Jon, That was best money I’ve spent at the car wash in years. Those LED bulbs are super bright. I don’t think the was all that expensive considering the cost of the G & G LED lights from KR was about 2.5 times higher than just replacing the bulbs in my existing vapor tight fixtures.
Source for T5HO bulbs
- Thread starter Mel(NC)
- Start date
JMMUSTANG
car wash owner
Randy do you have any pictures before and after?
ToFarGone
Member
I switched all my s/s bays to led retrofits. I had all t12 HO fixtures and just took out the ballast and wired straight to the LED bulbs. It was easy and they look nice.
I got mine from http://www.creativelightings.com/
Sorry JMMUSTANG no pictures. I did take some pictures but they didn't turn out. About 18 months ago I re-lamped the H.O fluorescent lights. When I got the LED bulbs I installed a couple of the LED bulbs and there was no comparison, the LED looked a lot better than the fluorescent ever did. I've got one 105 watt fluorescent bulb left and it looks pretty punky when you look at the LED lights and then look at the 105 fluorescent.
soonermajic
Well-known member
I have vapor light bulbs in my SS & long fluorescent bulbs in my vacuum stations. My wash only does about $35k/year (3 SS / 1 IBA). Should I change mine out, or just replace the bulbs? If I change, what would you guys suggest? There is only 1 other Wash in my tiny town (2800 pop), & they have no automatic.
I don't understand all the abreviations or acronyms either. lol I just got into this a few mos ago, & this is the best site I have found...
I don't understand all the abreviations or acronyms either. lol I just got into this a few mos ago, & this is the best site I have found...
I changed out my fluorescent bulbs to LED's because I wanted to get more light in the bays and I wanted to cut my lighting power bill. I also got tired of changing out punked out fluorescent bulbs that would only last 12 - 18 months. I believe I ended up with about 45% more light in the bays and cut my lighting power bill by about 50%. I think the total cost of relighting the car wash was around $1250, which I didn't think was to bad.
soonermajic, what abreviations or acronyms is it you don't understand?
soonermajic, what abreviations or acronyms is it you don't understand?
MEP001
Well-known member
You might consider CFL bulbs (Compact fluorescents) in your mercury vapor bay fixtures. I'd recommend T8 fluorescent to replace your existing tubes, they're by far the least expensive option in hardware cost and operating expenses when you factor them together. I've been taking down 320W metal halide and replacing them with 128W T8 fluorescent fixtures, the light is almost as good and they're rated to last 30,000 hours. The oldest are several years old and there's no sign of light degradation at all.
soonermajic
Well-known member
T12-HO, is something I know nothing about. there was one other abbreviation/acronym, but I can't find it...
I just wanna get better lights, & not spend a fortune.
I just wanna get better lights, & not spend a fortune.
After installing the LED bulbs I’ll never go back to any fluorescent light bulb again. I’ve got one 105 watt fluorescent bulb left in a 175 MH fixture over the back door. When you look at it after you’ve looked at the LED lights it looks pretty pathetic. If you need new fixtures, here are some pretty good deals http://www.smartlightingsolutions.com/index.html
MEP001
Well-known member
T12-HO is the old-style high-output fluorescent tube. I replaced a T12-HO fixture over the changer with a 4-bulb T8 one, and even going from 220 watts to 128 watts there I still got more light.
You can get 2-bulb T8 fixtures for $20, and they're fine for outdoors as long as they aren't getting wet. I've been using these in the bays:
http://products.smartlightingsoluti...-bay-flourescent-light-fixtures-with-t8-lamp?
You can get 2-bulb T8 fixtures for $20, and they're fine for outdoors as long as they aren't getting wet. I've been using these in the bays:
http://products.smartlightingsoluti...-bay-flourescent-light-fixtures-with-t8-lamp?
[QUOTE=After installing the LED bulbs I’ll never go back to any fluorescent light bulb again.
I totally agree with Randy. I just replaced a bunch of 175W MH with the 42W Cree LED's From Mile High lighting solutions I picked up from the show and there is just no comparison. 3 year payback and a five year warranty. In a couple years I will replace the T5 ho's on motion in my bays with LED's. The light is just so much whiter and brighter.
I totally agree with Randy. I just replaced a bunch of 175W MH with the 42W Cree LED's From Mile High lighting solutions I picked up from the show and there is just no comparison. 3 year payback and a five year warranty. In a couple years I will replace the T5 ho's on motion in my bays with LED's. The light is just so much whiter and brighter.
soonermajic
Well-known member
MEP1001, Those are $200... NOT $20! Or maybe I'm looking at it wrong?
MEP001
Well-known member
The ones I linked are what I've been putting in the bays. They are fully enclosed, waterproof, 4-bulb fixtures. If your current fixtures in the vac stations are protected from rain, you could replace them with the plain unprotected two-bulb T8 fixtures for $20 apiece.
soonermajic
Well-known member
MEP, Why I can't see how those are not going to cost ,$200 each is beyond me. I can't figure how they're not...lol
Randy, so what is G & G, which lights are 2.5 times the Kleen-Rite price? If you're in fact, buying light 2.5x a such as these other regular lights, then how is that a bargain
Randy, so what is G & G, which lights are 2.5 times the Kleen-Rite price? If you're in fact, buying light 2.5x a such as these other regular lights, then how is that a bargain
soonermajic
Well-known member
MEPS, that's currently what I have. Should I switch to something else?
Kevin James
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Are you freaking kidding me!! That’s nothing more than an accident/lawsuit waiting to happen. You never want to use an open fluorescent fixture where the public can be exposed to broken falling glass. Under a vacuum island you should use a vapor tight type fixture. With an open type fluorescent fixture your increasing your risk of a lawsuit should something happened.
MEP001
Well-known member
I assume what you have in your vac stations now is the 8' T12 bulbs. The fixture I posted is 4' and takes two 32 watt tubes but will give more light than an older double-tube 8' fixture with the single pin bulbs. Those are 60-75 watts per bulb.
I helped bring the CFL technology to the forum over 4 years ago. While they are working great, some of the originals are still burning strong, I think it's time to move on. I have a new 3 bulb pre-wired led fixture that I'm going to experiment with. I have 3 frosted and 3 clear 4' bulbs coming to test. They put out 2650 lumens each for a total of almost 8000 lumens on 66w per fixture. If I switch my whole wash over to led including fixtures, payback will be less than a year. It has now become doable. Less than $80 per watertight fixture including bulbs. More to follow.
MEP001
Well-known member
Those ratings sound really good. Could you post the bulbs you're going to test? My eventual plan is to have four fixtures in each bay with four bulbs per fixture and only run half the bulbs in half the fixtures all night. LEDs might be a good choice for the ones to leave on.