Ceiling mounting a fluorescent fixture??

[WC]

Just read a post on another message board advising against mounting fluorescent fixtures directly on the ceiling. Apparently the heat is an issue. I just mounted 9 eight footers in my shop. Is this something I should be concerned about? If it is, why do I see them all over the place mounted directly on the ceiling? Aslo never seen anything about it in the electrical code?

Warren

[Jamie in Brantford]

Everybody has their opinion, right or wrong. My opinion is that there isn't a problem. I gave my buddy the electrician a call and he got p***ed off that people would "spout off about something they don't know about". Basically he said if there was a real danger, you'd see every second house burning down.

[Howard In Toronto]

[Bill Howatt]

[Mark in Burlington]

If it was a problem they would have thermal shut offs like pot lights do now. There are bigger hot spots in your shop for fire. Keeping fine dust out of starters, electrical panels, making sure all termals are tight so they will not spark. It is easy to make up foam gaskets.
Good Luck, Mark

[WC]

I second the "Amen" to Jamie's buddy. There were no instructions. I got the fixtures from an electrical wholesaler and all the boxes said was that they are suitable for continous mounting.

Warren

[Lee Brubaker in Edmonton]

The no..no about mounting flourescent lights directly on a ceiling is scare mongering & nothing else. Ever hear of a house fire due to sunshine ceilings ? Thought not.

Lee

[Norman (Metcalfe, Ont.)]

I have about 16 dula 4ft. fluor. fixtures with relcetors mounted in 2 separately-switchable banks in my shop ceiling.
Mounted directly to the ceiling.

Been this way for 4 yrs. now. Actually they don't get hot, unlike halogen fixtures which terrify me..

Norman

[Michael in Port Alberni]

Go ahead, mount them to the cieling. They are perfectly capable of that. The only luminaire that is of a concern to the electrical instection branch is the 1000w metal halide and sodium lights that indoor farmers use, and the everpresent halogen torchere. If a fixture is not to be mounted on a certain surface it will indicate a minimum distance from combustable surfaces. Drywall isn't considered an combustable surface in any event.

I chose to mount mine on chains simply because it lets them move when I bang them ith long stock.

Cheers

Michael Kampen

[Michael in Port Alberni]

I just read the rest of the posts and agree that if it were a concern there would be high temp limits on the fixtre itself. Over the last dozen years I've installed hundreds of these fixtures on surfaces ranging from cedar to drywall and have never seen a problem.

People overlamping potlamps is more of a problem especially when diy's install the wrong housing in an insulated cieling. All in all electricity is safe when done correctly, but there are still people out there with bad or outdated info.

Cheers

Michael Kampen

[Bill Howatt]

Dust in starters and electrical enclosures is not a topic seen discussed. I believe the fellow who operates the woodcentral board had a serious fire in his shop traced to dust in a panel.

I have been reworking some of my shop and I was surprised to see how much fine dust had gotten into some surface mount outlet boxes.

An electrician doing some other work for me said that if my shop was commercial instead of hobby that dust-proof enclosures fittings would be required.

Bill

[Michael in Port Alberni]

You raise an excellent point, and I often recomend using compressed air(and all the req safety gear) to blow out all electrical equipment in a shop. Panels, switches, respectables, and certainly the motors in your tools.

As far as the dustproof enclosues are concerned, that will depend on your local inspector. It is certainly a good idea though you'll find the cost will be higher.

Cheers

Michael Kampen

[Ken in Regina]

It depends upon how you're mounting and what's above and what kind of ballasts.

I have a finished basement with a couple of fluorescents with the old style ballasts. They are mounted up in the floor joists in a drywalled celing below the master bedroom. When you step on that portion of the bedroom floor, you can feel the heat when the fluorescents in the basement are on.

We had another one mounted in the basement under a lino floor in a main floor bathroom. It was a light colored lino and it discolored a little above the ballast after a few years. That's through 3/4" plywood subfloor. We removed the basement light when we reno'd that bathroom.

I'm buying 48" x 2 tube T-8 shop lights from Wal-Mart for $16.88 (tubes not included). They come with screw hooks and little chains for ceiling mounting so there will be plenty of air space above them. (It's nice to have 10' clear where the lights are going!)