Fluorescent lighting question

[Greg Woloshyn]

Hi everyone, new here to the forum, great info so far. I think I found a really killer deal on some fluorescent light fixtures (with bulbs) on craigslist. 10 fixtures for $20 bucks. They are 4' x 2' and hold 3 bulbs. This is perfect for my upcoming workshop build. The problem is, they were taken out of a drop ceiling so obviously they were flush mount lights. In my garage, I have no ceiling only rafters to hang them from. Can you hang these types of fixtures easily? I'm asking because most of the other shop lights I've seen are meant to be hung with wire/chain/ect.. Thanks in advance!

[Josh Gilpatrick]

I dont see a problem if they are like most i have seen. Just remove the cover and pre-drill the metal case to fasten the light to your rafters or ceiling joist. Sounds like a good deal to me.

[Dave Lessley]

Double check the voltage. If they came from a commercial application they could be 277 volt. It would require a ballast change.

[Greg Woloshyn]

Double check the voltage. If they came from a commercial application they could be 277 volt. It would require a ballast change.

Thanks for the advice, I will definitely do that. I'm going to get them Friday, are most commercial fluorescent lights 277 volt? That would really put a damper on things.

[Buck Williams]

That type of fixture can easily be hung with S-hooks and chain. When you get them you'll likely find some kind of a slot or hole in the frame that you can slip an S-hook through. If not it's very easy to drill a hole for the hooks.

[Pat Caulfield]

Greg,
I bought very similar fixtures off of CL. I paid $14 per fixture w/ bulbs, which I felt was a great deal, but yours is well a much better one.

If you look at this shot you can see how I hung them. I framed them in with leftover OSB.

http://picasaweb.google.com/PTCaulfield/Shops#5426697942711406850

[Randy Bonella]

+1, Thats what I did
Randy...


I dont see a problem if they are like most i have seen. Just remove the cover and pre-drill the metal case to fasten the light to your rafters or ceiling joist. Sounds like a good deal to me.

[Greg Woloshyn]

Wow, sweet shop, Im jealous. Did those lights come with 120v ballasts?

[Don Bullock]

As stores and other businesses change over from T12s to T8s these kinds of fixtures will become available in large numbers. What you have to remember is that it will become more and more difficult to buy T12 tubes in the future. Depending on how many hours the lights are on the cost of operating T12s may be more that the difference in cost.

[glenn bradley]

The price sounds great but will the ballasts run T-8 lamps? If they only run T-12's then the allure vanishes for me. I've got a bunch of old T-12 fixtures I have been giving away to friends and family who just need a little light in their garage or over their laundry. I replaced them all with T-8 fixtures and what a difference; I can see! Just food for thought as that's a lot of fixtures if they are not really what you want.

[Rod Sheridan]

At $2 per fixture, do yourself a favour and go buy a case of good electronic ballasts for T8 lamps and convert them before you install them in your shop.

I converted all mine, it was well worth it........regards, Rod.

[Greg Woloshyn]

I'm considering all the advice about replacing the ballasts to t-8. My shop is 20x18 with ceilings not very high at all. Should I even bother? They won't be running all day and night, just a few hours a day probably.

[Pat Caulfield]

They did. Three tube setups just like you describe.

[Rollie Meyers]

As stores and other businesses change over from T12s to T8s these kinds of fixtures will become available in large numbers. What you have to remember is that it will become more and more difficult to buy T12 tubes in the future. Depending on how many hours the lights are on the cost of operating T12s may be more that the difference in cost.

The lamps are going to be around for a long time, popular T12 electromagnetic ballasts are going to be no longer manufactured starting in July of this year, odd ones will be uneffected.,..


http://www.advance.philips.com/

[Bruce Page]

Greg, I came into the same sort of deal for my lighting. I cut 2'x4' holes in the sheet rock and mounted them right onto the rafters. I have 8 fixtures with 4 bulbs each. I love the light.:D

[Greg Woloshyn]

Very nice lighting, right now in my garage I have open ceiling which kindof sucks because I hear it's best to have a white ceiling for best reflection. I want to sheetrock and insulate it, problem is I only have about 3-4 rafters to attach the sheets to (which wouldn't work) so I would essentially have to cut more rafters. If I want to take full advantage of this lighting, I want to put as many fixtures as I can in, and that might be a problem considering I'm limited as to what I can mount to. I will post pictures tomarrow.