Flourescent Bulb Question

[Pappy]

I am putting up new T-8 lights in the Playpen and am confused on which bulbs to use, even after looking thru some old threads.

There will be a single bulb 4' light mounted horizontal above the door and a 2 bulb light hanging from the trusses running front to rear. Since I don't work inside I'm not concerned about the light being 'natural' as much as the brightness, although a happy medium would be nice to hit. What do I need to look for in the specs on the bulbs?

Also, has anyone used a reflector/finish other than white on the lights? I was looking at the shop lights in Wally World last night (Will check the Box stores today) and they had one labeled as a "Stainless Steel" finish which was actually a silver/gray paint. Would there be any advantage to painting the reflector silver rather than white? There are silver spray paints that will give a brighter finish than what was used on these lights.

[cabinetman]

All my lamps are T-12. The last fixture I bought was a 4' double from the blue box store a few months ago and it was a T-12, magnetic ballast. It was a cheapie, like $8.00. But it was fine for my drafting table.

All my fixtures with shades (reflectors), are white. Never tried silver, but it is an interesting idea. Maybe a cool test would be to do one compared with white, and use a light meter on how bright it is. Some commercial applications have that chromed plastic diffuser for troffers, but that seems more reflective than silver paint.
.

[LarryG]

I'd strongly recommend the Daylight bulbs. They do produce natural colors -- none of the sickly greenish cast that Cool Whites put out; absolutely avoid thse because they'll make your finishes look "off" -- but they also have higher light output. Around four bucks apiece but with only three bulbs, not much of a price premium.

About a third of my shop's fixtures have silver-gray reflectors. They don't seem to reflect nearly as well as the white ones. A mirror-like finish might offer some improvement but otherwise I think white is the ticket.

[Len]

I second the 'Daylight' bulbs.

I just replaced the T12 fixtures, with 'Daylights', in my garage with T8's that came with 'Cool Whites' in them. The place just wasn't as bright until I went back to the hardware store and convinced the manager to swap the 'Cools' for some T8 'Daylights'. Much better to see by.

Len

[ksum]

In the tropical fish aquarium industry they use to state that white reflectors worked better than a shiny surface for reflecting the light. These days, however, you will find aquarium light reflectors with a mirror like finish, especially for use with saltwater aquariums where the higher lumens are required. I may not be current on this, but have yet to see anything suggesting a white surface is no longer considered the better option.

I personally would only worry about the finish if all other things, including price, travel distance, and any moral ethics you may feel regarding a pourchase from company A over company B are equal. And then I would probably stick with a white reflector.

Karl

[dbhost]

Don,

All of my fixtures are have the T-12 sockets, so I can't speak intelligently regarding T-8s but...

I have in the past had polished aluminum diamond plate fixtures. And no, it did NOT help with light distribution, it just put shiny spots all over the shop. I chucked them quick...

For a price / performance stand point, I have standardized on F32T12 48" tubes in the "Daylight" color range. I have been using what they call the Sunstick tubes. They give me GREAT color rendering without the wierd yellow hues that soft whites do. The bulbs I use are only sold by the case though... I think I paid $35.00 / case of 12 bulbs, so they aren't horribly priced...

Simple white shop light fixtures are fine, but you might want to invest in fixtues with good ballasts. The cheapos I have been getting blow a ballast before they burn out bulbs... I have been replacing them with upgraded ballasts and turning them into decent fixtures. I should have spend the $10.00 extra each to get decent fixtures with good ballasts...

[jackellis]

Darn! I just saw an article about fluorescent lighting somewhere and now I can't find it. the relevant part of the article talked about making sure there was some airflow around the ballasts so they don't die prematurely. I think they have cutouts in the reflectors near the bar that holds the ballast and the bulbs. Might have been in FWW.

Even fluorescent bulbs will die early if they get too warm, so make sure you don't allow them to touch the fixture or nearby walls, and clean them off once in a while.

[pelligrini]

I would think that a painted reflector is more of a fashion thing. If it’s not white or mirror like it would not reflect as much light.

One thing about fluorescent bulb life is that they are more dependant on the number of strikes (on cycles), than the length of time burning, unlike incandescent.

When I was keeping several planted aquariums I spent a good chunk of change on new bulbs. They will also loose a lot of their intensity over time too. If you need to have a certain amount of light you have to change them out long before they actually die.

[dbhost]

IF you want good visibility inside the workshop, or in your case Pappy, the playpen, get after the interior walls, and ceiling with white paint. Use light colors wherever you can to bounce the visible light off of. I am repainting mine as I fix the busted bits of drywall, and have the wall behind the workbench kinda sorta done-ish (need some detail brushing but nothing else), and it amazes me how much brighter it seems in there when one wall is changed from an almond color, to even bone white... Bright white would be even better! I am honestly considering enclosing my workbench, and painting it white as well for that same purpose, but that would defeat the easy visibility of equipment in the bench the open design gives me...

[Bruce Cohen]

Don,

If you look at the umbrellas that photographers use to bounce their strobes off, you'll notice that the majority are white. White tends to soften and diffuse the light giving you an even overall light. Silver, oh the other hand, is usually used for special situations, where you want to tightly focus the light (sort of a spot effect). But with fluorescent tubes, which are a very diffuse source to begin with, I doubt the effect will be to your advantage. I believe all you'll get is random uncontrolled "hot spot" lighting that won't be as effective as a white reflector.

If you're trying for a controlled spot of bright light, I'd look at track lighting where you can vary both the bulb patterns and the type of "cans" on the track. You'll also get the benefit of being able to give yourself a 90 deg. "downlight" and if you place the lighting in front of you aimed straight down, you won't create a shadow with your body.

Bruce

[Tom Slick]

Even expensive industrial florescent reflectors are white, for home use any other color is just for looks. Daylight bulbs "trick" your eye into believing there is more light even when they are the same output.

[dbhost]

It's not that Daylight bulbs trick your eye into thinking that there is more light, it's that the daylight color range is perceived to be brighter. It's a color thing. Just like blues are perceived as "cool" and reds are perceived as "hot". Cool white bulbs simply "seem" dimmer compared to daylight white. The difference is how the eye reacts to the colors available from certain light sources. The daylight bulbs emit light in a range the human eye is simply more sensitive to...

[pbui3057]

I went to Lowes and purchased some T12 Sylvania Sunsticks lights and don't like the blue/green cast they put out. I bought a hanging fixture that had Phillips Cool White Plus lights in them and they seem brighter and had a warmer yellow color to them. I am not concerned with color as much as I am concerned with overall output.

I just bought new fixtures today at Walmart for $10 each that use T8 bulbs. I need to change the old T12's out and see if these do any better. I would have thought that the Sunstick lights would have given me WHITE not weird, low budget, scary movie hospital blue.

[Tom Slick]

5000k bulbs can give off a unpleasant look that with white to off-white walls looks green/blue, that is why they aren't used around the house. they work best for task lighting, not really good for general mood lighting. Most offices and (non-movie) hospitals have 3600k "neutral" bulbs in general areas because they are the most pleasant to the eye.