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Great hangar lighting for only 1.8 RV Units!

mcattell

Well Known Member
Like most of you who rent or lease your hanger, I also had terrible lighting in my hanger. I am at least lucky enough to have one 120v outlet and one light bulb socket on the ceiling. So for years I've had to get out the light stands and move them around the airplane to where I'm working. I finally had enough, but being a tenant it's frowned upon to start running conduits and taping into the hanger electrical system for permanent fixtures.

Then one day I was out at a construction site and saw something that gave me an idea. What I saw were construction light strings and figured I could adapt that to add lots of lights inside my hanger. I went on a search on the internet and found the best cost for a ten socket, 100 foot long light string was at Home Depot for $85. I had to order this on-line as they didn't stock these at the store, but at least the freight was free.

P1010047.jpg


With one of those on order I then went on a search for some really bright bulbs to put in those sockets. But I also didn't want the power draw to be so much that I'd pop the breaker every time I turned on the switch. What I found was some really big CFL bulbs. So I decided to go with the 65 watt (300 watt equivalent) bulbs. So with ten of them I get a total 3000 watts equivalent and only 650 watt total power draw.

P1010038.jpg
P1010037.jpg


In the photo there is a standard 100 watt bulb on the left, a 23 watt (100 watt equivalent) CFL bulb in the middle and 65 watt CFL on the right.

With some further research I found out that there was a big difference in the type of light from different CFL bulbs. There is a range in color temperature of 2500 Kelvin up to 6500K. The lower numbers are like warm soft white and the high numbers like bright daylight. I elected to go with 6500K temperature bulbs which were the brightest daylight bulbs I could find. You don't buy these large bright bulbs at Home Depot. I ended up ordering mine from a photo supply called Limo Studio in California for the cost of $9.50 each with free freight. The bulbs came packed well and made it to Oregon in UPS just fine. I've found these CFL bulbs up to 105 watt rating (400w eq.) but the cost was quite a bit more.

So here's the result after stringing the lights from the rafters and hanging the sockets from hooks on the bottom of the rafters. I located more sockets around the core of the airplane for better lighting where I needed it.

P1010042.jpg
P1010045.jpg


You'll see one bulb hanging low to the side of the hanger that appears much dimmer. That bulb is actually the same wattage but 2700K so you can see why you want the brightest rating. You probably also noticed that I didn't use the protection baskets that came with the light string. The bulbs are too big to fit in them and I don't plan on swinging sticks around the ceiling.

These bulbs start pretty bright and are at full brightness in a minute or so. They indicate a rating down to 14 degrees so they may not work too well in an unheated hanger in a Minnesota winter. When I took these photos my hanger was in the mid 30's.

I am quite happy with the results I got for only a $180 investment (1.8 RV Units!). This is probably a fraction of the cost for a bunch of florescent tube fixtures and much easier to install. I'm looking forward to having decent lighting in my hanger for a change. Maybe someday I'll fabricate some aluminum reflectors to direct even more light down.

And yes, that's an approved aircraft tug behind my RV so I'm sure it complies with the terms of the lease for only aircraft related storage in the hanger!
 
That new lighting looks like a great idea! I've got a mish-mash of 4 ft and 8 ft flourescent fixtures lighting my hangar, and I was just thinking about adding two more 8 ft fixtures to get some more light in the corners.
 
Hanger lights

Thanks, That is great info. Over time do you feel the softer temp light would be better on your eyes?
 
and by the way...

Your paint job looks really good, very close to what I'm looking for. Do you mind if I steal you're design?
 
Thanks, I am on it for my hangar! I own it but don't spend much night time there, but still wanted some sort of lighting, this looks like just the right thing for me.
 
Aircraft Tug

Mark

Nice Tug. It looks like the 1949 Farmall H my father restored a couple of years ago....

Rich
 
I thought 1RV unit = 1 aviation unit = $1000.

If that is the case, this is .18 RV units. chump change.
 
Lights

That new lighting looks like a great idea! I've got a mish-mash of 4 ft and 8 ft flourescent fixtures lighting my hangar, and I was just thinking about adding two more 8 ft fixtures to get some more light in the corners.

I discovered T8 fluorescents from Home Depot($80). They replaced some 220 volt free driving range lights I installed when I built my hangar. Great light and I see a big improvement on my electric bill. I wired receptacles in the ceiling so I could add subtract and move the lights.
Terry
 
Don't try that if your hangar is subject to the NEC code and gets inspected.

Lights over an aircraft must be designed so no frangible bits can fall on the plane.

Lighting fixtures apparently are part of the lawsuit over a bad hangar fire on our airpark over a year ago...
 
Looks great

Mark,

Nice lighting, and even nicer plane... I may have to "borrow" that paint scheme some day :D

Did you say you were getting a new front wheel bearing? Did that make a difference?

Thanks,

Tom
 
Great tip! I have been experimenting with T5 lights in my home shop. They are great, but I have 2/3 of your cost in only one fixture and bulbs.

-
 
Don't try that if your hangar is subject to the NEC code and gets inspected.

Lights over an aircraft must be designed so no frangible bits can fall on the plane.

Lighting fixtures apparently are part of the lawsuit over a bad hangar fire on our airpark over a year ago...

I just moved into a new hangar at my airport with (1) dogdish light fixture over my airplane with (1) 250W unprotected bulb. Hanger was built with Airport Improvement Funds and inspected by the state.
 
Great idea, Mark. Thanks. How much extra cord is there before the first light on the string? Do you have to use an extension cord or does the existing cord reach from the ceiling down to a wall outlet?
 
NEC

Mark:
I think you are fine in regards to the NEC (national electrical code) that was mentioned as long as you stay out of the 5 foot veil defined by Article 513.(c)(1). Simply put it says stay away 5 foot both horizontaly and verticaly from "fuel storge tanks in the wings and the engine enclosure."

Article 513.7(b) allows for pendants as an approved method as long as it is "suitable for the type of service and is identified for hard usage" and "has a sperate ground". Being UL listed (home depot could't sell it if it wasn't) im sure it meets those last requirements.

cheers
doug
 
Sold Out

I just called an order in to Home Depot, they are sold out. They could not understand, they started today with 14 of them in stock, now none! Try again in three days they said.
 
Mark:
.....
Article 513.7(b) allows for pendants as an approved method as long as it is "suitable for the type of service and is identified for hard usage" and "has a sperate ground". Being UL listed (home depot could't sell it if it wasn't) im sure it meets those last requirements.

cheers
doug

Err... look at the picture in the original post - 14/2 wire - no ground involved anywhere.

It might be UL listed, but it sure ain't grounded...:)

-------------------------------------

This is the other section I remember -

C) Arcing Equipment. In locations above those described in
513.3, equipment that is less than 3.0 m (10 ft) above wings and
engine enclosures of aircraft and that may produce arcs, sparks, or
particles of hot metal, such as lamps and lampholders for fixed
lighting
, cutouts, switches, receptacles, charging panels,
generators, motors, or other equipment having make-and-break or
sliding contacts, shall be of the totally enclosed type or constructed
so as to prevent the escape of sparks or hot metal particles.
 
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300W equivalent

Could even change a couple over the cockpit to 300W equivalent for about 65W.
 
Here are some answers to questions.

Yes, you are correct Gill, no grounding. The plug on these lights is a two prong polarized plug. But on the other hand, there is not any exposed metal that you can touch unless you stick your finger in a socket. And in my case every hanger has power fed tyhrough its own GFI plug. So even if you did stick your finger in the socket you should be okay. I'm no authority, but perhaps there is an exception in the code regarding what you can plug into a GFI outlet.

I understand the fire concern but I don't intend on leaving them on unattended. And I wouldn't be concerned if I forgot to turn them off. I would be more concerned with the floor mounted Halogen light stands with grounded plugs that run so hot. Keep in mind that these big CFL's run very cool. You can actually grab and unscrew one when it's on without burning yourself. You won't want to hold it long but within a minute it's completely cool. If one exploded over the airplane and came raining down I very much doubt if there would be any parts hot enough to ignite anything on fire.

I actually replaced the existing light socket in the ceiling with a grounded electrical plug so I could turn it on and off with the wall switch. And yes, that probably should have been done by a licensed electrician. I wired my last house from scratch so I felt qualified at the time.

There is about a 10 foot pigtail cord on past the last light socket.

And yes, I love the new wheel bearings I got from Allen. Less shimmy on rollout after landing or taxi.

There are several similar paint schemes like my airplane but feel free to use. A big note of caution if you plan to paint a scheme like this yourself; don't do it! It takes forever to apply four different colors to an airplane. Especially if you use base/clear. Three months for me with about every night and weekend. Next plane goes to the paint shop!

The winner of the name the tractor contest is Dave. It is a 1954 Farmall Super M/TA. The MT/A's were only made that year. It was one of my Dad's tractors that I brought out from Iowa and restored. Good practice before starting RV project but takes larger wrenches and bigger hammers.

Mark
 
Also, in response the question about a softer temperature bulb, I would really only suggest the 6500K. It's hard to tell in the photo, but the 2700K bulb hanging low over my work table is really a yellow, dull light. From what I've read the higher K daylight bulbs are intended for reading and workshops. In the hanger they are high overhead so you're not looking right into them. Yes, you will see spots if you look directly at them for too long.

Mark
 
I just finished my shop lighting and considered the multiple compact fluorescent option versus 4 or 8 foot fluorescent fixtures. My conclusions were different. If you calculate the light distribution of multiple lights using professional software, such as Visual Basic (free download), you will get more even distribution of light with the long T8 fluorescent fixtures. This is particularly true if your ceiling height is 10 feet or less. I used 4 of the 8 foot fixtures in my 25 X 25 shop with 10 foot ceilings. Also, I installed switches on each fixture with drop down strings so I can turn off lights I don't need and save electricity.

Concerning color temp of lights, I did some research that convinced me to go with warmer temp bulbs. I initially bought the 6500K bulbs with 82 CRI index. They seemed uncomfortable to the eyes after short periods of work. I then stumbled upon the reason. There is a graph called the Kruithof Curve that shows that there is a relationship between color temp and luminance that affects how "pleasing" the light is to the eye. Basically the higher the color temp of the bulb that is used, the higher lumens you need for the resultant light to be pleasing to the eye. So I would need to burn more electricity with more fixtures of the 6500K lights to acheive the same comfort level as a 3600K system of less overall luminance. Here a link to this graph and explanation. Keep in mind that the vertical axis for luminance is log scale.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kruithof_curve
 
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Wow, that's some intense reading. Very interesting and educational though. I took a little less scientific approach and used this chart.

BulbTemps.jpg


I agree that the 6500K bulbs are very bright and may not be what you want in a nice hanger that you're going to hang out at for long periods of time. In my case I don't spend much time there unless I'm actually working on the airplane. Plus I lose a lot of light up in the dark rafters and the bulbs are up pretty high. I think I need that extra punch to get down to the floor. I probably wouldn't put this bright of bulb in my shop at home that's sheet rocked, painted white and has 9 foot ceilings. That's where I built my RV and have a similar arrangement to what you mentioned with tubes.

Mark
 
If one exploded over the airplane and came raining down I very much doubt if there would be any parts hot enough to ignite anything on fire.

I think bulb explosion would be pretty rare, but you should take care with any broken CFL bulb. Many people do not realize that a broken CFL is a toxic spill, warranting specific clean-up procedures.

http://epa.gov/cfl/cflcleanup-detailed.html

No comment on the demise of the incandescent.
 
Thanks for sharing. Always interesting to follow along on someone's journey to problem solving something. I especially like the 'VAF Effect' that transpired on the Homedepot. Kind of reminds me of the slashdot effect where if that news gathering website made mention of some other site it would sometimes cripple the site that got the spot light.

It's the geek in me that causes me to spend way too much time analyzing stuff like this.

Dont worry, you're in good company around here I think :D
 
Despite all the good sense offered, I want my hangar to look exactly like the photo, blindingly bright! I never knew there were so many high wattage CFL bulbs out there until I started shopping for them.
For my hangar I am going to drop the fixture down on a wire to get closer to where I work, and will be looking for reflectors to add so the light gets down to the ground. (Where is gravity when you really need it?)
 
Our standard practice in hangars\shops of 14' or less is 4' linear T8, 3500K triphosphor lamps, designed to roughly 50 fc maintained. The fixture type depends on the owners needs, cheaper open strips going on up to more expensive sealed and gasketed industrials.
If this is hangar only applications, we design to much lower fc, something like 20 or less sometimes, and frankly, who cares much about the lights if all you are doing is moving an airplane around occasionally.

In regard to CFL's in general, but the self ballasted specifically, they are really poor sources.
What you most likely will find in the CFL's approach is dramatic color shift over time, relatively rapid lumen depriciation, and relatively poor efficiency in the overall system.
These lamps are inexpensive for a reason. While phosphor is expensive, they are putting a minimal amount and grade in them. You get the shift in color as the phosphor degrades and these types of lamps dont have a lot of phosphor to start with. They also typicall perform in a very narrow spectrum. You might check the color rendering index of these lamps, but you will probably find it is 70 or less. We like to see a CRI of 85 or better.
CFL's tend to be very electrically dirty. They typically use cheap hybrid electronic ballast without a lot of filtering.
Premature failures are also common. They may very well last a lifetime depending on how you use them, but my guess and experience is that they will start to become a nuisance at some point.
From a code or UL standpoint, check the UL listing to make sure these are indeed listed for what you are doing, a permanent install. Regardless, I believe you will find you can not run flexible cable horizontally unless code allows it and then it will qualify the type of cable, like romex or mc. Type SO cord is not allowed to run horizontal with a few exceptions.
My guess is the UL listing for this product would be for a temporary light string, extension cord, or some other specific listing other than a lighting fixture, but I could be wrong.
I will do a little research here.
 
Ok, Temporary Light Strings are listed under UL1088. NEC dictates that these lights are to be used during construction, maintenance, repair, remodel, etc... of your building. They may be used for decorative purposes for up to 90 days.
So, they do not allow these to be installed in a hangar or other building as a permanent lighting system. Use at your own risk.

By the way, there is a very good chance that using a self ballasted CFL in this string violates the UL listing as well. sorry....
 
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Ya, what JonJay said. He helped me design my lighting system and I came to respect his knowledge through the whole process. I learned that optimal lighting is a product of finely tuned science and warrants some serious consideration since we spend so much time in the shop and/or hangar.
 
Fire marshal walk through

I have a condo hangar at KAWO and the fire marshall does a walk-through inspection of each hangar once a year.

As long as you know what day that walk through is, you are OK!

This is getting way over thought. If you start looking for code violations and fire issues, the entire hangar is wood with no drywall or other fire stop material. The attic truss area is open to the roof sheathing. Using UL approved lights hanging from the trusses would be the least of the issues here. The lights shown are used all the time for construction. We used those exact lights building the Viceroy Hotel in Snowmass and Residences at Little Nell in Aspen. Both projects took over 2 years. I still have a couple strings in storage somewhere. They worked great.

In real life, if a fire gets started in a hangar, unless there are sprinklers, everything is toast. There is no more chance of those lights causing a fire than a lamp in your house - probably less because they can't tip over.
 
Err... look at the picture in the original post - 14/2 wire - no ground involved anywhere.

It might be UL listed, but it sure ain't grounded...:)

-------------------------------------

This is the other section I remember -

C) Arcing Equipment. In locations above those described in
513.3, equipment that is less than 3.0 m (10 ft) above wings and
engine enclosures of aircraft and that may produce arcs, sparks, or
particles of hot metal, such as lamps and lampholders for fixed
lighting
, cutouts, switches, receptacles, charging panels,
generators, motors, or other equipment having make-and-break or
sliding contacts, shall be of the totally enclosed type or constructed
so as to prevent the escape of sparks or hot metal particles.

Good catch Gill!!! Busted.... Illegal. Don't let any fire marshalls or electrical inspectors in.

doug
In case anyone is interested in this issue.

I went to the Home Depot website to look for this light string. I found the very string mentioned but I also found another 5 light string that looked much more electrically substantial. Click on this link to see the comparison:
5-light and 10-light string comparison

I purchased the 5 string set that has a ground and from the specs looks much more substantial in construction. I will see how it looks in a day or two when it is delivered.
 
As long as you know what day that walk through is, you are OK!

This is getting way over thought. If you start looking for code violations and fire issues, the entire hangar is wood with no drywall or other fire stop material. The attic truss area is open to the roof sheathing. Using UL approved lights hanging from the trusses would be the least of the issues here. The lights shown are used all the time for construction. We used those exact lights building the Viceroy Hotel in Snowmass and Residences at Little Nell in Aspen. Both projects took over 2 years. I still have a couple strings in storage somewhere. They worked great.

In real life, if a fire gets started in a hangar, unless there are sprinklers, everything is toast. There is no more chance of those lights causing a fire than a lamp in your house - probably less because they can't tip over.

I agree the risk is minimal, but people should be made aware of that risk. It is important in a public forum to make sure people know the facts when products are recommended or ideas are being thrown out. No offense to the original poster.
The risk here is that "if" these lights did cause a fire, your insurance company might not pay, you might get sued if you cause harm to anothers property, or worse. I choose not to use products in applications they where not intended to be used. If you or others choose otherwise, that is just fine by me, but people need to make an educated choice.
I don't think that is making too much of this.
 
Foot-Candles

Our standard practice in hangars\shops of 14' or less is 4' linear T8, 3500K triphosphor lamps, designed to roughly 50 fc maintained. The fixture type depends on the owners needs, cheaper open strips going on up to more expensive sealed and gasketed industrials.
If this is hangar only applications, we design to much lower fc, something like 20 or less sometimes, and frankly, who cares much about the lights if all you are doing is moving an airplane around occasionally.
.....

I have used the same spec of 50 to 100 fc for RV assembly, but try to design for the higher end of 100 fc at a working height of 3 ft - easy to do with the Visual software.

As we get older, more light is better, so add a few more fixtures and get 100 fc to make your eyes a little happier...:)

If you are doing the installation yourself using 8 ft fixtures gives less electrical connections and may even work out to be a bit cheaper.
 
I have used the same spec of 50 to 100 fc for RV assembly, but try to design for the higher end of 100 fc at a working height of 3 ft - easy to do with the Visual software.

As we get older, more light is better, so add a few more fixtures and get 100 fc to make your eyes a little happier...:)

If you are doing the installation yourself using 8 ft fixtures gives less electrical connections and may even work out to be a bit cheaper.

Yes, 8' fixtures, but 4' lamps. I have even done some continuous rows. Fixture selection is very job and owner specific.
100 fc over a work bench, great, through the whole shop, overkill. To keep the energy usage down, I would suggest putting a dedicated work light over your work bench or areas where you perfomr fine tasks.
Footcandle level recommendations from the IES (Illuminating Engineers Society) continue to come down as the quality of lighting goes up. "See-ability", the ability for us to see is much better when the quality of the lighting is much better, like higher CRI lamps, lower glare fixtures, less point sources being used, like the older Metal Halides, and the introduction of higher lighting angles in our general illumination. All these are helping to increase the quality of our lighting.
Your are absolutely correct in that the older we get the more light we need. There is an entire dedicated science on lighting and the aging eye. Again, I feel you are better served with dedicated task lighting where you need it for fine tasks.

Visual software has been mentioned here. This software was developed many years ago for Lithonia Lighting. My company has represented Lithonia Lighting for over 50 years in Oregon and SW Washington. We use Visual on a daily basis, although our version is the Pro version, which is not free. However, for simple hangar/shop applications, the free Visual is more than adequate. Just remember, as good as the software is, garbage in, garbage out. You still need to understand reflectances, ballast factors, dirt and lamp deprectiation, etc.... or your end result may not be what the computer spit out.
 
Yes, 8' fixtures, but 4' lamps. I have even done some continuous rows. Fixture selection is very job and owner specific.
100 fc over a work bench, great, through the whole shop, overkill. To keep the energy usage down, I would suggest putting a dedicated work light over your work bench or areas where you perfomr fine tasks.
Footcandle level recommendations from the IES (Illuminating Engineers Society) continue to come down as the quality of lighting goes up. "See-ability", the ability for us to see is much better when the quality of the lighting is much better, like higher CRI lamps, lower glare fixtures, less point sources being used, like the older Metal Halides, and the introduction of higher lighting angles in our general illumination. All these are helping to increase the quality of our lighting.
Your are absolutely correct in that the older we get the more light we need. There is an entire dedicated science on lighting and the aging eye. Again, I feel you are better served with dedicated task lighting where you need it for fine tasks.

.

I think some of the reduced illumination levels is for energy savings rather than being able to see...:)

I do agree that extra light is needed over workbenches, etc. but I personally am much happier with the older (but new IES "Aircraft Inspection" category) level of 100 fc. My 18 x 25 x 10 high shop reaches 100 ft candles with less than 900 watts, which is less than 2.2 cents an hour - and I pay commercial AZ rates since I have a separate supply to my hangar.

This is $190 per year if I left the lights on 24/7, be good on your eyes, go a little higher in fc. rather than the bottom end of the spec.

However, there is an easy solution - use the 8 ft fixtures with 4 ft bulbs like you say and just switch every other bulb off for general use (50 fc) and all bulbs on when you are doing more delicate work (100 fc). It's a simple thing to do if you are setting up a new shop.

I do understand the lighting calcs, as a past IES member I was chief engineer for a light measuring instrument company...:)
 
My 18 x 25 x 10 high shop reaches 100 ft candles with less than 900 watts, which is less than 2.2 cents an hour - and I pay commercial AZ rates since I have a separate supply to my hangar.

This is $190 per year if I left the lights on 24/7, be good on your eyes, go a little higher in fc. rather than the bottom end of the spec.

That's less than 2 cents a kwh. Wow. I thought we where good at 8 cents.
I rarely light spaces that small, so by all means, light that sucker up.
People rarely complain about having too much light.
 
Ooops

That's less than 2 cents a kwh. Wow. I thought we where good at 8 cents.
I rarely light spaces that small, so by all means, light that sucker up.
People rarely complain about having too much light.

My mistake, I did read the bill, but not all of the lines...:)

It's $0.075 per KwHr, but still only $150 for a full year of 40 hr workweeks. I did split my lights into 2 circuits and in daytime just one circuit is usually OK.

I'm not sure if many builders have much bigger spaces to work in, so make it easy on your eyes...
 
Not one for originality, I copied the lighting suggested at the beginning of this thread long ago. Finally got them installed this morning, sure makes a quick and effective lighting solution for me.
2nc183r.jpg
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Ok, Temporary Light Strings are listed under UL1088. NEC dictates that these lights are to be used during construction, maintenance, repair, remodel, etc... of your building. They may be used for decorative purposes for up to 90 days.
Of course, if you hang them from open hooks on the rafters, and run the wires in similar, open, hooks, then the entire thing is temporary and can be pulled out at any time without tools. So nothing permanent here.

And of course they're there so you could do maintenance... :)
 
I used simple plastic tie wraps to hang mine, no contact with the metal trusses that way if they ever overheat or want to short out.
 
PVC floor lamp

Here's my PVC floor lamp. Since the hangar is not mine, I can't modify the lighting, so this works very well. It can be moved and positioned easily with one hand. And the owner, who graciously allows me to use his hangar at no charge, appreciates that I never turn on his sodium vapor lights.

The top rotates. The 4 lights can be positioned in any position which allows me to get very good light inside and outside the fuse without moving the fixture.

2ik9mox.jpg


This shows the threaded connection allowing rotation. It shows 1" pvc at the top, but the rest is made from I believe 1-1/4". Very stable. The lights have about 7' of clearance. Would make some minor changes if I had to do it over, but it does well as is.
ru4lxz.jpg
 
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