bunch of them up, no reflectors, nice and cheap. I feel like the reflectors do more harm than good on such a low ceiling, more directing the light down than letting it fill the room. Whats the best color temp to get? Isnt it like 5400 or something?

 

[sakobob]

turn the music up,or shoot a couple hundred rounds without hearing protection. . . . humming fixed!

 

[slayer_21420]

It all depends on what you like as far as color temp, the 2700k is very orange/red and the 6500k is very white/ sterile. I think the 5400 would be a good mix.

 

[bohem]

Turn up the radio and the humming won't bother you any more.





I put the "natural light" bulbs in my shop, the ceiling is about 11 feet and was under lit to start, as I hung more lights I went with the cheapies from Lowe's and only splurged to buy the natural light bulbs.

I don't get any noticeable humming from the standard fluorescents and the 4' long dual tube lights I have were around $30 for each light and pair of bulbs. My space is ~16x20 feet.

 

[phreakmode]

With LEDs be sure to consult a knowledgeable sales person/ product rep and select the appropriate color temp for your needs. While I have limited experience lighting small areas, I have spent several hundred thousands of dollars on fluorescent fixtures and half as much on LEDs fixtures. The T5 series lights, in general, perform extremely well.

High bay lights are designed to produce illumination over a large area and their performance is absolutely height specific, when used too close they can be overly bright for working conditions and cause fatigue. Hard to say whether or not the high bays you have located would perform or be excessive.

Any recommendations from people who have not seen your shop might be mute, get in touch with someone who is an expert as the difference between working in good lighting conditions and excellent conditions is truly something you need to experience, it may sound trivial but in all my experience the increase in productivity has been stellar.

 

[RTO]

I am currently building a new shop and putting LED strip lighting on the ceiling and all the walls on 4' centers. One of my customers owns an LED company and designed everything for the shop based on the plans and layout to provide great lighting with no shadows from any direction. PM me if you want his contact info. Price to do the entire shop and the paint booth was incredibly cheap for what Im getting.

 

[Collateral]

A high bay fixture is designed for high ceiling big box / warehouse locations, that coupled with a T5 lamp will have a high lumen output but will also have a lot of glare. The humming is due to old ballasts and the new fixtures will have electronic ballasts and will be quiet. I would suggest using a 4ft T8 wrap around fixture in a shop with a standard ceiling. If you want to go cheaper you can go T8 4ft strip fixtures. LED is becoming more main stream and is a valid option. I chose the wrap fixture in my shop and was very pleased. Lots of light and no glare. Also stick with lamps in 4100 to 5000 K color temperature. This will give you a crisp white light perfect for a shop environment.

Try an electrical distributor or lighting studio instead if Menards. They will stock everything you need, this is where the pros go. They have tons of experience compared to a home center. Good luck on the project.