Garage Lighting - LED or Fluorescent Battens?

[72BLUE]

Anyone in forum land with experience of these new fangled LED battens? I need to put lighting in a recently built 17 foot x 30ish foot garage.

I was wondering about the LED battens and in particular how many would be needed to give suitable light for 'workshop' use? What brightness/wattage should I go for, what length of tube, single or twin tube battens etc.

Should I stick with traditional T8 or T5 fluorescent lights?

All thoughts/advice appreciated!


Cheers
Keith

[jakesmig]

How long is a piece of string? Depends what type of workshop you're going for, if you're doing bodywork / spraying you'll need a lot of light, high level & low level without shadow areas, If it is general use the lighting level doesn't need to be so high, but you may need trailing lights to augment lighting for localised areas, which means cables and trip hazards. You'll also need to have more lighting at workbenches.

It's a large area you're trying to light, my garage is 18' x 18' and I have 6 no 55w fluorescent lights with a switchable 250W halogen over the workbench for 'as required use'. I augment the lighting with tripod mounted lights if required.

If you have a local builders salvage yard or Demolition Contractors yard go and see if they have any fluorescent lights, buy as many as you can , cheap, and go by trial and error. I would probably try LED lighting in the bench area.

For the last year or so I have been using the Sealey LED360R Rechargeable Inspection Lamp for local lighting around the car which I find far easier and better than trailing lights. They have magnetic bases and are articulated so can be used anywhere there is metal to hang them on. Bit expensive at around £40 but I'm now a convert and have 2.

John

[milothedog]

How long is a piece of string? Depends what type of workshop you're going for, if you're doing bodywork / spraying you'll need a lot of light, high level & low level without shadow areas, If it is general use the lighting level doesn't need to be so high, but you may need trailing lights to augment lighting for localised areas, which means cables and trip hazards. You'll also need to have more lighting at workbenches.

It's a large area you're trying to light, my garage is 18' x 18' and I have 6 no 55w fluorescent lights with a switchable 250W halogen over the workbench for 'as required use'. I augment the lighting with tripod mounted lights if required.

If you have a local builders salvage yard or Demolition Contractors yard go and see if they have any fluorescent lights, buy as many as you can , cheap, and go by trial and error. I would probably try LED lighting in the bench area.

For the last year or so I have been using the Sealey LED360R Rechargeable Inspection Lamp for local lighting around the car which I find far easier and better than trailing lights. They have magnetic bases and are articulated so can be used anywhere there is metal to hang them on. Bit expensive at around £40 but I'm now a convert and have 2.

John

To back up what John has said, I used to buy these in for my apprentices http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/like/27172...s=true&ff13=80 Fantastic bit of kit. I still have 3 of them myself.

Ian

[72BLUE]

Thanks guys, I take the point re the string! I should have clarified the workshop use, I was not thinking particularly of car bodywork etc but more DIY/general type of work.

I have seen on the net that T8 lights work better in lower temperatures (less than 12 deg) than T5, so perhaps it is either T8 or LED.

Cheers
Keith

[Lokisdad]

My Stag garage is about 27' x 12'. I originally had single 5' tubes either side of the car and a double across the end, all at about 7' 6" from the floor. Although the lighting was adequate, at a total of 240w, I felt it needed something better especially as I was intending to spray the car. They are now replaced with 4 x 30w CRE led floodlights over the car and a 50w at the end. The light output is about double the fluorescent tubes and they draw less current at a total of 170w. I would recommend them and not too expensive - and getting cheaper all the time. Cost about £120 total about 18 months ago but about £80 now. Search on Ebay.

Harvey

[new to this]

I would go LED flood lights ,or they now do LED replacement fluorescent tubes

Dave

[Seaking]

Re: Length of String
Answer the exact length of a piece of String is double the length of it folded in half.

hope this helps as it works for any length of string

Cheers Glenn

[jakesmig]

[Dave M]

I've put fluorescents up in my new garage and they provide good visibility, only problem is they also show up where I've had recent paint work done. The paintwork ilooks fine in daylight but looks two colours under the fluorescents so I'm going to fit some led floodlights as well. It's only a minor issue but it bugs me.

[Knockwurst]

Slightly off topic, but thought I'd share. My auto dimming welding helmet always dimmed when I used a halogen flood lamp to illuminate the work area. I recently changed to an LED flood lamp from screwfix and the helmet stays clear until I strike the arc. Makes the job much easier.

Simon

[jleyton]

I have been using the Sealey LED360R Rechargeable Inspection Lamp for local lighting around the car which I find far easier and better than trailing lights. They have magnetic bases and are articulated so can be used anywhere there is metal to hang them on. Bit expensive at around £40 but I'm now a convert and have 2.

John

Hi John,

interesting to hear you sing the praises of this particular inspection lamp.

I saw an excellent review of this somewhere and decided I wanted one but having already got more inspection lamps and lights than I can use I decided I couldn't justify the extra expenditure. However, it went on my christmas list and, lo and behold, my son bought me one last year (admittedly a black, not red, one)

I've got to say that I've found it a bit disappointing but, reading your comments, I wonder if I've got a bad 'un (which wouldn't be the first time for me with Sealey products, with a bench grinder that stalled whenever you tried to grind anything )

Anyway, my main gripe is with the base magnet that only seems to hold the lamp on, pretty much, level surfaces. A bit of an angle and it topples over as it does if you try to use the articulation for more than about 10 degrees. Added to this, I've found the battery life to be disappointing - possibly less than an hour - and when it does go it instantly turns the light off completely - usually at a critical moment.

From your experience, do you reckon mine is duff ?

Cheers

Julian

[mole42]

My portable work lights are actually those small fluorescent emergency lights, you'll have seen them in offices and factories, they are designed to come on in the event of a power failure and last for at least three hours.

I have two, I fitted short mains leads and a 13A plug, they sit under the bench plugged in when I'm not using them, when I need a work light, just unplug it, the light goes in and I can use them for three hours under the car or wherever.

Cheap too, the new ones are only a few quid from Toolstation or Screwfix.

[redstag]

I use one of these for extra light in the garage / DIY etc. Lots of light and good battery life although as Julian mentioned it doesn't give any warning when it runs out of battery power.

http://www.screwfix.com/p/ae0183-rechargeable-led-work-light-10w-12-240v/1815d

Bought the larger (5w) one of these from aldi last week. Really bright, it's like a little floodlight. not rechargeable but for a fiver...
torch.JPG

Pete

[jakesmig]

Hi Julian,

I agree with your points regarding battery life and the all too sudden switching off, it can be a real pain. I´m fortunate that I've got 2, one I bought and one a present, so one is always charged.

Both my torches perform well from the magnetic and articulation aspect, both 'stick' well if placed horizontally on a panel, and I found them really usefully when working underneath the car and also sticking them on the inner wheel arches when doing suspension work. The only time I have difficulty is when the magnets become dirty with 'picked up' filings and crud and fail to get a solid grip.

I would classify them as a luxury item, but, IMO, doing away with trailing wires and not having to find somewhere convenient to hook a light onto sways the balance in their favour

[72BLUE]

If you have a local builders salvage yard or Demolition Contractors yard go and see if they have any fluorescent lights, buy as many as you can , cheap, and go by trial and error.

John

John, you have given me an idea there! I do have 6 or so old fluorescent units that I have had in store for years that came out of a large workshop. They are weatherproof, 6 foot and twin tube. I was going to scrap them because they are T12 types, the tube ends have all disintegrated, the diffuser clips are all shot too.

The price of a comparable modern T8 unit from Screwfix is a penny off £100 http://www.screwfix.com/p/lap-high-f...6ft-1-8m/52858

I have discovered that the broken fittings can be bought and it seems possible to convert T12 units into T8 by getting the correct ballast etc. Seeing as how the rest of the old units seem in good order, I might convert them if it is cost effective.

Cheers
Keith