Here's my solution to an all-to-common problem in the garage that I'm sure some of you share. DARKNESS. My garage is 28x32 with 8 foot ceilings. I had (4) 8' flourescent two bulb strip lights in there that just didn't cut it. Researched a bit to figure out what would be best for me.

I ended up buying 5 more of the same. I got the $38 (T-12) ones and a case +2 bulbs from Lowes. Now I have (3) 24 foot long lights going across the shop. HUGE difference. Problem was I had to clean the place afterwards - I could actually see all the crap in there!!! A friend came over yesterday and wanted some sunglasses! We now have suntan lotion right next to the hand cleaner.

I've been wanting to do this for a long time, but never had the spare gingle. The project ended up costing about $280, but it's well worth it. Highly recommend this sort of project to those of you working in the dark.

 

Sounds great! Lets see some pics!

 

I painted the inside of my garage white. It made a huge difference.

 

I've got 3 hanging 4 ft "shop lites" theyre a fire hazard waiting to happen, Im gonna get a couple 8 footers, My garage is painted white, and is 20x22

 

There's quite a variety of bulbs as well. Many of them have the light output shown on the tube, some are much brighter than others, at the same wattage.

 

Very true. It took me longer to pick out the bulbs than it did the lights. I forget which ones I got, but they are 75 watt and very bright. They have a somewhat narrow color spectrum (thats the sacrafice). But I really don't care if skin tones, etc. look nice out in the garage. I know they're better than others I've put in before, some of theses older ones are still in use. You can easily tell the difference.

I'll be out there today, and try to get the info off the bulbs. Maybe snap a picture or two.

 

I took a few pics of the lights:

https://www.ford-trucks.com/user_gal...id=100699&.jpg
https://www.ford-trucks.com/user_gal...id=100700&.jpg
https://www.ford-trucks.com/user_gal...id=100701&.jpg

 

I don't agree that choosing a flurorescent tube is as simple as getting "the most bang for the buck". There is not that much variation in raw light output between tubes of the same size and wattage. (Measuring light in lumens).

There ARE differences in color temp, tolerance of cold operating conditions, and in CRI. Color temp can have a big impact on PERCEIVED brightness, with the bright white light of the 5000 K bulbs seeming to most people to "feel" brighter than the cozy yellow glow of 2500 K incandescents. But a light meter will read the same, either way, with equal lumens.

One historic down side of using higher color temps is poor CRI. Witness the classic "Cool White" tubes that make live people like they are laying on a slab in the morgue. The more recent T8 tubes have made good improvements in this area, and it is now possible to get a 4500 or 5000 K tube with a 90% plus CRI (and thus a good simulation of daylight).

All tubes will put out less light when cold than when warm. Speciality tubes like the new compact fluorescent replacements for floodlights are especially noticeable. They take at least 1 minute to reach full brightness when started at 40 degrees (F).

All tubes degrade over time. A typical tube has a 20000 hour mean life; its light output at mid-life (10000 hours) will be down 10% over the light output when it was new. The light output will continue to degrade as the tube ages further. Any brand new tube will look brighter than an older tube, but some of this is only temporary.

There are differences in FIXTURES between the light output from otherwise identical tubes. Specifically, there is a term called "Ballast factor". A typical fixture with a "standard" ballast operates the lamp at about 88 percent of its nominal lumens (and about 88% of its nominal power). You can buy fixtures with "high ballast factor" ballasts, which will operate the lamp at 120% of its nominal lumens and power. Alternatively, there are "low ballast factor" or "energy saving" ballasts which operate the tube at 60% of its nominal lumens. Thus there is a 2 to 1 range in the total light output of a given tube, depending on the ballast that operates it.

 

Just added a couple of 8" 's to my shop. Saw Stuff I haven't seen in years.