bones1 said:
Thanks Patrick g for the input.I was thinking about 8 ft tubes as well.What HO bulbs are they?.T8 or T 12?.
OOPS, What can I say?????? Sorry, I got it wrong. I have so darned many lights and apparently such a poor memory...
The light fixtures in the garage/shop/tractor shed are all TWIN (side by side) 8 footers. They are all T-8. The garage is 24x36 (3 each 12 ft bays) there are two of the twin fixtures (one each) mounted above the "border" between adjacent bays. This does not light up like an operating theater but it is more than adequate. IN the picture yo can see the top of the center garage door which is 14 ft tall. This gives a good estimate of fixture height.
The tractor shed is attached to the side of and is part of the garage/shop/tractor shed complex (an extension of the house but turned 45 degrees off the long axis.) The tractor shed is 48x21 with a 3:12 pitch shed roof. There are 4 each 12 ft bays, each has one twin 8 ft fixture centered in the bay mounted to the "cathedral ceiling" so they are tilted at the 3:12 pitch. Again, not operating theater bright but just fine as I didn't expect to do much fine work in the shed at night just like my expectations for the garage (which has built in lights in the door openers which exceed the minimum lighting for safety of navigation.)
The garage lights are up about 14-15 ft mounted horizontal(peak of ceiling is at 30 ft), the shed lights run from about 10 ft to 12 ft (3:12 slope), and the shop lights are currently on the 10ft ceiling but will be dropped 8-12 inches to be below dust collection ducts when installed.
The shop has three strings of twin fixtures, two per string. That gives 12 tubes to the 24x36 ft shop. Each string is separately switched. The center string is on multi-way switches such that you can turn the center string off or on from any of the 5 separate doors to the shop.
In the shop with all of the strings powered up it is darned near operating theater intensity which is good for detailed work. Although I have some task lighting (built in lights on drill presses,) goose neck for bench grinder, twin 4 ft in shop light over a bench, only the drill press lights are used much since the lighting is so good. I may eventually want some task lighting when I get the layout figured better.
Will hold off on lighting changes (except for lowering lights for duct work) till after I close in the 21x48 ft shed. I have declared the tractor shed too small and will enclose the current open 48 ft low side (one 12 foot bay will be a door and the other three will be come walls with windows.) The 21x48 tractor shed will become an annex to my workshop and I will build a pole barn fairly near the garage to park tractor, implements, trailers, sticker rough sawn lumber, and on and on. I will then reassess the lighting in the ex shed.
Hope this clarifies my goof and is helpful. I'd give light readings at bench height but haven't got access to light meter just now.
Pat
