A New Door Opener

[PegLeg45]

Wonder if the outlets are rated high enough to run a 4 ft fluorescent fixture on each side. The older I get the brighter I like things???

You can get 4' LED's now.
Bright, less current draw, less heat, and no ballast to go bad.

[billt]

Wonder if the outlets are rated high enough to run a 4 ft fluorescent fixture on each side. The older I get the brighter I like things???

I think 4' fluorescent tubes are rated at 40 watts each. Perhaps less now with everything and everyone so energy conscious. If you used 2 doubles you would be pulling 160 watts with 4 tubes. I think you would be OK. I'm sure there are a lot of these things in garages running 2, 100 watt bulbs.

Remember that most of the time these things are only on for a couple of minutes, while the door raises and lowers. Then they turn off automatically. That short of a cycle time knocks the hell out of fluorescent lights and ballasts over time. Especially in cold weather.

[PegLeg45]

The thing with fluorescent lights is if they still use a ballast, they diminish in longevity if turned on/off frequently and are susceptible to temperature changes (hard to start in colder climates).

[Bidah]

If you put in the 4' LED tubes in them that is fine.  They are bright as all get out, and instant on.  I put them in my kitchen light fixture as a test (I live off-grid, everything helps). They are 2x brighter than the fluorescent tubes!!  I liked them so much I replaced the two fixtures in the garage as well, now no more problems at 20 below!!  Those bulbs are moving with me too!!

I really like that idea with relocation of the bulbs.

[TAB]

If you put in the 4' LED tubes in them that is fine.  They are bright as all get out, and instant on.  I put them in my kitchen light fixture as a test (I live off-grid, everything helps). They are 2x brighter than the fluorescent tubes!!  I liked them so much I replaced the two fixtures in the garage as well, now no more problems at 20 below!!  Those bulbs are moving with me too!!

I really like that idea with relocation of the bulbs.

the led conversion tubes are a bad deal.  1 there are 2 kinds.   1 require the ballest too work, thr other requires line voltqge.  Either way sucks for this application. Better just to buy the led fixure.  Cheaper too as they can be had for about $40

[Sponsor]

[alfsauve]

My sockets with a short cord on them were the cheapest solution.  Plus I can put in either incandescent, fluorescent or LED bulbs.

[Jim Kennedy-ar154me]

the led conversion tubes are a bad deal.  1 there are 2 kinds.   1 require the ballest too work, thr other requires line voltqge.  Either way sucks for this application. Better just to buy the led fixure.  Cheaper too as they can be had for about $40

Thanks. I'll have to look in to that. Looks like brighter days ahead!

[billt]

I have a double 40 watt fluorescent in my kitchen. I would change it out to LED but there are too many wires. And electricity and I don't get along too well. A 110 volt outdoor light fixture I can handle.

[billt]

In my new opener I put in 2, 100 watt equivalent CFL bulbs. I think they actually draw only 18 watts each. They are quite bright. I also have a double  4 foot 40 watt fluorescent mounted on the ceiling. It was the fixture the builder put in the kitchen. I bought a nicer one for the kitchen, and put the crappy builder grade one in the garage. It replaced the crappy porcelain naked incandescent 60 watt bulb fixture that came with the house.

The thing is I did all of that 20 years ago. I forgot how I did it. There are a ton of wires in a fluorescent fixture with the ballast and all. But IIRC, there are only 2, (white and black), going out the back of it. Anyway, my garage is pretty bright with all 3 lights on. The new opener has a motion sensor that turns the lights on as you walk in. It also has a button on the wall mounted opener for just turning on the lights without opening the door. They'll stay on until you switch them off.   

[PegLeg45]

Bill, it ain't too bad if you remember to turn off the breaker first. 

I've worked on everything between 4v DC to 480v AC and as long as you respect the 'lectricity, it's pretty easy to diy most things.

In residential wiring, black is hot and feeds from the breaker, white is neutral, and green/bare is ground.

All the extra wires in a flourescent light fixture stay in the fixture and need not be fooled with. Just disconnect the black, white and ground (either green or bare copper).
The new light uses the same color wires (or should).

One thing I have noticed about LED lights in general is that it is a "cleaner" light. It has the same or brighter light emission but without the fuzzy glare. The city near me has been swapping out street lights for LEDs and I noticed there isn't that haze around them at night, they are just clearer. I noticed the same thing with the outdoor lights my son just installed on one end of his house.
Last night I swapped the CFL bulb on my porch to a 60w LED (4 for $6 at wallymart) and it is much brighter.