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I was thinking about doing that same thing - recessing them into the ceiling. I've been doing a little web surfing since I my last post. Low bays are intended for mounting heights between 10 and 16 feet. It might work out for me.
BTW I ended up at Joe Hurrle's site twice; once in an Ebay search and once with Google. Looks like he sells a lot of lights! I think he'll have what I'm looking for, but he seems to sell in lots of 10. I only need half that many.
I guess I'll have to call Joe and see what he's got for sale, and what the shipping will run. I guess I could pick them up when I'm home for Christmas - my family lives in SE Indiana, near Brookville, south of Richmond.
I assume you were happy with the condition of these lights. Did you buy new bulbs with them, or stay with the used ones?
Maverick Man, check on the 110w 8' box for the lumen output, I belive most of the cool white commercial shop lights are very high lumen output, about as high as you can get unless your going to use a HID lamp.
As for recessing HID lights into your ceiling, they are not rated or meant for that. The metal halide and other HID lighting will put off alot of heat and should only be surface mounted with the recommended clearances and installation procedures done according to the manufacturers instructions to avoid the possibility of a fire.
that's a good point. i will have to check the lumen output. it seemed like the best light for brightness and being mounted on a 12' ceiling. an employee at the store told me that the manufacturer recommends a spacer between the light and the ceiling to allow airflow to keep from overheating....
Good point about recessing those lowbay lights. I figure that I could get by with a) making the boxes substanitially larger than the lights themselves, b) recessing only the top 1/2 or so of the fixture and c) putting vents in the boxes that would vent hot air into the second floor area.
I'm curious how much heat these lights give off. They are touted as being high efficiency - giving off a lot of light per watt of electricity. If they are that efficient, they should be converting more energy into light and less into heat. Maybe the issue is that all the light and heat generation are concentrated in a smaller area.
Either way, keeping good airflow around them seems like the right idea.
jj, I think one of the concerns with the HID lighting fixtures that were not intended to be recessed is the heat output of the ballast. I would look more into the link above and check out the 175w metal halide that is made for recessed applications. Look into some of the HO flourescent lighting fixtures as the lumen output, color rendering and bulb life is actually better on some of the HO bulbs than HID.
Last edited by 94F150-408; Oct 26, 2004 at 11:18 AM.
As for recessing HID lights into your ceiling, they are not rated or meant for that. The metal halide and other HID lighting will put off alot of heat and should only be surface mounted with the recommended clearances and installation procedures done according to the manufacturers instructions to avoid the possibility of a fire.
They are not recessed in the traditional sense of a home. Basically a big box out of dimensional lumber and plywood with the light mounting loop at the top. There's still plenty of room around the light fixture. It's nowhere near combustion temp in there. The light is moved up about 16 inches.
I've been eyeing the one from Griots Garage, they sure tempt me. Though a bit spendy, it would be alot less wiring to deal with!
Do you mind the warm up time on them? http://www.griotsgarage.com/catalog....3070&SKU=47821
In a dark shop, they light up enough to see and walk around almost instantly. NO problem.
Good point about recessing those lowbay lights. I figure that I could get by with a) making the boxes substanitially larger than the lights themselves, b) recessing only the top 1/2 or so of the fixture and c) putting vents in the boxes that would vent hot air into the second floor area.
I'm curious how much heat these lights give off. They are touted as being high efficiency - giving off a lot of light per watt of electricity. If they are that efficient, they should be converting more energy into light and less into heat. Maybe the issue is that all the light and heat generation are concentrated in a smaller area.
Either way, keeping good airflow around them seems like the right idea.
The biggest thing to keep in mind is that if they are not intended and listed for recessed applications, and for some reason a fire did occur due to a improper installation, your out of luck with getting paid by your insurance carrier. Its always a good idea to install all electrical appliances according to their instructions, and to code. In doing so, you can eliminate the possibility of a fire and having to foot the bill for it...even if the lights dont seem like they're getting that hot.
Last edited by 94F150-408; Oct 26, 2004 at 12:26 PM.