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slidebite
Nov 6, 2005

Good egg
:colbert:

dreesemonkey posted:

How do T8s hold up in cold temperatures? I wouldn't mind some extra garage lighting but ours is unheated and I would hate to get a bunch of fixtures and then them die prematurely due to the cold.
The ones I was looking at last night said "fast firing to -18C" but have no idea if the cold impacts longevity in a major way.

My garage is attached and insulated so it never gets terribly cold either way... Although that combo heater and bulb fixture sounds kind of neat. I wonder what power requirements would be for something like that?

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8ender
Sep 24, 2003

clown is watching you sleep
My T8's do well up until about -20C and then they'll take a while to warm up. The ballasts on the cheap ones are total poo poo though. I've had three go bad.

Seat Safety Switch
May 27, 2008

MY RELIGION IS THE SMALL BLOCK V8 AND COMMANDMENTS ONE THROUGH TEN ARE NEVER LIFT.

Pillbug

8ender posted:

My T8's do well up until about -20C and then they'll take a while to warm up. The ballasts on the cheap ones are total poo poo though. I've had three go bad.

I'm trying to figure out right now how to replace the ballast in a fluorescent light. One of the 80s-era T12 fixtures in my kitchen finally grenaded itself so I bought a $16 solid-state ballast off Amazon.

First step: unwiring it from the series of other fixtures so I can remove it from the ceiling.

babyeatingpsychopath
Oct 28, 2000
Forum Veteran

Seat Safety Switch posted:

I'm trying to figure out right now how to replace the ballast in a fluorescent light. One of the 80s-era T12 fixtures in my kitchen finally grenaded itself so I bought a $16 solid-state ballast off Amazon.

First step: unwiring it from the series of other fixtures so I can remove it from the ceiling.

You can replace ballasts in situ. Don't be an idiot and you'll be fine. Follow the wiring diagram on the ballast itself, completely ignoring how the old ballast was hooked up. You may end up with too many or too few wires going to the tombstones in the wrong configuration: it's not the end of the world, just wire the thing up right.

For the other posters: if your winters are seriously cold, look at T5s instead of T8s. The smaller lamp and (generally) better ballast makes those things great. I did an rear end-ton of 8-lamp T5HO high-bay lights in a refrigerated warehouse area and they work great. Also, the "32W" T5HO is like a 50 or 60W equivalent in T8; they really pump out the light.

dreesemonkey
May 14, 2008
Pillbug
I guess it's a moot point anyway because there is no point having more light in my garage until I get or build another shed because I have all my toys stored in my 2 car and virtually no room to work anyway.

Raluek
Nov 3, 2006

WUT.
Also, Costco has (had?) some LED fixtures for $40ish that GarageJournal seems fairly impressed with. I'd expect them to handle cold temperatures better than fluorescents, but that assumes that they aren't the Chinesest things ever.

slidebite
Nov 6, 2005

Good egg
:colbert:

Hmm, I never even thought of checking out Costco. The plug in doesn't do anything for me, but that should be easy enough to hardwire in.

FuzzKill
Apr 1, 2005

Snuff the punk.
LED would be awesome but it would take too long to earn back the initial investment into it that I didn't really consider it for long.

We may have one or two mornings in the upper 30's (°F) and a only handful of mornings in the 40's so I never really thought about cold weather operation on the lighting.

T5's are brighter per bulb but use more wattage to do so. They are more efficient but not anything groundbreaking - T8's have less expensive fixtures, bulbs, availability, etc.

the spyder
Feb 18, 2011

FuzzKill posted:

LED would be awesome but it would take too long to earn back the initial investment into it that I didn't really consider it for long.

We may have one or two mornings in the upper 30's (°F) and a only handful of mornings in the 40's so I never really thought about cold weather operation on the lighting.

T5's are brighter per bulb but use more wattage to do so. They are more efficient but not anything groundbreaking - T8's have less expensive fixtures, bulbs, availability, etc.

Based on tons of reading, I recommended T8's. Price/bulb/fixture just can't be beat. It's going to be the sweet spot until T5/LED's drop significantly in price. The Lowes T8 fixtures have the best price/balast. I bet in a 30x40, you could get away with 12, 8ft fixtures. Put them in three rows of four, the center row on it's own switch for quick lighting, and the other two rows on a single switch. If you want blinding light, add a fourth row.

I have literally spent the last month researching options and in the end, I'm doing a combo- based on personal preference. I really hate florescent light under ~8ft ceilings. My plan is 100w Cree LED bulbs (8) per 24x15ft wood shop/metal shop (22 Total with (4) under the 8x24 loft).. The two car bays will have (6) 8FT T5HO fixtures (24 4FT tubes). The loft will use (6) 100w compact fluorescents, because who cares about a storage area.

the spyder fucked around with this message at 05:01 on Jan 22, 2015

mafoose
Oct 30, 2006

volvos and dogs and volvos and dogs and volvos and dogs and volvos and dogs and vulvas and dogs and volvos and dogs and volvos and dogs and volvos and dongs and volvos and dons and volvos and dogs and volvos and cats and volvos and dogs and volvos and dogs and volvos and dogs and volvos and dogs
I know it's not the same thing but all my 6030 LEDs from China came in, that I'm putting in my garage. I'm installing 2 strips per 90deg flashing like that YouTube video. Each strip will be 8ft long and wired in parallel.

I bought enough to make 4 8ft segments, I currently have 2, 4 bulb florescent fixtures in the garage.

meatpimp
May 15, 2004

Psst -- Wanna buy

:) EVERYWHERE :)
some high-quality thread's DESTROYED!

:kheldragar:

mafoose posted:

I know it's not the same thing but all my 6030 LEDs from China came in, that I'm putting in my garage. I'm installing 2 strips per 90deg flashing like that YouTube video. Each strip will be 8ft long and wired in parallel.

I bought enough to make 4 8ft segments, I currently have 2, 4 bulb florescent fixtures in the garage.

Wait, I missed something, what youtube video? I'm looking at adding LED garage lighting now, so please document your install.

revmoo
May 25, 2006

#basta
I have T5s on my aquarium and there's no fuckin way I'd try to light my garage with them. We're spending probably 100 bucks a year on bulbs and that is just for four.

randomidiot
May 12, 2006

by Fluffdaddy

(and can't post for 11 years!)

I replaced a single incandescent socket in the garage with a 2x32W T8 fixture.

Even though it's not saving a whole lot of energy (the socket had a 300W "replacement" CFL in it that took 5-10 minutes to actually give a decent amount of light), it's a shitload more light, and it's instant on, instead of the ~5 minute warmup that the CFL needed. On the coldest of days it's a little dim for a minute, at most. That CFL is now in one of the attic light fixtures... and still takes 5+ minutes before it actually puts out much more light than a 5 watt nightlight.

The fixture was less than :20bux: though it's a lovely fixture that doesn't even have a wire channel cover (all the wiring is supposed to be done in the junction box above it, but the wires don't reach; I have no idea how it got UL listed). I plan to replace it with 2-3 quality 4xT8 fixtures before summer.

randomidiot fucked around with this message at 12:21 on Jan 23, 2015

slidebite
Nov 6, 2005

Good egg
:colbert:

So last night I went to home depot and picked up a couple of 2 bulb T8 fixtures, exactly planning what ^^ did.

Took off the incandescent fixture and hooked up the 2 wires + ground to the fixture. Easy-peasy. I'm not a wiring guru but I have replaced fixtures, switches before and installed timers using the common so I'm capable of a fixture swap.

Flip the breaker back on, it lights up but literally only 1/3 wattage at most. I have 2 other T8 fixtures in the garage (plug-in style) and swap the bulbs just to ensure the bulbs were bad, same thing. WTF?

Grab the other one out of the box, wire it up (once again, 2 wires +ground to junction box) and flip the breaker back on and nothing, breaker instantly flips back like it's a short.

Go back up, ensure everything is nice and capped and not touching, flip the breaker again, same thing. Breaker instantly trips. WTF?

gently caress that noise. These super-sale florescents with this small instant on ballast went right back to the store.

angryrobots
Mar 31, 2005

*Lighting chat*

My shop (40x60x30h) has 13 old t12 two lamp 8' single pin fixtures. (Sounds like too few, but about 20x20 of one corner is framed out office space, and the large roll up doors prevent hanging lighting where they go up. Given that, the current fixture placement seems to make sense.). All the ballasts are bad.

How about this deal on amazon? Works out 60 bucks per fixture (minus one bulb) to go LED with a minimum of work, and their products are pretty highly reviewed, other than needing center support for the 8 footers.

quote:

8FT 40 Watt T8 LED Tube Double-end Power 96W Fluorescent Tube Cool White Color 
Input Voltage (VAC):110-265Vac. CCT :6000K 
CRI:85 
8 FT, 6000K 
FA8 Base 
Double-end Power 
3600Lm, 80W Fluorescent Tube Replacement 
No UV or RF interference 

dreesemonkey
May 14, 2008
Pillbug
What's happening with your garage project?

FuzzKill
Apr 1, 2005

Snuff the punk.

dreesemonkey posted:

What's happening with your garage project?

:siren: Inquiring minds want to know! :siren:

Since the last update, several things have been accomplished - not as much or as fast as I was hoping but progress nonetheless.

I trimmed the insulation overhanging the roof eaves, and ran in most of the remaining exterior sheet screws.

We installed the trim for the walk-in door, framed, shimmed, and then installed the walk-in door.

Had to do some more minor trim work to the sheets for the garage door opening, and was then able to install the trim for that door. With the trim in place, we got started hanging the garage door itself.

There was a little bit of a learning curve for installing the door - but we seem to have figured it out with minimal extra parts. We hung the overhead track for the door with some additional bracing at the halfway point as I plan to hang overhead storage above where the garage door opens.

I tensioned the springs myself with some improvised tools. That was not a fun job, especially since I was letting the wife use the sturdy ladder for painting inside the house I was left with ol' rickety for doing the springs. My improvised winding bars were about 24", and it would have been nicer if they were longer - towards the end between the spring force getting stronger and me getting weaker I could see how things could get ugly for Joe Homeowner. Of course, most residential doors are shorter, weigh less, and have less bracing, thus requiring fewer turns on the springs.

Anyway, the springs have turned a 1000+lb garage door into something manageable for opening and closing. An automated opener will be added later after we run power into the shop.

Here are some pictures - pretty much just a few more screws and the trim to install on the eaves and corners and we're ready for inspection.


Parked the GTI/GTP in the corner of the shop for scale. Of course it's a small car, all the way in the corner, but gives an idea.


Walk-in door framed out and installed


Started hanging the garage door. Can only install the first 4 panels before you have to install the overhead tracks.


View from the outside after installing the first sections. After this night we were finally able to leave our tools in the garage without fear!


Got the overhead tracks up (not supported yet in this picture) and installed the top panel of the door.


Installed the torsion rod and spring assembly. That thing is loving HEAVY.


Everything installed and track braced, you can see the extra track hangers that will support and overhead storage area in the future.


View from outside at this point


All the extra bracing installed to turn this door into a tank. 'Large missile impact resistant' Miami-Dade certified.


Finished product.

Edit: I have a decent amount of extra exterior sheets between cover sheets, spares, and cuts. I was thinking about putting a pallet outside the shop and building a little 'shed' for the A/C compressor. It would be out of the elements (wind, rain) but more exposed to humidity and heat than if it were in the shop. It would be nice to not have a loud rear end compressor kicking on in your face in the shop, and would save some floor space as well. Yay/nay?

FuzzKill fucked around with this message at 05:34 on Feb 24, 2015

bolind
Jun 19, 2005



Pillbug
My friend did the exact same thing and built a little exterior compressor shed, I think it works out well for him. The compressor is hella big and quite loud (I'm thinking three-phase and 200L). I'll see if I can get a hold of him and ask if there's any drawbacks.

Edit: seeing him (and compressorshed) on Thursday!

bolind fucked around with this message at 14:49 on Feb 24, 2015

SuperDucky
May 13, 2007

by exmarx
Buddy's dad, who has the only lift I have readily available in 30+ miles has his (30A 220V) compressor in an old horse tack shed about 15 feet away from the shop. Do it.

cakesmith handyman
Jul 22, 2007

Pip-Pip old chap! Last one in is a rotten egg what what.

Put it on the side away from the house if possible, otherwise yes.

revmoo
May 25, 2006

#basta
Even if it meant having to buy a new compressor twice as often I'd still rather have mine outside in a shed.


Got to love those quiet 2am wrenching moments when the compressor kicks on and startles the poo poo out of you.

dreesemonkey
May 14, 2008
Pillbug
That is a pretty rad update, fuzzkill, thanks. These are my favorite kind of projects.

Nthing what everyone else said, I'd absolutely build a shed or something for your compressor if you can and you don't think it will be too loud for neighbors.

I've seen some attempts at soundproofing enclosures for interior compressors at garagejournal as well. You'd probably have the same humidity issues as building outside sicne your interior space isn't going to be conditioned air.

Astonishing Wang
Nov 3, 2004
I'd build the extra shed for the compressor if it was me. I'd build it big enough to hold all of those tools like brooms, shovels, rakes, etc. that you need every now and then and don't necessarily need to keep in the garage. Also stuff like bags of fertilizer, soil, etc. Put your dirty stuff in the dirty shed, not in the sweet fuckin garage that is made for rad cars.

Sadi
Jan 18, 2005
SC - Where there are more rednecks than people
I've seen designs for sound deadened internal closets if you want to keep it inside while reducing the sound.

FuzzKill
Apr 1, 2005

Snuff the punk.
:siren: FINAL INSPECTION PASSED TODAY! :siren:

Overall everything went smoothly. Inspector came on Monday and failed me for the entry door (we had pretty much temporarily hung it and forgot to go back and run more screws in it). I missed him on Monday so I took off work today and rescheduled the inspection. There is no paperwork for the door with detail on how to attach it to a steel frame (only wood and masonry). Solution: use twice as many screws through the door frame, through the 1x4, and then through the steel frame. And tap-cons in the bottom.

Inspector came today (different guy) and while the building is safe and complete, they could fail me for many reasons regarding trim, caulking, screw length, washers, etc. I was nice to him and he was a CAR GUY so things went well. I pointed out that the other inspector only noted the door problem, and even though he has the right to go over EVERYTHING he just looked at the door frame and signed off. YESSSS

I had the electrician out earlier in the week, if I can get a backhoe to dig a trench between now and the weekend, I may have the electric work done over the weekend. I decided to put the compressor in the adjacent shed rather than building a compressor hut for it - this way I'll have power run into the shed for an extra outlet and a small overhead light which is something the shed has been lacking.

After the building inspector left, the building was also inspected by Buttons the shop dog and given the final approval.

Adiabatic
Nov 18, 2007

What have you assholes done now?
Holy gently caress that owns. Super jealous. Congrats bud!

Seat Safety Switch
May 27, 2008

MY RELIGION IS THE SMALL BLOCK V8 AND COMMANDMENTS ONE THROUGH TEN ARE NEVER LIFT.

Pillbug
So sweet.

LloydDobler
Oct 15, 2005

You shared it with a dick.

I just figured out that if I cut a hole in the ceiling drywall for the windshield of my convertible to go up about 6 inches more, and install a 4 post lift, I can put all 3 cars in the garage for the winter.

Your solution is better.

InitialDave
Jun 14, 2007

I Want To Believe.
Buttons is going to tell all his friends about the McKennel his owner built for him.

FuzzKill
Apr 1, 2005

Snuff the punk.
Mere hours later a 100' 2 foot deep trench has emerged. Along with a 6' pine stump.






Time to lay some pipe :cool:

Motronic
Nov 6, 2009

You're dropping a 3/4" water line in there, right? Say right. You'll be sorry later if you don't.

(Well line is super cheap)

FuzzKill
Apr 1, 2005

Snuff the punk.

Motronic posted:

You're dropping a 3/4" water line in there, right? Say right. You'll be sorry later if you don't.

(Well line is super cheap)

1/2" ... And Cat5. Both currently in the back of the truck while I gorge myself on Taco Bell

Motronic
Nov 6, 2009

FuzzKill posted:

1/2" ... And Cat5. Both currently in the back of the truck while I gorge myself on Taco Bell

Nice. Doing it right.

I put a 4" conduit between my house and the barn also. It's been handy.

kastein
Aug 31, 2011

Moderator at http://www.ridgelineownersclub.com/forums/and soon to be mod of AI. MAKE AI GREAT AGAIN. Motronic for VP.
Seriously. 2" PVC conduit or bigger. You will want it.

Hell, put two in so you can run power and comms separately like you're supposed to. Conduit is cheap, digging holes sucks.

FuzzKill
Apr 1, 2005

Snuff the punk.
I should have been clearer. There is 2" conduit for power, I just laid that in the trench this evening. The electrician is going to snake it and measure and then order the cable. In addition to that, I am putting in a 1/2" water line and a 1/2" electrical conduit for Cat5 back to the house (and cameras). The 1/2" water and network lines will enter the far side of the building, because there isn't any pipes set in the concrete for them. That will put them out of sight and away from any traffic (foot or vehicle).

The 2" main power conduit has a feed already set into the foundation where I will be putting the breaker panel. That is where the trench terminates. I will 'T' off the trench by the back side of the building to continue the water/network over to the far side and then into the building from there.

Motronic
Nov 6, 2009

kastein posted:

Hell, put two in so you can run power and comms separately like you're supposed to. Conduit is cheap, digging holes sucks.

Yeah.....I should have done that. And I didn't (please don't tell).

FuzzKill posted:

1/2" electrical conduit for Cat5 back to the house (and cameras).

Upsize that. It's a bitch to pull through later.

FuzzKill posted:

The electrician is going to snake it

If he actually snakes it I don't know what to tell you. This is what a shop vac on one side with a plastic bag tied to mason's twine on the other side is for.

Wrar
Sep 9, 2002


Soiled Meat
Also run CAT6 instead of 5, it's not much more expensive.

FatCow
Apr 22, 2002
I MAP THE FUCK OUT OF PEOPLE

Wrar posted:

Also run CAT6 instead of 5, it's not much more expensive.

Use 6a or 7. That gives you 10Gbase-T up to 100M. 5e and 6 both give 100 meters for gigabit and something abysmal like 10 meters for 10Gig.

revmoo
May 25, 2006

#basta
100 meters is like 300 feet.

I have regular cat5 run to my garage out back and I have no issues with the gigabit switch back there. 10gig is hundreds/thousands of dollars even now.

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FuzzKill
Apr 1, 2005

Snuff the punk.
The cameras are all IP based so I just have a gigabit switch here and a gigabit switch there. I'm probably going to push the cable through as I go. 1/2" is fine for 1 wire. I forget if it's 5e or 6 but it's not for anything over 1Gb anyway.

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