[MHElectric]

I have a customer that is turning a shed into a small metal/machine shop. Existing lighting is old T12, I was planning on throwing several T8's up and calling it a day, but the customer is very "concerned" about needing a special type of light for his work... When I asked what type of light he was interested in installing, it was clear he wasn't really sure other than he would need spot lights at the work benches. Figures...

I am always up for trying out new products, and I'd like to sell a nice little Led lighting job. This may or may not be the right light for the job, but im open to any suggestions. Personally I think I could use 15 strip lights and a handful of small spot lights, and give this guy a great looking work shop, but its not what he wants, so Led was my next thought.

Any suggestions or ideas here? The work shop is probably a 25 x 25 block building, and the customer will be having lathes, a furnace, welders, and some machinery in here. Spot lights will be for the work benches.

 

[ponyboy]

I would do general lighting like you would normally do and then put up task specific lighting where they need it. I've done a lot of work in fab shops and one thing I can tell you is that you can't really know the best way to light them up until they get in there and set their machines up, each one will have an ideal lighting setup. The second thing I can tell you is you're never gonna please them all, operators aren't happy if they're not bitching

 

[farlsincharge]

Machine shops get dirty, something sealed with a lens is great if they are willing to pay for it.
Otherwise cleaning the reflectors every 6 months is necessary to maintain any kind of light output.

How high is the ceiling?

 

[papaotis]

this is a small shop, however, even the the small shops have a tendancy to change things soon after they move in. do general lighting as you proposed and set the stage for changes and add-ons, specially where they seem to be likely:thumbup:

 

[BBQ]

I would overdo it with T8s, I would make that place very bright and have multiple rows to cancel shadows.

My garage is only 12x20 or so and I have 24 T8 lamps in it.

 

[mertabird]

Yes... if visibility is what they are concerned about... I would just lumen that place up.... 100, 150, 200 lumens a square foot if you like...

 

[MHElectric]

How high is the ceiling?

Open rafters, maybe 9 or 10 ft. Not very high.

I would overdo it with T8s, I would make that place very bright and have multiple rows to cancel shadows.

My garage is only 12x20 or so and I have 24 T8 lamps in it.

+1. I am positive I could do a grand slam job with a bunch of T8's, I tried pretty hard to sell him on it. He didn't want to budge for some reason, said it wasn't the right kind of light. This is what lead me to start asking about what was out on the market with LED that could get this job done.

 

[99cents]

It's a shot in the dark but, if he is dead set against fluorescent, you could take a look at LED parking garage luminaires, something with very wide distribution. They're going to cost some money, though, and once you order them, they're yours.

 

[Bootss]

Can you sell him some machine hook ups, how does is service look, enough capacity for all the new machines? As far as the lights go he doesn't have much choice unless you want to spend a ton of money on LED. If you hook up his machines can you get kind of a light as you go scenario?

 

[dspiffy]

I have a 30x30 workshop with a 12' ceiling . . . it was all done in T12, before T8's were a thing. I think there's about 20 8' T12s, with an additional 4' shoplight over each workbench. It's more light than I could hope for an no shadows.

I cant think of anything you could suggest to this guy that will work better than T8s.

 

[sbrn33]

Except T5's

 

[wcord]

Except T5's

I disagree.
Use 8 foot tandem F54HO T5s with 5000 lamps.
Depending on the area, you may even be able to get a rebate.

 

[ponyboy]

I disagree. Use 8 foot tandem F54HO T5s with 5000 lamps. Depending on the area, you may even be able to get a rebate.

5000? Yuck. 41s maybe

 

[BBQ]

T5s suck, they cost more and I find the ballast even less reliable than T8s

 

[macmikeman]

I think you should put up a neon sign out front that says HERO.

USA needs machine shops, most of them sold all the equipment to Chinese and they packed it all up and shipped it to Shanghai.

 

[dspiffy]

My own experiences with T5s and LEDs have been overpriced and unreliable.

I see installations of them elsewhere and think, "wow those really work/look great".

 

[BBQ]

My own experiences with T5s and LEDs have been overpriced and unreliable.

I see installations of them elsewhere and think, "wow those really work/look great".

In the past couple of months I have helped install a couple thousand LEDs and I feel the same way.

But ... they sure look good in a concert lighting rig.

 

[dspiffy]

I was shocked when they first came out with LED PAR cans bright enough to replace the generic 500w ones . . .

 

[ElectricZombie]

Hmmm Are you sure it's going to be a machine shop? Maybe suggest 1000w HPS lol!!!

 

[MHElectric]

Hmmm Are you sure it's going to be a machine shop? Maybe suggest 1000w HPS lol!!!

More like a metal/fabrication shop. I think I labeled this thread wrong. :jester:

Met with the customer tonite, he's really wanting LED. Looks like ive got some homework to do....