Ever since I built my shop, I've suffered with fluorescent lights which, I swear, must have been built by Lucas - they have 3 phases...dim, flicker, and off.
I got tired of it, as holding a flashlight in my teeth gets tiring, and it's hard to do quality work in the dark. It appears that, as we get older, our vision isn't as good as it once was. I have better than 20/20 vision (thanks to laser eye surgery 12 years ago), but dim lighting is still a challenge.
Then, I came across these LED replacements for fluorescent tubes:
https://www.amazon.ca/Equivalent-Single-Ended-Lighting-UL-Listed-DLC-Qualified/dp/B00W1DC2F0/ref=cm_rdp_productAs I have 6, 2-tube fixtures, I bought 2 boxes (so, 12 tubes total). I finished the installation today, and wow, is my shop bright now!!! They're frosted, so the diffusers are no longer required. It took a bit of modification to the fixtures (the tombstones needed to be disassembled & new holes drilled for extra wires), but in the end it was really easy. I love that they're instantly at full power...unlike the fluorescents, which took a couple of hours in winter temperatures to come all the way up to "dim".
While I was at it, I decided to do something about the (complete) lack of heat. I found one of these at my local Princess Auto (the rough Canadian equivalent of Harbor Freight):
https://www.amazon.ca/NewAir-G80-Electric-Garage-Heater/dp/B00NAY109SIt was fun trying to install it, as it's strictly 240V AC (21 amps), and my shop electrical panel is full. It occurred to me that, as I already have a 50amp 240V outlet for my welder, I could use that for the heater when I'm not welding (which is most of the time). I decided to use standard 10/3 wire from the heater to a heavy duty wall switch, and 10/3 "cab tire" cable from the switch box to the welder outlet. That way, I can unplug it when I need to weld, and the rest of the time it's available at the flick of a switch.
On the downside, my shop is neither insulated nor drywalled (just open studs & trusses), so it's a challenge for the heater...particularly as we're experiencing an unusual (unprecedented?) cold snap. Here in the Pacific Northwest, days below freezing are rather rare. Except for a few days of just above freezing with heavy sideways rain, it's been well below freezing here for a full 6 weeks (it was -7*C in my shop this morning). I left the new heater on for an hour before going out to the shop this morning, but it didn't warm up much. After running my diesel torpedo heater for 10 minutes, though, it was nice & comfortable, and the heater more or less kept it there, gradually losing some ground to the intense cold.
Anyway, I can heartily recommend the LED upgrade to your fluorescent fixtures. You get a LOT more light, in a natural white color, with much reduced running costs & a quantum improvement in lifespan (claimed lifespan of 36,000 hours' burn time).
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Scratch building, at continental-drift speed, a custom McSoreley-design framed, dual-Weber 45DCOE carburated, Zetec-engined, ridiculously fast money pit.
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