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RE: dimmable fluorescent strip lighting? (Follow-Up #1)

posted by: dim4fun on 03.02.2008 at 01:36 pm in Lighting Forum

The easiest way to do this is to purchase T5 strip lights and then install the Lutron Tu-wire ballasts into them and use with Lutron Tu-wire dimmer. It is a simple swap with the original ballasts. If you need to dim to 1% instead of 5% then go with Hi-Lume but this costs more.

Tu-wire dimming is starting to be more readily available from manufacturers. Juno and Cooper now offer it as an option in some recessed fixtures. Having fixtures built with dimming is usually a custom order otherwise and adds time and cost so doesn't work out much cheaper if at all than just swapping ballasts. Maybe you can Ebay or Craig list the original ballasts.

Tu-Wire seems to be the way residential targeted products are going from OEMs. Eco-10 is mostly commercial. Hi-Lume is both but at higher cost.

Here is a link that might be useful: Lutron Tu-wire

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clipped on: 04.29.2011 at 02:56 pm    last updated on: 04.29.2011 at 03:33 pm

RE: led undercabinet - too bright? (Follow-Up #29)

posted by: davidtay on 09.30.2010 at 08:05 pm in Lighting Forum

If you do a direct conversion without accounting for the distance between the light source and the surface to be illuminated, you get 46.45152 lumens per sq ft.

Here is a link that might be useful: lux to lumens/ sq ft calculator

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clipped on: 04.26.2011 at 05:35 pm    last updated on: 04.26.2011 at 05:35 pm

RE: Does anyone have Waterlox for their Kitchen cabinet finish? (Follow-Up #8)

posted by: sombreuil_mongrel on 07.02.2010 at 07:04 pm in Woodworking Forum

For me, the whole point of waterlox on the floors is the depth of the finish. Such depth is unattainable with shellac; Using shellac as a sealer under waterlox will save coats and cash, but negates the deeply-penetrating oil finish quality that's the only thing worth putting up with the smell for. Oil in wood grain makes the grain pop so much more; shellac directly on wood is a very dead finish. Point of fact, woodworkers (me included) who want a truly spectacular french polished shellac finish will first oil the wood (with BLO) to get the grain to "pop".
4 coats of waterlox; sanded to 150 grit.
4th coat waterlox, and the beadboard wall, and tile.
Casey

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clipped on: 04.03.2011 at 12:20 am    last updated on: 04.03.2011 at 12:20 am

RE: Does anyone have Waterlox for their Kitchen cabinet finish? (Follow-Up #1)

posted by: aidan_m on 06.15.2010 at 01:40 pm in Woodworking Forum

I use Waterlox on all the interior woodwork in my own house. It is unaffected by the incidental water splashing in a kitchen or bathroom. It outperforms all regular lacquers and many lower-end conversion finishes.

The pros:
1. easy to apply- I brush or spray a seal coat of 2# cut dewaxed shellac as a sanding sealer, followed by 2 coats of waterlox. Waterlox may be wiped, brushed, or sprayed w/an airless. Use a brush on the drips if you spray.
2. Outperforms most interior finishes for water, UV, and scratch resistance
3. Easy to touch up if it is scratched. Varnishes like Waterlox will stick to a previous coat and feather out very well if you need to restore the finish years later.

The cons:
1. slow drying, and has a foul odor that lingers for weeks, but can be reduced by running a fan over the surfaces for several days after the initial dry time.
2. expensive, costs about $25 a quart
3. Once the container gets about half empty, the rest of the product starts to react with the air and will turn to gel. Only buy quarts unless you know you are going to use gallons on one job. Buy some spare quart cans to save the leftover from the gallon. Keep the containers with as little air as possible.

I understand your desire to do the finish yourself so you know it's quality and know how to repair it if it gets scratched. There are some newer water based finishes, really outstanding products. For what you are doing, I would recommend "Sierra" manufactured by rust-oleum. I get it from Kelly-Moore paint store. Sierra is a water based paint available in any color. For clear coating wood, just get the clear tint base with no pigment added. There is gloss and satin available. Cost is about $30 a gallon

Use the shellac 2# cut as a sanding sealer, then 2 coats of Sierra will give you a bullet-proof finish. It will stick to just about anything, many painters I know use it as a clear coat over painted cabinets. It will refinish just fine, can be brushed or sprayed. I recommend spraying. The finish is dry in an hour. It has no odor. I sprayed a bunch of bar stools in the other end of the room while people were open for business, no complaints. The stools were in use the next day.

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clipped on: 04.03.2011 at 12:19 am    last updated on: 04.03.2011 at 12:20 am

RE: Who is living on a Rubio, Woca or Osmo floor? (Follow-Up #3)

posted by: circuspeanut on 10.19.2010 at 09:47 pm in Flooring Forum

Here's a long thread with OSMO pictures - some during application -- by a Kitchens forum member who did it herself.

My carpenter friend swears by OSMO and I'll be trying it myself next time around.

Here is a link that might be useful: OSMO thread in Kitchens

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clipped on: 04.02.2011 at 10:40 am    last updated on: 04.02.2011 at 10:40 am

RE: led ucl diy (Follow-Up #146)

posted by: sandn on 01.31.2011 at 10:08 pm in Lighting Forum

Thanks David,

In trying to figure out what to but and where to buy it I really have no idea. There are so many variables to juggle...

I contacted Sean Chiu at Phontonier and he sent me a price list (very promptly I might add).

The lights they offer seem equivalent to the "Premium" lights (3.3W/ft, 220 lm/ft) at Environmental and also the lights solds by Superbrightleds.

On the Photonier spec sheet they list 5W/ft 220 lm/ft models but Sean says they do not sell those to end consumers. Those seem to be equivalent to the "High Brightness Premium" at Environmental.

The specs are confusing because I have seen the lm/ft range from 166 to 220 for the WW color (Photonier specs list both numbers) also I have seen the CRI listed from 65 to 80. But I think the 3.3W/ft LEDS have a 65-70 CRI and 5W/ft ones are 80 CRI.

Prices for the 3.3 W/ft lights seem to be:


  • Photonier: cheapest approx: $18/ft
  • Superbrightleds: approx $20/ft
  • Environmental: approx $30+/ft(and a huge premium on the 6"), they have volume discounts that start at 5 pieces but that only takes about 10% off)

For the "High Brightness Premium" line at Environmental you pay an additional 20% premium.

I'd really like the 80 CRI and the higher brightness, but the cost is practically double.

And of course the final question is transformers:

Once upon a time way back in the summer members of this forum were buying transformers from Magnitude for approx $50. Magnitude no longer will sell to end customers. Environmental's transformers are quite expensive ($125 - $170) and Electric Supplies Online sells a 150W transformer for $60, but 150W seems like overkill and there is a little voice in my head that has some idea that transformers work best when they are loaded at something like 60-80%.

Too many choices... too many decisions...

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clipped on: 03.31.2011 at 10:36 pm    last updated on: 03.31.2011 at 10:36 pm

RE: led ucl diy (Follow-Up #143)

posted by: robj on 01.09.2011 at 01:41 pm in Lighting Forum

Has anyone successfully (no flickering) hooked up LED light bars using a Magnitude transformer? I am having some difficulty with flickering in certain dimming ranges, though I have tried two different dimmers and one is much better than the other, but still flickers in certain ranges. If you have had success, please let everyone know which dimmer(s) you used and what transformer(s) you used.


I used the Magnitude M40L24DC transformer driving the 24 watt superbrightleds.

The Lutron Diva dimmer DVCL-153P works perfectly with no humming, flickering or other issues. There is a little wheel that you use to adjust the range of the dimmer when first installed. You're supposed to adjust it to just above the point where there is no flickering but this wasn't an issue with my set up. I was able to turn it all the way down so the lights just barely glow at the lowest setting.

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clipped on: 03.31.2011 at 10:33 pm    last updated on: 03.31.2011 at 10:33 pm

RE: led ucl diy (Follow-Up #141)

posted by: seekerinfo on 12.08.2010 at 01:26 pm in Lighting Forum

I am following up on my previous post about the UC light bars (the ones sold by Environmental Lights/SuperbrightLEDs/Photonier) where I was having trouble mating a magnitude transformer with a magnetic low voltage dimmer that would not give me flickering LED's. Good news. I found one that works. I also have the ribbon/tape LED's and the dimmer works with the ribbon/tape LED lights as well (I have two separate Magnitude transformers and two dimmers; one for the UC bars and one for the ribbon/tape light). Pass & Seymour brand (made by Legrand) model number LSLV603PWV works with no flickering. About $25 at Lowes. The Leviton did not work well at all and the Lutron worked except for a relatively small dimmable range where I would get flickering. I hope this information helps anyone looking to use a Magnitude transformer.

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clipped on: 03.31.2011 at 10:30 pm    last updated on: 03.31.2011 at 10:31 pm

 
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