Brightest ceiling shop lights

[Aaron_W]

I want to keep these (4) from Western Electric, just cause - well they're cool.
That and I've carted them all over for the last (30) years and the reflectors are nice. They've been in (5) shops so far.
Somehow or another I've misplaced two - I had six when I left SoCal in '89.
So I want to do a conversion on them. They have heavy duty aluminum housings that were hard 'piped' with rigid conduit in the WE facility.

Oh, in that case it makes sense. I assumed the typical cheap tin fluorescent fixtures. I don't know if they will work for you, but last night I saw some LED "fluorescent" bulbs at Costco, and they were fairly cheap ($44/4). They also had complete 2 tube fixtures on sale for $17 which is why I was saying full replacement might be better. In your case you have nice fixtures with some sentimental value as well.

4ft LED conversion bulbs

 

[Jackle1312]

I ordered over 100 4' 500k bulbs from eledlights a few years ago when I had to convert a client's office building over to led. With the bulk price I ordered extra for my shop. They are much brighter and you dont have the hum from the ballast. When I needed more fixtures I just bought the cheapest florescent fixtures from Lowes and converted them over. I would never go back to florescent.

 

[finsruskw]

I want to keep these (4) from Western Electric, just cause - well they're cool.
That and I've carted them all over for the last (30) years and the reflectors are nice. They've been in (5) shops so far.
Somehow or another I've misplaced two - I had six when I left SoCal in '89.
So I want to do a conversion on them. They have heavy duty aluminum housings that were hard 'piped' with rigid conduit in the WE facility.

These are from Menards. 2 bulb LED's 4500L ea.
About $35 each IIRC.
Sure made a difference once the floor was put down
Cabinets were altered and repurposed from a rental we remodeled.

 

[matthewsx]

When I was looking for more light fixtures I did a bunch of research. Then I checked Craigslist and found someone in my town that was selling 4' fixtures for $10/ea with the bulbs.

Worked out great for me but I'm cheap

I'd probably go with LED's for efficiency and brightness if I was doing something from scratch and had a decent budget but not having to drive or wait for something to be shipped, and paying less was definitely the ticket.

Cheers,

John

 

[middle.road]

(I wish to heck I'd epoxied the floor before we moved in... What a difference.)

 

[matthewsx]

(I wish to heck I'd epoxied the floor before we moved in... What a difference.)

Probably a different thread but epoxy floors can be great or not depending on how much you're willing to put into them. Definitely need a high quality product with excellent prep work and traction additives in the right places (oil on top of epoxy is super slippery.

Thompson's water seal will keep oil from soaking into concrete and can be applied super easy even with machines in place. It might not look as nice as a high-end epoxy job but costs way less and isn't slippery.

Cheers,

John

 

[middle.road]

Probably a different thread but epoxy floors can be great or not depending on how much you're willing to put into them. Definitely need a high quality product with excellent prep work and traction additives in the right places (oil on top of epoxy is super slippery.

Thompson's water seal will keep oil from soaking into concrete and can be applied super easy even with machines in place. It might not look as nice as a high-end epoxy job but costs way less and isn't slippery.

Cheers,

John

Floor was is cruddy condition, and I didn't have the time to clean it properly. So probably best I didn't...

 

[finsruskw]

Probably a different thread but epoxy floors can be great or not depending on how much you're willing to put into them. Definitely need a high quality product with excellent prep work and traction additives in the right places (oil on top of epoxy is super slippery.

Thompson's water seal will keep oil from soaking into concrete and can be applied super easy even with machines in place. It might not look as nice as a high-end epoxy job but costs way less and isn't slippery.

Cheers,

John

Floor was is cruddy condition, and I didn't have the time to clean it properly. So probably best I didn't...

My floor was shot blasted before the epoxy went down.
There is some grit embedded in the base coat as well.

 

[matthewsx]

Yep, we all start with different situations and means. As long as it holds your machines and you can sweep up the chips it's probably fine.

 

[fixit]

I've searched this site and googled all over the place. I find a lot of facts, figures and double talk (not here of course!) but never a direct answer. (note: the search engine here ignores "LED" because it does not have enough letters - so a search is a little hard. I think this has been answered, but I can't find the thread.)

What I want to know, preferably from someone who has first hand knowledge, is which light source is brightest. A 4', 2 bulb LED light or a 4', 2 bulb florescent light (T8 I think - the skinny ones)? I will be buying the most economical I can fine in Lowes, Menards or WalMart unless there is a good reason to buy something else. No reflector. Nothing fancy.

I have fairly good lighting in my shop with T8 (? see above) florescent lights. However I have 2 darker spots that need more light. I don't care which is initially cheaper, which is more economical to run, which comes to full brightness quickest, which is most eco-friendly or which needs more love. All I care about is which will shine more light on varying projects in that space of the shop? (Note; this is just floor space. A rolling work table may be positioned here (or not). For example, presently my motorcycle is on a lift and the right side is dark - other times there may be a work table here and the part on the table will be dark on one side, and other times a lawnmower on the floor with its right side completely dark.

If someone knowledgeable would just say "Buy the LEDs" or "Buy more florescents" that would be great.

Thanks!

These are super lights. after Christmas I'm buying 6 more

Robot Check