Light Fixture question

[Danny Prosser]

Good day my friends. My tractor/work shop is 24' deep and 36' wide. I've got a bunch of 4' 4 tube fluorescent fixtures and bulbs. The small diameter ones not the big ones. I'm not sure what you call them. Anyway how many would you put up and how would you arrange them? I'd appreciate any and all ideas and help. Also I was just going to wire half of them together to a switch for each side. They were free I got them out of a dumpster where they were remodeling a strip mall and they weren't old at all drop in ceiling type but I'll just hang them from a rafter. Thanks friends.

 

[Janicholson]

Good day my friends. My tractor/work shop is 24' deep and 36' wide. I've got a bunch of 4' 4 tube fluorescent fixtures and bulbs. The small diameter ones not the big ones. I'm not sure what you call them. Anyway how many would you put up and how would you arrange them? I'd appreciate any and all ideas and help. Also I was just going to wire half of them together to a switch for each side. They were free I got them out of a dumpster where they were remodeling a strip mall and they weren't old at all drop in ceiling type but I'll just hang them from a rafter. Thanks friends.

Using the original Florescent tubes I would put them in 4 rows and end to end spaced so as to use them all up, or put each row no more than 6 feet apart. If you use LED replacement bulbs, they will have 2X the light and take .25 the electricity. Jim

 

[JMOR]

Good day my friends. My tractor/work shop is 24' deep and 36' wide. I've got a bunch of 4' 4 tube fluorescent fixtures and bulbs. The small diameter ones not the big ones. I'm not sure what you call them. Anyway how many would you put up and how would you arrange them? I'd appreciate any and all ideas and help. Also I was just going to wire half of them together to a switch for each side. They were free I got them out of a dumpster where they were remodeling a strip mall and they weren't old at all drop in ceiling type but I'll just hang them from a rafter. Thanks friends.

Myself, I would hang one up and look at light distribution and let that be my guide to spacing.

 

[moresmoke]

My shop is 20x40 with 12’ ceiling. I have 8 4’ 4 bulb T8 fixtures, similar to the OP, in 2 rows of 4. They are wired so I can have 2 bulbs on in each, or all 4. With all of them on, you about need sunglasses, but works very well to paint. Most of the time I just use half and am perfectly happy with them.

 

[jwal10]

I have 2 rows of 3 and 2 over the work bench at the front of one side, but mine are 4' LED 2 bulb units now. In a 24'x50'x14' shop bay. 12' apart but 15' from doors on both ends so not covered when door is up. 20'w fiberglass roll up doors at both ends. Plywood to 8', fiberglass roof panels above that on 1 gable end. Before I had 6-100w bulbs in the ceiling and 2 60w, 8' above the work bench on the wall. Farming I didn't use the shop much after dark but at my age I needed more light in daylight, especially when welding....James

 

[old-9]

How many you put up? All of them, the older you get the more light you need. Now as a retired electrician, my advice would be to hang them with fixture chain, I think #10 was what we used. On each corner of the fixture will be a hole or tab for the chain, you can use 4 chains or make a Y at each end and hang with 2 chains. If you use 4 you can angle / direct the light over the bench. Now how to wire them, I use cords and recepticles in the ceiling. That way you can move the fixtures as you need them and take them down to work on and clean them. Questions just ask me . joe

 

[stevieb49829]

Just an FYI: My electrical inspector said that if the lights plug into a ceiling outlet, they have to be on a GFCI circuit. Even 11 feet off the floor. So I hardwired them into the ceiling boxes. Mine are LED UFO's so I won't be much help on spacing. steve

 

[MarkB_MI]

In my 30x40 shop I have two rows of eight foot T8 fixtures. Each row has three fixtures. So four 4' bulbs per fixture, 12 bulbs per row, 24 bulbs total. That's a density of 24 bulbs / 1200 sq ft = one bulb for each 50 sq ft. So you would need about 18 bulbs (9 fixtures) to get similar light. I'm fairly happy with the light in my shop, although more is always better.

I recommend installing the lights fairly close to the walls, since that's typically where you need the most light. If you put them along the 36 foot walls I'd put them no further than 8 feet from the wall.

 

[Danny Prosser]

Thanks everybody!

 

[RJKeith]

Need height of the shop and the exact manufacture/model of the fixture to do an accurate calculation. But a quick calc says 12 will be good. If the walls are really dark use 15.

 

[Blackhole49]

Good day my friends. My tractor/work shop is 24' deep and 36' wide. I've got a bunch of 4' 4 tube fluorescent fixtures and bulbs. The small diameter ones not the big ones. I'm not sure what you call them. Anyway how many would you put up and how would you arrange them? I'd appreciate any and all ideas and help. Also I was just going to wire half of them together to a switch for each side. They were free I got them out of a dumpster where they were remodeling a strip mall and they weren't old at all drop in ceiling type but I'll just hang them from a rafter. Thanks friends.

This is how I set up my 4' flo. (since changed to 4' LED) in my 24'x40'x9' shop. Four down each side and 3 across the front. The rear has a 6' shelf 5' off the floor, hence, no fixtures across the rear. Plenty of light.

 

[ihplowboy]

Good day my friends. My tractor/work shop is 24' deep and 36' wide. I've got a bunch of 4' 4 tube fluorescent fixtures and bulbs. The small diameter ones not the big ones. I'm not sure what you call them. Anyway how many would you put up and how would you arrange them? I'd appreciate any and all ideas and help. Also I was just going to wire half of them together to a switch for each side. They were free I got them out of a dumpster where they were remodeling a strip mall and they weren't old at all drop in ceiling type but I'll just hang them from a rafter. Thanks friends.

Check that each one works before you put it up.

 

[ss55]

Good day my friends. My tractor/work shop is 24' deep and 36' wide. I've got a bunch of 4' 4 tube fluorescent fixtures and bulbs. The small diameter ones not the big ones. I'm not sure what you call them. Anyway how many would you put up and how would you arrange them? I'd appreciate any and all ideas and help. Also I was just going to wire half of them together to a switch for each side. They were free I got them out of a dumpster where they were remodeling a strip mall and they weren't old at all drop in ceiling type but I'll just hang them from a rafter. Thanks friends.

You did not say how many fixtures you have or how many of those actually work. I would test all the fixtures and bulbs to assemble some sets that work, throw the rest back in the dumpster. Check into the cost of replacement bulbs before you start hanging any fixtures, replacing the whole set of used bulbs might cost more than buying new LED fixtures. Some florescent lights do not start or stay dim in below freezing temperatures. I have all LED lights in the shop now and do not miss the hassles of florescent lights.