Fluorescent Light Help Needed: For Garage/reload Area

[Eager]

I'm frustrated trying to figure out the fluo fixtures I want for the reloading area I'm building in the corner of my garage.

I want some fluo fixtures that give high output (or good light) but start and work well in low temperatures. I thought I had what I wanted at Lowe's (a high output 8' dual T12 tube strip fixture, that was listed as "hot and cold weather") but now I suspect it's a magnetic ballasted unit that as I understand it won't work well in the cold.

What the heck should I look for? I like the look of the High Output (HO) fixtures and tubes (110W each at 8'), but do they only work well in moderate temps? What fluo set-up can I get that will give good light at low temp?

Edited January 18, 2007 by Eager

[lynn jones]

get an electrician. really most of them know what will work for you.

lynn

[Putty]

There are some 57 kelvin lights (not sure if I got the number right) that emulate sunlight that are mac-daddy. I am going to install them. Make sure their good ones that can handle really cooooooooooolllld temps if its unheated space and you live in a butt cold area.....When my know it all friend comes back from vacation I will get the specs to you.

"If the temperature in your garage drops below 50 degrees, buy fixtures with electronic ballasts (not electromagnetic) because they start in temperatures down to 0 degrees F and lower. We recommend you buy fixtures that take size T8 lamps (1 in. wide), which are more energy efficient. They cost more initially but will save you money over time. Avoid energy-saver T12 lamps; they need a minimum of 60 degrees to operate properly.

When buying bulbs, especially for a woodworking shop where you need to see the true color of paints and stains, ask for lamps with a CRI (color rendering index) of 85 or above. This number usually isn’t printed on the bulb or packaging, but it’s listed in the bulb company’s product catalog (and on some Web sites)."

"an 8 foot, two lamp, F96T12HO (High Output) fixture. This fixture is specifically designed for use outside and in cold weather. It is commonly used for illuminating business signs. Not only will it start and give you full light output, it delivers about 40% more lumens than the standard 8' fixture. I saw one in our local L*w*s selling for about $65.00 (without lamps). The lamps were about $5.75 each The F96T12HO lamps are specific for this fixture but don't cost much more than the standard lamps."

Edited January 18, 2007 by Sandoz

[Eager]

an 8 foot, two lamp, F96T12HO (High Output) fixture. This fixture is specifically designed for use outside and in cold weather. It is commonly used for illuminating business signs. Not only will it start and give you full light output, it delivers about 40% more lumens than the standard 8' fixture. I saw one in our local L*w*s selling for about $65.00 (without lamps).

I beleive this is what I have in mind (that I saw at the local L*w*'s for $55).

However, the info. that you've posted shows the potentially contradictory quandry I have, in that the first blurb (which is taken off the net, and I'd previously read) says that (energy-saver?) T12 fixtures are to be avoided for temps below 50F, yet the second bit says that (perhaps another type of) T12 fixtures are good for cold. Which T12s are "energy-savers"?

The box of the fixture I like says nothing about temperature performance. How do I know if the T12 fixture I like is good for cold?

Maybe I'll just buy it, install it and see if it works.

[kbeck76]

I wouldn't buy T12 fixtures. I have 3 fixtures in my garage. 2 T12's and 1 T8. The T8 is the only one that will work reliably in cold weather (Central FL cold anyway). The T8 fixtures also don't hum/flicker like T12's do.

The T12's in my garage will be replaced soon.

Kevin

[MichiganShootist]

I live where it's cold. (Yesterday it was a balmy 2 degrees)... I finally had to take 9 fixtures down in my unheated pole barn and garage...because they just wouldn't work in cold weather. I heat my workshop in tha barn when I'm going to work out there (including reloading)... but until the temp is a solid 65 degrees none of the lights I tried worked. When they did-- the bulb life was VERY short.

The ceiling is 12 foot... So I just installed 150 watt light fixtures with a reflective aluminum shade and they work great.

[Eager]

OK. I think this is the high output fluo fixture I was considereing. I liked the light output.

An STN series Metalux strip light by Cooper Lighting. It looks like this cheat sheet will allow one to determine the type of ballast it has by the serial No., which is on the outside of the box:

http://www.cooperlighting.com/specfiles/pr...infopdf/STN.pdf

I'll have to check back at L*w*'s for the exact serial number an try to determine the exact ballast on that.

The bit about the high output 8' tube fixtures use in outdoor signs seems useful. A two tuber sounds like it would work great for me.

I think I'll keep asking around and check at the local electrical/lighting supply joint.

I wouldn't buy T12 fixtures. I have 3 fixtures in my garage. 2 T12's and 1 T8. The T8 is the only one that will work reliably in cold weather (Central FL cold anyway). The T8 fixtures also don't hum/flicker like T12's do.

The T12's in my garage will be replaced soon.

Kevin

I don't think the fact that a particular tube/fixture is T8 or T12 matters as far as temperature performance. I think the "T" number is just the diameter of the tube. I found this on the net by searching for fluorescent tube diameter:

The T number represents the Tube diameter in eights of an inch. (T12 =12/8ths=1½ inches, T8=8/8ths=1 inch).

Also, some T12 tubes for sale at L*w*'s were identified as being good for cold weather.

I think the ballast is what matters for cold performance.

[Eager]

This thread from the Bob Villa forums (a peice of which Sandoz posted, Thanks!) seems most appropriate. Here's a key segment of the text:

http://www.bobvila.com/BBS/cold_weather_li...al-1-T4332.html

The light fixture Wireman mentioned is probably your best investment. It's an 8 foot, two lamp, F96T12HO (High Output) fixture. This fixture is specifically designed for use outside and in cold weather. It is commonly used for illuminating business signs. Not only will it start and give you full light output, it delivers about 40% more lumens than the standard 8' fixture. I saw one in our local L*w*s selling for about $65.00 (without lamps). The lamps were about $5.75 each The F96T12HO lamps are specific for this fixture but don't cost much more than the standard lamps.

The T12 series are the older 1.5" diameter lamps that consume about 40 watts for a 4' lamp. The T8 series are the newer 1" diameter lamps that consume about 32 watts for a 4' lamp. The newer lamps aren't any more "energy efficient" than the old ones, they're just smaller. The newer electronic ballasts are more energy efficient than the older wire-wound transformer types and they operate at lower temperatures. The T8 fixtures and lamps are "energy savers" because they consume fewer watts. What nobody mentions is that they also deliver proportionally fewer lumens of illumination (about 20% less). If you are looking for more light you may be heading in the wrong direction with the T8.

The fixture I was looking at at L*w*'s sounds a lot like this, so I've just got to make sure it has a ballast that works in cold. If the fixture at L*w*'s is not what I want, I'm going to look for a dual tube, T12, 8', high output, outdoor sign type fixture like what's described above. The one at L*w*'s gave great light like what's described above. I guess that's due to the high output and larger T12 part. Most of the other fluo fixtures I saw (mostly T8s)provided dissapointingly insufficient light.

Here's some more seemingly useful info about the HO lights:

http://www.ytmag.com/toolt/messages/163593.html

Home Depot et al. sell "Heavy Duty Commercial Striplights" These have HO type ballasts and take F96T12HO tubes. You get 19000 lumens out of one 8 foot fixture, which is a LOT of light for the $$. HO type ballasts and tubes will light down to -20 degrees (F). All fluorescents, including HO, will have reduced light output if the tube walls are below 100 degrees (F). But the HO fixtures WILL light the tubes and WILL have decent (ableit reduced) output, even cold. This is not true of cheap Chinese "shop lights", which will hum in protest and not light at all.

The one down side of the HO fixtures is that they have a fairly noticeable 60 HZ hum at all temperatures.

A newer, and in many ways better, option is modern T8 style fixtures with electronic ballasts. These will light down to 0 degrees (F). A typical option is an 8 foot tandem channel fixture, taking 4 4 foot long F32T8 tubes. This gets you around 11000 lumens per fixture at 112 watts, which is ~3X the power efficiency of incandescents. With good ballasts, these fixtures are absolutely dead silent, even when cold. Most grocery stores these days are lit with long strings of this style of lamp.

Edited January 18, 2007 by Eager

[NoTenX]

I have gone to the compact florescent light bulbs instead with electronic ballast. I have them into 80-100 lumen output and can position thme so there is no shadows up underneath the case loaders and can see powder level in each case without shadows. they have not interfered with my dillon electronic scal or rcbs charge master. by the way it 5600K kelvin for daylight color rendering lower 5000k is blue 5800k is warm red. ive told the wife with the money we saved with the lights we get and operate anther dillon with case feeder. She said NICE TRY

[Eager]

OK. I got the High Output 8-ft two tube, T-12, Fluo fixture described above. Lowe's describes it as "cold weather" and "all-weather". They say they sell a lot of them when it gets cold. It was $55.00.

The ballast indeed has cold temperture ratings printed on it.

It looks like it will be a great light set up for above bench. I'm installing it now.

It may take a while before I am able to put it to use at reloading or gun work because I have yet to clean the area and build a bench.

I got the idea for this high output (HO) fixture from a car enthusiasts web forum. They reported these HO lights as the best for good garage lighting. Lowe's had most of their fluo fixtures set up and running and the HO fixture blew everything else away as far as good light. I have used regular fluo fixtures (35W per 4-ft tube) above my benches for years and have been somewhat dissatisfied with the light. Even the new T-8 fixtures which are supposed to be "high light", don't really look like it to me. I'll post more info and pics when I eventually get it going, but I think this looks like a really great choice for over reload bench lighting.

My daughter asked that I put this: and this:

Edited January 27, 2007 by Eager

[Qstick]

I don;t know if this pertains at all to your situation, but.....

If you are going to be hanging anything collectible in your garage, steer clear of the flourescents. They put out UV in the same frequency range as daylight and will fade anything you hang extremely quick. You will need to use either UV filters or incadescents to avoid the fading....

[Eager]

Nothing collectable in my garage. Let the UV shine.

The light is installed and working and it's very bright (which is very good), and comes on when I want it. Although the temp has warmed into the upper 40s through 50s in my garage now, so I can't give a real "test". I highly recommend this as an over bench light where good light is needed. It makes the rest of my lit garage look dark.

Now for the pre-bench build clean-out.