Tom Godley
02-25-2009, 1:05 PM
I need to purchase some replacement fixtures for the shop. I currently have 8' two bulb T12 fluorescent Slim-line fixtures that were installed by the previous owner. They are arranged in two continuous rows on the 14' ceiling in one area and by chain in the other area at about the same height under a 24' ceiling.
I have gone back and forth on what is the best way to upgrade the lights. My first thought was to install a series of 4' 6 bulb T8 fixtures (some are called high bay) around the shop -- but now that I have lived with the space for a while I believe the strip of lights provides a more balanced light throughout the shop.
I replaced a few of the ballasts in the old fixtures but now a few more are going and replacing them all makes no economic sense - they are of different types and poorly installed. When I went looking for 8' T8 fixtures they seem to be rare -- someone told me that the 8' T8 bulbs sold at HD/ Lowes are intended to replace T12s in fixtures that have universal ballasts that originally were supplied with T12s ??? I do not know if this is accurate. And that the 4' bulbs are the way to go ???
So it looks like most 8' fixtures are really 4 - 4' T8 bulbs. It is very difficult to get accurate information on all of this. While looking this morning I came across these on e-bay #130229115668 - they use 6 HO bulbs and also have a reflector. This may be just the ticket for a little more light.
So after a this long post!
Has anybody installed fixtures with reflectors that can now comment on if they worked better?
Can anyone comment on 5000k vs 6500K bulbs?
I need to get quality fixtures and bulbs for a few reasons -- the lights will be installed at a height that will make replacement a pain and I found out the hard way years ago that less expensive fixtures - even newer electronic -ones often come with cheap ballasts plus they often can not be installed directly on a ceiling (they need an air space).
Any help on this will be appreciated!
I have gone back and forth on what is the best way to upgrade the lights. My first thought was to install a series of 4' 6 bulb T8 fixtures (some are called high bay) around the shop -- but now that I have lived with the space for a while I believe the strip of lights provides a more balanced light throughout the shop.
I replaced a few of the ballasts in the old fixtures but now a few more are going and replacing them all makes no economic sense - they are of different types and poorly installed. When I went looking for 8' T8 fixtures they seem to be rare -- someone told me that the 8' T8 bulbs sold at HD/ Lowes are intended to replace T12s in fixtures that have universal ballasts that originally were supplied with T12s ??? I do not know if this is accurate. And that the 4' bulbs are the way to go ???
So it looks like most 8' fixtures are really 4 - 4' T8 bulbs. It is very difficult to get accurate information on all of this. While looking this morning I came across these on e-bay #130229115668 - they use 6 HO bulbs and also have a reflector. This may be just the ticket for a little more light.
So after a this long post!
Has anybody installed fixtures with reflectors that can now comment on if they worked better?
Can anyone comment on 5000k vs 6500K bulbs?
I need to get quality fixtures and bulbs for a few reasons -- the lights will be installed at a height that will make replacement a pain and I found out the hard way years ago that less expensive fixtures - even newer electronic -ones often come with cheap ballasts plus they often can not be installed directly on a ceiling (they need an air space).
Any help on this will be appreciated!