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Tool Talk Discussion Forum

cold weather light bulbs help

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diggerdave

12-09-2005 06:09:02




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HI all- any thoughts on what is the best type of lighting to instal in an UN HEATED garage? Right now I have the regular old incandecent (sp) light bulbs. Quite frankly im tired of changing them. Was thinking of going Flourescent -- it is supposedly longer lasting I believe but if i recall they sometimes dont fire up when its real cold. Is this true or are there newer types that get around this?thanks

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smokumchevy

12-11-2005 19:43:55




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 Re: cold weather light bulbs help in reply to diggerdave, 12-09-2005 06:09:02  
In my unheated 30Dx50Lx50H shop I use a combination of 2-500w Halogens at opposite upper corners for short use 'instant on' needs, then use 4-400w MH (metal halide) ceiling mounted lights for longer terms in their due to their slow startup times.

Yet to decide on what I'm going to mount for side lighting along the walls, considering outdoor wallpack style 175w MH's to handle overspray and general dirt/dust with ease.

Bright?? hell yes, just how I like it when I need it.

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RickL

12-10-2005 14:22:01




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 Re: cold weather light bulbs help in reply to diggerdave, 12-09-2005 06:09:02  
I run the cold weather start flouresents all eight footers total of 23 have them in bays wired. had the big 30watt bulbs before. No comparison.



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oleblu

12-09-2005 17:40:28




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 Re: cold weather light bulbs help in reply to diggerdave, 12-09-2005 06:09:02  
I use old outdoor advertizing signs with the plastic panels removed. Tremendus light, no noise and it WILL work in cold temps. Look for them at sign and lighting places. I've had one in my shop for over 20 years and haven't replaced a bulb or ballast yet!



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jdemaris

12-09-2005 17:38:45




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 Try incandescent -flourescents CFLs in reply to diggerdave, 12-09-2005 06:09:02  
If you want to try a screw-in replacement for the bulbs you have now, there are some new-generation bulbs that are flourescent and incandescent at the same time. Home Depot and several other places have them now. They are the "twist" shaped compact flourescent bulbs and are rated down to 0 degrees F. They also have them rated to -20F but those cost more. They don't use a ballast, but actually have a filament that has a flourescent coating. Since they have a filament, they don't flicker any more than a standard incandescent bulb because the filament retains enough heat during the 60 Hertz cylcles every second to stay bright. A gas tube does not, cools off every 1/60th of a second, and will flicker slightly unless it has a very good electronic ballast. 23 watt bulb puts out 100 watts of light. Home Depot has been selling six packs for $10. That's the cheapest I've ever seen, I suspect the Chinese company that's making them is dumping them on the market at cost just to get their name out. Odd thing is, Home Depot has the bulbs in one-packs and they're $6 apiece. Walk to the other side of the store, and the same bulbs are in the 6 packs for $10.
The Chinese Company sells via TCPI, their site is at: Link

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Easy

12-09-2005 16:34:06




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 Re: cold weather light bulbs help in reply to diggerdave, 12-09-2005 06:09:02  
This isn't a direct answer, but something for thought. In 1991 I replaced some regular bulbs with the compact, energy saving florescent ones. Not one has had to be replaced. The things just don't seem to wear out! Cool!



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David - OR

12-09-2005 13:28:47




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 Re: cold weather light bulbs help in reply to diggerdave, 12-09-2005 06:09:02  
Home Depot et al. sell "Heavy Duty Commercial Striplights" These have HO type ballasts and take F96T12HO tubes. You get 19000 lumens out of one 8 foot fixture, which is a LOT of light for the $$.

HO type ballasts and tubes will light down to -20 degrees (F). All fluorescents, including HO, will have reduced light output if the tube walls are below 100 degrees (F). But the HO fixtures WILL light the tubes and WILL have decent (ableit reduced) output, even cold. This is not true of cheap Chinese "shop lights", which will hum in protest and not light at all.

The one down side of the HO fixtures is that they have a fairly noticeable 60 HZ hum at all temperatures.

A newer, and in many ways better, option is modern T8 style fixtures with electronic ballasts. These will light down to 0 degrees (F). A typical option is an 8 foot tandem channel fixture, taking 4 4 foot long F32T8 tubes. This gets you around 11000 lumens per fixture at 112 watts, which is ~3X the power efficiency of incandescents. With good ballasts, these fixtures are absolutely dead silent, even when cold. Most grocery stores these days are lit with long strings of this style of lamp.

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MarkB_MI

12-09-2005 18:25:12




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 Re: cold weather light bulbs help in reply to David - OR, 12-09-2005 13:28:47  
David,

You have some good suggestions. I looked at both the high output fluorescents and the T8 electronic ballast fluorescents at Home Depot. I opted for the the 8 ft T8 fixtures. They're about the same price as the HO units (slightly cheaper, if I recall). I can't stand the hum of the magnetic ballasts, and the T8 units use less power.

As you pointed out, the T8 units are only good down to zero F, while the HO units go down to minus 20. I don't plan on being in my shop if it's below zero, but the electrical inspector disagreed. He wanted me to add at least one incandescent. I was already planning to add some halogen lamps, so I put in four 150 watt halogen units and that made him happy.

The fluorescent/halogen combo has worked out well. It takes a couple of minutes for the fluorescents to warm up, so I just flip on the halogens if I just need light for a minute.

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john d

12-09-2005 13:12:06




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 Re: cold weather light bulbs help in reply to diggerdave, 12-09-2005 06:09:02  
They aren't as cheap to operate as florescent bulbs, but I'm using halogen units in my un-heated shop area. I use florescent bulbs mounted on the ceiling for summer use, and halogens that mount directly above my workplace in the winter. The extra heat they put out feels good - except when my bald head gets too close.



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Jon Hagen

12-09-2005 11:39:56




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 Re: cold weather light bulbs help in reply to diggerdave, 12-09-2005 06:09:02  
I have several of the florescent replacement bulbs in the fixtures of my unheated shop,the coil spring shaped glass tube with a standard light bulb base. They have worked (start) well at 0 degrees F or a bit colder. They are a bit dim for the first few seconds,but brighten up quickly as they warm up. They advertise very long life,and use aprox 1/4 the power of an ordinary bulb. I even use them in the shop trouble lights,ordinary bulbs do not tollerate being dropped a few inches,or being rattled across a shop floor,so last a very short time. I tried one of the coil spring shaped florescents in a trouble light,and it seemed to be very tollerant of rough use untill I got a welding/grinding spatter on it that cracked the spiral glass tube. I then found a "designer" florescent bulb which has the spring shaped glass tube enclosed inside another conventional looking glass bulb which absorbs the welding/grinding spatters and protects the inner florescent tube. This one has absorbed all the welding spatters and rough use without any problems for nearly a year. I buy the things (florescent replacements ) at the discount stores in the bargain packs,and every conventional bulb that goes out gets replaced with a florescent.

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buickanddeere

12-09-2005 08:37:50




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 Re: cold weather light bulbs help in reply to diggerdave, 12-09-2005 06:09:02  
The new electronic ballasts are quiet, use less power, don't flicker and start in cold weather. No flourescent is intended to be switched on and off several times per day.



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Bus Driver

12-09-2005 08:29:09




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 Re: cold weather light bulbs help in reply to diggerdave, 12-09-2005 06:09:02  
The HO type fluorescents work down to at least 0 deg. They are the type used outdoors. Not sold at big box stores, at least not in the South. Ballast and tubes must be both be the HO type. Cost more than the standard ones.



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Allan in NE

12-09-2005 06:27:54




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 Re: cold weather light bulbs help in reply to diggerdave, 12-09-2005 06:09:02  
Yep, what Bill said.

You're buying your bulbs at the wrong store. Ask your electrician.

Those Wally World replacements don't last 20 days in a cold shop and flourescents sure aren't the way to go in the cold.

Allan



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Coloken

12-09-2005 06:26:10




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 Re: cold weather light bulbs help in reply to diggerdave, 12-09-2005 06:09:02  
I'm having good luck with the new ones that replace a bulp with that twisted thing. Don't know what they are called just this minute. they cost more but are worth it. Had a kitchen light that would burn out every month for some reason (maybe jerk from refrig) One of them has been OK for years. Have tried flourescent in shop and do not like them. Just seem to not be enough light. The bulbs I am talking about come pretty small but one of those "Y" or dubler things will let you put two in a socket. Have yet to have one quit on me, so think they are worth the extra cost.
Kennyp

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RustyFarmall

12-09-2005 06:24:47




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 Re: cold weather light bulbs help in reply to diggerdave, 12-09-2005 06:09:02  
Flourescent lights aren't the answer for an unheated shop, that's what I put in my shop, and while they do work in cold weather, they make a lot of noise and are not nearly as bright as in warm weather. If I leave them on long enough, eventually they do emit proper light and some of the noise does go away, so maybe they are not all that bad. I haven't had to replace any bulbs since I hung them about 6 years ago.

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Wild Bill

12-09-2005 06:19:02




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 Re: cold weather light bulbs help in reply to diggerdave, 12-09-2005 06:09:02  
You need to get some "rough service" incandesent bulbs (right along side the regular ones at wal-mart). In my shop, regular old light bulbs don't make it through the morning, but I get good service out of the rough service ones.



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