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i can see the light now UPDATE #31 new pics soon of full redo

sweetk30

sweetk30

Back to play nice .
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got 3 new fixtures up in the middle 8ft 2 bulb units . then replaced the rest of all the bulbs .

WOW :eek1: what a difference .

next is to take and clean / prime / chrome paint the reflector shades to make it kick more light down since they are old / dirty / grungy from years of junk build up .

1st and 2nd are inside . 3rd is looking in from outside .

fyi there is 240 ft of florescent light in there . over 3/4 is h.o. bulb 110watt .

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God good lighting is so nice. You never appreciate how much lighting makes a difference until you have to go back from a decent setup to one that is barely adequate. It's like once you have nice brakes and you back to a vehicle with stock brakes. Just doesn't cut it anymore.
 
I am seriously thinking of how to put LEDs in the floor when I get it poured. Only in certain places and they will be on very specific light switches
 
I added a few more lights a month or so ago and now I'm looking to add a lot more. Never enough light IMO....
 
I tried one of these new style high output fixtures and then bought 2 more....
Kinda pricey but they put out a lot of light......

Here it's not even turned on....just reflection.......
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This is with all 3 on......
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I really need to add more lights to my setup as well. It sure seems bright enough until you realize you are using a flashlight when working in certain areas.
 
well today I took down the shades for some of them that ware super scrungy dirty .

skipped cleaning them and just red scotch bright pad them all up and gave 2 coats primer and 2 coats CHROME paint .

let dry and reinstalled and WOW makes it even better . same idea as newer lights but cheeper and easy to retro fit as its just paint . no fab work needed.

I kept going till I got 3 sets done and got 4th set primed . ran out of spray can paint / primer :(

got to grab some in town tonight when I go to work . :thumb:
 
few more . been scuffing and painting the cover / defusers .

just 2 8ft 2bulb h.o. fixtures on in middle section back wall. 9ft 6" celling .

new bulbs as said . CHROME painted . and also tilted housings about 30* or so to kick the wasted light off the tops of the non used walls and out to the shop better .

pic 1 inside .

pic 2 outside looking in .

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just to give you a idea of how grungy these were .

cigarette smoke residue / show dust / gen crap / paint overspray .

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BRIGHT :eek1:

Funny its probably something most of us complain about but never get around to installing more fixtures :thumb: Looks good! I can't even seem to get around to replace bulbs in outside fixtures :rolleyes:
 
I installed ONE 4' twin bulb T-8 fixture in my garage for the moment and you don't know what light is until you've gotten rid of T-12's in favor of T-8's. The T-8's cost alot less to run and they about twice as bright as a T-12.
 
I gotta say, I was surprised by that as well. I've been slowly converting everything to T8 (this place had a LOT of T12). The first was in the kitchen. It's used a lot, and the PO for some bizarre reason has commercial single post 8' in a kitchen soffit that was nearly impossible to replace the long bulbs. Anyway, I replaced it with a pair of 4' T8s, same wattage, but went with the full spectrum sunlight bulbs. Wow, what an improvement! Then a ballast failed in the master bathroom so did the same there, same result. Now I'm replacing lights in the shop. I've been buying the full spectrum bulbs by the case lot, I'll never go back. Same wattage rating, more light, less power consumption, and price isn't that much more. It's a clear win. Haven't yet been sold on the LEDs, and the T5s are still just stupid expensive, but the T8s seem to be where it's at...
 
I think they're trying to phase out T12s anyway. The selection of T12 replacement ballasts are very small, and more expensive, in my neck of the woods. T8 is the equivalent of CFL replacing incandescent.

Though I personally feel everything is going away heading ultimately to LED. You can even buy LED "fluorescent tube" fixtures now. Which is great, I dig it. But not till they are the norm, and LED prices go down.
 
I picked up some of these at Costco after reading the Amazon reviews. They where on sale in January for $31, now they are around $35. I've been very happy with them. Nice white light, not blue at all. There is a second delay when they are turned on, but no buzz and cold weather doesn't bother them at all.
http://www.amazon.com/Feit-Electric-Utility-Shop-Light/dp/B00LFAY5SM
 
I first saw "fluorescent" LEDs at Lowes last week, looking to replace a basic kitchen 4' 4 bulb fixture that had a bad T-12 ballast at a house I'm working on.

BUT, the only fixtures they had were the round ones, not the actual 4' shop style. I don't think they're mainstream just yet. I only knew of the 4' LED ones because at Lowes they had the product placard of all the "new LED fluorescent" fixtures, but that particular store didn't even sell them. Even though they had the "Switch to LED" signs everywhere, yet only had two different round style fixtures to choose from, at that store.
 
I had 8 double four footers in my old two car garage. The house lights dimmed when I turned on the garage lights. And man, did they hum.

Now I just have one fixture over each bay of my three car. If I end up staying in this house, I might add more.
 
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