Lithonia SB432MV - thoughts

[Bob Cooper]

This is the light i'm thinking of using in the shop. Anyone used this and have any feedback -- ballast, etc. Also i see a pretty wide variance in price -- $69 vs. $115...kind of odd.

Anyone bought anything from Zoro tools?

[Bob Cooper]

Responding to my own thread...one other to consider...Manufacture = LSI

http://www.businesslights.com/lsi-4-lamp-t8-fluorescent-low-profile-wraparound.html

these can be had for $49.90. I need to order about 20 so the cost adds us quick.

[Mike Gresham]

I put 14 units in my shop area 2 years ago. They were SB432, but I'm not sure about the suffix. No problem with the ballast so far and they don't make any noise like a magnetic ballast. I saw the same thing you mentioned concerning price. I ended up paying $52 each at Ace Hardware.

[Chris Padilla]

I have no clue what part number mine are but I bought several from Home Depot for $30-40, I think. All were T8s, 4 4' bulbs.

[Jack Lindsey]

Both of these fixtures have wrap around lenses that will over time act as dirt and dust catchers. That will reduce lighting levels, and add labor for maintenance. I suggest you consider strips or vented industrials, depending on the conditions in your shop. If you want to learn more about this see the article on shop lighting. Just click on "Articles" at the top of the page.

[Bob Cooper]

Jack...thanks and that's a good point. I'm actually lighting two separate areas -- a garage and a workshop. So maybe these nicer looking, enclosed units would be a good fit for the garage and the open version would be better for the shop? The wife will care more about a finished look in the garage. I guess bugs are the main issue there. Agree?

Any thoughts on how these two vendors compare -- LSI vs. Lithonia?

[Jack Lindsey]

Bob, strips or industrials are preferred for the shop since shops are somewhat dirty environments and have quite a bit of airborne dust. The garage is probably going to be cleaner so go with the wraps there if that's what your wife wants. Better to clean the fixtures periodically and have a happy wife. As far as brands go, I've used a lot of Lithonia products with good success. I have their strips in my shop.

[Bob Cooper]

Jack

unfortunately it doesn't look like Lithonia or LSI makes a 4' 4 bulb light in a non-wrap around form factor....everything is 2-bulb wide. So I stopped by Lowes on the way home and they have an open light of this form factor with reflectors but its a plug in model with a pull chain. so ill need to see if I can find one that fits the bill

[Jack Lindsey]

Bob, I'm curious as to why you want a 4 lamp fixture. The spacing between fixtures necessary to achieve uniform lighting in most hobby type shops usually dictates the use of 2 lamp fixtures. The article I referenced earlier explains this in detail and provides guidelines for determining how many fixtures are needed and how to lay them out in the space. It also provides info on fixture and lamp selection, and walks you through the design process.

[Ken Fitzgerald]

I used 2 bulb fixtures and Jack's original FWW article. Everybody who comes into my shop comments on the great lighting I have. I used Lithonia fixtures that cost about $50 at the time. I have replace a couple lamps but the fixtures and solid state ballasts are the originals.

Good luck!

[Mike Gresham]

Both of these fixtures have wrap around lenses that will over time act as dirt and dust catchers. That will reduce lighting levels, and add labor for maintenance. I suggest you consider strips or vented industrials, depending on the conditions in your shop. If you want to learn more about this see the article on shop lighting. Just click on "Articles" at the top of the page.

Well, that's true enough, but the tubes are dust catchers as too. I just vac the lenses off once in a while. I wanted the lenses because I like the diffusion they provide and, if I whack they with a board, they contain the glass if a tube breaks.

[Bob Cooper]

i laid this out a long time ago using the Visual software from Lithonia and not sure what inspired me to pick 4'x4 bulb covered lights but that's what i modeled and laid out the ceiling outlets for. So i've got 4 columns by 3 rows wired and dry walled in.

If i use the 8' units (4' tandem) uncovered, 12 fixtures everything fits and lines up and is cheaper but i may have to unscrew some of the lights as i'll be pushing 130fc vs. the 100 i was targeting. If i back down to only 3 columns i'm right at 99fc but i may not have that center column lined up midway and still cover one of the two outlets <-- make sense?

[Jack Lindsey]

What are the dimensions of your shop? Are you painting the walls? If so, what color? Are the fc levels you cited initial or maintained? If maintained do you know what light loss factors were used in the calculations? Since the wiring is already installed can you provide the spacing between outlets or the electrical J boxes? The electronic ballasts that are used today provide some flexibility in lamp selection to meet varying desired illuminance levels so you should have some flexibility.

[Bob Cooper]

Jack...thanks for looking at this. Here's the details and i've included
- my visio drawing of the shop (both with the original light locations to show you where the elec boxes are...directly under each light at the "x" ...and with the new 8' lights)
- screen shots of the lithonia s/w tool showing various items

To answer your questions

Shop dimensions = 34x16x9
Walls = "buff" or moderately light tan
Ceiling = antique white
Floor = wormy maple w/poly finish.
maintained i think -- i entered in the tool that i'd clean every 6 months
loss factors = .71

distance between columns (elec box to box) = 5'4"
distance between rows = 8'6"

[Jack Lindsey]

Bob - the layout and specification from Lithonia is based on a TC232 fixture, which is a strip consisting of two 2 lamp four foot fixtures mounted in tandem so they cover eight lineal feet, not on a wrap as you earlier stated. The strip is what I would recommend. Just follow the layout they provided and you should be fine. I'd also recommend cleaning them annually. Cleaning every 6 months is a lot of work for little additional gain in efficiency.

[Michael N Taylor]

I just received an order from Zoro tools and it was very smooth, Ithey shipped very quickly and I had the order in the 3rd working day.

[Bob Cooper]

271131Well the lights are up and I've just finished hooking up the electrical outlets, switches, etc. just haven't done the low voltage stuff.

Over I like the light. Really bright though I do need to debug one light the just stopped working.

[Bob Cooper]

271133271134271135
The 3 light bulbs above the door -- which will eventually be different colors -- will tell me if I have 3 phase power "on"; if the dust collector is on (seriously don't think I'll need a light to tell me but it was easy at the time to do); and if I'm venting outside. They r controlled by switches near the door.

I also went ahead and wired for sound, Ethernet and video. I figure I can just sit out here and watch a movie if I get kicked out of the house. The floors are a mixture of maple and ambrosia maple which I picked up at an auction. They r prettier than the pine floors in the house....for a little while. That heavy Woodmaster is on pretty small wheels and the floor held up pretty well