Garage lighting suggestions

**indianaryan** · 11-20-2010, 12:16 PM

Shiny Lil Detlr, thanks a ton! Looks like the garage is well lit and you don't have any problems with getting light to the sides of the car. I'm looking forward to doing this in my garage. I'll be sure to post pictures when I finish.

**dad07** · 11-20-2010, 07:12 PM

4ft fixtures are a lot cheaper than 8 ftrs.....bulbs cost less also just something to keep in mind...ive got 4ft on one of the shop and 8 ft on the other as the 8 ft quit as in the ballist goes bad whicth is about $30 i can buy two 4ft to replace cheaper....just some food for thought! good luck with project!

**dad07** · 11-20-2010, 07:14 PM

Originally Posted by indianaryan

Shiny Lil Detlr, thanks a ton! Looks like the garage is well lit and you don't have any problems with getting light to the sides of the car. I'm looking forward to doing this in my garage. I'll be sure to post pictures when I finish.

If you need help with wiring those things send me a message i can talk you through it very quickly........

**ryanbabz71** · 11-20-2010, 07:25 PM

I like the thought of adding the dock type lighting in my garage. You can swing them out when needed. Only thing I have found is special order at home depot. About $90 a pc. Anyone find anything like this anywhere else?

**C. Charles Hahn** · 11-20-2010, 08:08 PM

Originally Posted by dad07

4ft fixtures are a lot cheaper than 8 ftrs.....bulbs cost less also just something to keep in mind...ive got 4ft on one of the shop and 8 ft on the other as the 8 ft quit as in the ballist goes bad whicth is about $30 i can buy two 4ft to replace cheaper....just some food for thought! good luck with project!

Umm... where can you find 4' fixtures cheaper than just the ballast for an 8'? That certainly isn't consistent with what I found when pricing out my lights.

You're right about the price of the lamps themselves, 4' are much cheaper, more readily available, and easier to handle/transport/store. That's why I opted for 8' fixtures that use four 4' lamps instead of two 8' lamps.

**dad07** · 11-20-2010, 08:37 PM

Originally Posted by Shiny Lil Detlr

Umm... where can you find 4' fixtures cheaper than just the ballast for an 8'? That certainly isn't consistent with what I found when pricing out my lights.

You're right about the price of the lamps themselves, 4' are much cheaper, more readily available, and easier to handle/transport/store. That's why I opted for 8' fixtures that use four 4' lamps instead of two 8' lamps.

its been awile since i have had to replace any ballast so i could be wrong

but the bulbs are really cheaper....I buy my bulbs from a electrician freind who services many retail outlets on a maintance program....they replace bulbs 2 times a year and bad bulbs hit the trash and still working bulbs come home..i pay $5 a case of 24....can't buy at lowes for that! and for the most part in buying this way i have 2 cases of bulbs that has lasted for 3 years.....so when a 8ft fails i think you get my drift! I like the 8ft fixture with 4 ft bulbs sounds like a good combo! will have to look into a little more!

**Fly bye** · 11-20-2010, 09:52 PM

Originally Posted by Porsche Pilot

Also a fear of Sasquatch but that is a whole different issue.

**indianaryan** · 11-22-2010, 11:57 AM

Alright, I found some 48' shop lights at walmart for $12 a piece! I think the only difference is that they don't have the covers. Is there anything else that they might be lacking that the Home Depot lights have? At Home Depot they're $20 with a cover. Both are T8 fixtures. They'll be mounted high enough so that I won't have a problem busting out the bulbs, but do I need the covers to help diffuse the light? Judging by the pictures above, that shouldn't be a problem having white walls. I don't even have all of the shelving covering the walls also. I'm kind of leaning towards the Walmart lights. What do you guys think?

**C. Charles Hahn** · 11-22-2010, 12:20 PM

You won't need the light to be diffused; it's fine with the open bulbs. I'd say go for it on the Walmart lights as long as you're not in a cold climate area where you will want them to be starting in below-freezing temps. That's the only real disadvantage I've ever found with the el-cheapo fixtures with budget ballasts.

As you can see in the pics from my garage, half of the walls are actually painted black, and it's still got plenty of light. I plan on re-painting them to a light gray where the black is now just to enhance reflectivity, but as long as you've got semi-gloss paint it shouldn't be a problem for you to have plenty of light.

**indianaryan** · 11-22-2010, 12:42 PM

The Walmart lights claim to be able to start up at 0 degree temperatures. I'll give them a shot and if they don't work out, I'll return them.

I think I'm not going to bother with installing the lights at an angle too. Looks like you have no problem getting light to the sides of the car, and you have the lights pointed straight down. If I feel like I need more light on the sides of the car I can always go back later and try angling them down towards the car.