Re: Floating Shelf Idea « Reply #15 on: November 13, 2023, 12:46:27 AM » Author: suzukir122
@Joseph_125, that's something I will also consider if I managed to find 5 footer HO fixtures... if 3.5 feet could fill in the rest of that space, I'd look for 3.5 foot HO fixtures, or *try* and have someone cut a fixture down to 3.5 feet. At this point though, I'm starting to lean more towards looking around for someone who could professionally cut down fixtures, and then sell those cut down fixtures to me on Ebay. I have seen fellow lighting gallery members who have cut down fixtures themselves and posted pics on here. The chances of that happening are slim, and I'd need 6, possibly 7 fixtures cut down.
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Interests:
1. Motorcycles, Cars, Women, and Lighting (especially fluorescent)
2. Weightlifting/staying extremely athletic
3. Severe Thunderstorms of all kinds
4. Food and drinks. So gimme them bbq ribs
Lighting has ALWAYS been a passion of mine. I consider everyone on here to be a friend

	Re: Floating Shelf Idea « Reply #16 on: January 04, 2025, 07:30:42 PM » Author: suzukir122
Yeah... so just an update on this floating shelf idea... the idea is in the works and will begin this year. I'm officially going to continue purchasing the F30T8 fixtures I purchased before, and I will convert them to T12. I will do this instead of searching for the HO fixtures, unfortunately. When the plan is complete, if I want to switch over to HO fixtures, if I find them, I'll simply take down all of the 3 footer fixtures and probably sell them. Before I do anything, I'll be purchasing the highest quality stud finder available, and a laser leveler. When I find the studs, I'll mark the stud centers on the wall. After that, I'll then focus on purchasing the floating shelves. When all of the floating shelves have been installed successfully, that is when I'll start mass purchasing those fixtures. There will also be one F20 strip fixture included as well, along with two single lamp F40T12 strip fixtures. All ballasts absolutely will be Rapid Start, magnetic, HPF and full power, no exceptions. lol So yeah... that's my plan. This will be very, very expensive, and will take possibly months to achieve.
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Interests:
1. Motorcycles, Cars, Women, and Lighting (especially fluorescent)
2. Weightlifting/staying extremely athletic
3. Severe Thunderstorms of all kinds
4. Food and drinks. So gimme them bbq ribs
Lighting has ALWAYS been a passion of mine. I consider everyone on here to be a friend

	Re: Floating Shelf Idea « Reply #17 on: January 06, 2025, 08:02:10 PM » Author: suzukir122
So here are some pics of where each floating shelf will go.
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Interests:
1. Motorcycles, Cars, Women, and Lighting (especially fluorescent)
2. Weightlifting/staying extremely athletic
3. Severe Thunderstorms of all kinds
4. Food and drinks. So gimme them bbq ribs
Lighting has ALWAYS been a passion of mine. I consider everyone on here to be a friend

	Re: Floating Shelf Idea « Reply #18 on: January 06, 2025, 08:03:13 PM » Author: suzukir122
On loft balcony wall...
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Interests:
1. Motorcycles, Cars, Women, and Lighting (especially fluorescent)
2. Weightlifting/staying extremely athletic
3. Severe Thunderstorms of all kinds
4. Food and drinks. So gimme them bbq ribs
Lighting has ALWAYS been a passion of mine. I consider everyone on here to be a friend

	Re: Floating Shelf Idea « Reply #19 on: January 06, 2025, 08:03:46 PM » Author: suzukir122
In the upstairs loft.
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Interests:
1. Motorcycles, Cars, Women, and Lighting (especially fluorescent)
2. Weightlifting/staying extremely athletic
3. Severe Thunderstorms of all kinds
4. Food and drinks. So gimme them bbq ribs
Lighting has ALWAYS been a passion of mine. I consider everyone on here to be a friend

	Re: Floating Shelf Idea « Reply #20 on: January 06, 2025, 08:12:50 PM » Author: suzukir122
So in the first pic, that wall is a little over 12 feet long, so I'd be able to fit four 3 footer shelves and two lamp strip fixtures very easily. The second pic is of the loft balcony wall, which is a little over 8 feet long I think... this is where I'd install two 4 footer shelves, and I'd sit two single lamp 4 footer T12 strips on those two shelves. And then the upstairs loft... that wall is a little less than 18 feet, so I'm planning on buying five 3 footer shelves and five 3 footer two lamp strip fixtures, and possibly adding a 2 footer two lamp strip as well. I may make the left corner a small office, and if that be the case, I'd likely purchase another F30T12 two lamp strip fixture for that corner. This idea is going to be in the works soon. Those photos aren't the greatest, by the way... the wide view makes everything appear smaller than in person.
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Interests:
1. Motorcycles, Cars, Women, and Lighting (especially fluorescent)
2. Weightlifting/staying extremely athletic
3. Severe Thunderstorms of all kinds
4. Food and drinks. So gimme them bbq ribs
Lighting has ALWAYS been a passion of mine. I consider everyone on here to be a friend

	Re: Floating Shelf Idea « Reply #21 on: January 07, 2025, 09:16:53 PM » Author: xmaslightguy
As for shelves themselves... of you use normal wood (be it actual wood or plywood or particle-board), Home Depot can cut it to the length you need (they do a few cuts for free too) I know you like T12, but if it were me, I personally would use something small & slim as possible - like T5 undercabinet lights facing upwards(idea being to hide the lamp itself/just have light shining upwards) Actually a setup like that if you weren't using the shelf as a "shelf" but "just something to put a light on"... it could be just a 2x4 screwed to the wall - no brackets or anything needed (the 3.5" wide board would be a perfect fit for most such undercabinet lights...)
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ThunderStorms/Lightning/Tornados are meant to be hunted down & watched...not hidden from in the basement!

	Re: Floating Shelf Idea « Reply #22 on: January 08, 2025, 08:47:58 AM » Author: suzukir122
This has been a tough call... I want to do the Home Depot cutting idea, which is FAR less expensive than the premade shelf with bracket idea, but I'm also trying to minimize damage as much as possible. The shelving with brackets idea enables me to do this, since mounting and leveling the brackets would be easiest for me. (This is my first time doing a project like this.) I don't mind seeing each T12 lamp, but I will mount the shelves high so that some of the light is blocked by the shelves. Even if none of the light is blocked, I'd still be happy with everything overall, as long as everything is leveled correctly. This will look MUCH better than the set up that I have now. (Sadelite desk lamps as up-lighting from the floor, no TV, no furniture.) After this idea is done, I will focus more on buying large screen TV's, furniture, etc. And yes... I do not have a TV right now. ... My laptop is in my bedroom, my laptop has been my TV, so I rarely ever use the living room, so I haven't bought any furniture. Crazy, I know. lol... I'm working to change all of this. The undercabinet floating shelf up-lighting idea would be nice as well, but I prefer two lamp T12 strips, and that classic two lamp HPF R.S start up. lol I've already got two F30T12 fixtures: https://www.lighting-gallery.net/gallery/displayimage.php?album=1854&pos=23&pid=217634. I'm hoping to keep purchasing them until I have at least 11, possibly 12 F30T12 fixtures for this idea. Those pics I just posted in my previous messages aren't the best since they were all wide angle view, which makes everything look much smaller than in person.
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Interests:
1. Motorcycles, Cars, Women, and Lighting (especially fluorescent)
2. Weightlifting/staying extremely athletic
3. Severe Thunderstorms of all kinds
4. Food and drinks. So gimme them bbq ribs
Lighting has ALWAYS been a passion of mine. I consider everyone on here to be a friend

	Re: Floating Shelf Idea « Reply #23 on: January 08, 2025, 07:35:43 PM » Author: xmaslightguy
Best time to buy a TV is in November. Have bought a few from various sales in November's pre-pandemic (the weekend before 'black friday' can sometimes have better deals .. and even better there's no issues with crowds & crazy people making a mad dash to grab stuff.). You're really not missing much not having one. .lol. There ain't much worth watching these days. But a larger screen is nice for movies & such. 2xF30 is honestly a nice size , have a few myself (though only 1 is in use - as a plant light). At the end of Dec Home Depots here had 2pk's of F30T12/CW on clearance cheap, at $2 even Feit is a deal .. If I'd needed/wanted them coulda gotten a bunch .lol.
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ThunderStorms/Lightning/Tornados are meant to be hunted down & watched...not hidden from in the basement!

	Re: Floating Shelf Idea « Reply #24 on: January 08, 2025, 09:00:21 PM » Author: suzukir122
I think Home Depot near me might still be selling F30T12's as well. We got slammed with 10 inches of snow, so when this snow melts away, I'll take the sports car up to Home Depot and check to see if they still have them... I'll also check to see whether I'm getting mixed up between Home Depot and Lowes... it might've been Lowes that had them. New school GE F30T12's though, not the old school Halophosphate ones. With my idea, to the dismay of most... I'm wanting all of my lamps to be Halophosphate. Not the best choice in terms of living room lighting, I know, but I've always been a fan of the Cool White Halophosphate glow, or anything close to it. (Those GE Watt Misers, although Halophosphate Warm White, will also be in use with this idea.) Btw, there are such thing as Feit Electric F30T12s? Are there any Feit Electric F30T12 versions of this?? https://www.lighting-gallery.net/gallery/displayimage.php?pos=-83260 If there are such thing as Cool White Deluxe Feit Electric F30T12's, I'd look into using those instead of the classic Cool White. Maybe! lol ... and I HIGHLY agree that there ain't much worth watching on TV... if TV were like how it use to be, I would've bought a TV years ago, no hesitation. But when I buy my TV's, they'll mainly be used for gaming more than anything. Xbox One downstairs... PlayStation 5 in the loft upstairs.
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Interests:
1. Motorcycles, Cars, Women, and Lighting (especially fluorescent)
2. Weightlifting/staying extremely athletic
3. Severe Thunderstorms of all kinds
4. Food and drinks. So gimme them bbq ribs
Lighting has ALWAYS been a passion of mine. I consider everyone on here to be a friend

	Re: Floating Shelf Idea « Reply #25 on: January 09, 2025, 02:26:08 AM » Author: xmaslightguy
We got a bit over 3" monday night/tues, I didn't leave home on tues. Another round expected tonight/tomorrow. Its easy to get HD & Lowes mixed up when trying to remember "now where did I see that thing?" .lol. Yep there are Feit F30T12's, the 2pk box just says Cool White 4100k for color. I would assume they're tri-phosphor but have no idea how to tell since box doesn't say. (they're deff *not* the Sylvania ones like in your photo). Was never really a fan of cool-white in a living area, warm-white is more my thing. (and I liked the old school warm-white too). If you go to any store here now & you won't find fluorescent anything. LED only. I doubt they even have oddballs like 3' .. its probably all just the common 2', 4', 8'. Wouldn't be surprised if any stock that remained after Dec 31 simply went in the trash. Such a waste. Anyway I did get a couple of those F30's (ended up being free because they wouldn't ring up). Hadn't even bothered to test them since obviously no returns, but maybe I'll open the pack & put 1 in my plantlight just to see what I think of it. Large TV would be pretty cool for games. (Its nice to put the computer on too, I do that on occasion to watch videos).
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ThunderStorms/Lightning/Tornados are meant to be hunted down & watched...not hidden from in the basement!

	Re: Floating Shelf Idea « Reply #26 on: January 09, 2025, 07:15:01 AM » Author: suzukir122
Yep, this is true... I forgot about that... the option for screen duplication would be there, so that'd be excellent to use with my laptop. There is a chance that I *might* go for the Warm White Halophosphate F30T12's instead (only), but we shall see. haha... hopefully I can get this project done sooner than I may think though... all these fluorescent lamp bans are kinda putting me in worry mode. If Ebay were to ban the selling of fluorescent lamps, it could be game over for me and this plan.
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Interests:
1. Motorcycles, Cars, Women, and Lighting (especially fluorescent)
2. Weightlifting/staying extremely athletic
3. Severe Thunderstorms of all kinds
4. Food and drinks. So gimme them bbq ribs
Lighting has ALWAYS been a passion of mine. I consider everyone on here to be a friend

	Re: Floating Shelf Idea « Reply #27 on: January 10, 2025, 09:58:56 PM » Author: xmaslightguy
TV as a 2nd screen works good...be it a laptop or desktop   WW would look good. (or a combination - 1xWW + 1xCW in each fixture). And yep with all those bans, now's the time to be looking before more states do it. Maybe you can even score a closeout/clearance deal on fixtures and/or lamps. There were a few things I went & looked on eBay for in Dec (didn't find 'em, or prices were way too high.) Here where the ban is in effect now, unless eBay itself blocks the sale, could probably get around it with a seller who's just an individual rather than a company. ----------- Oh and I tested 1 of those Feit F30's... I can say that for a china-made lamp, it seems ok. Has a nice clean white color, and it started right up on RS. I think the GE WW currently in that fixture is nearing EOL.. hopefully I have another, if not that CW lamp might just end up going in use. .lol.
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ThunderStorms/Lightning/Tornados are meant to be hunted down & watched...not hidden from in the basement!

	Re: Floating Shelf Idea « Reply #28 on: January 10, 2025, 10:39:45 PM » Author: suzukir122
That's an EOL show right there. (That GE you mentioned.) lol... what ballast do you have running on it? On Ebay not too long ago, I found a few Cool White Halophosphate F30T12's from Sylvania... ooofff... and then also 25w Cool White Halophoshate lamps as well, the Supersavers. Very, very tempting, and I think I may give in and purchase those next paycheck. We shall see. I remember seeing possible F30T12's used in open commercial refrigerators at the Shop N Save near my Middle School when I was a kid. Yes, definitely F30T12 Sylvania's, cool white. COMPLETE opposite from the Shop N Save that I was most familiar with, which used... 215w VHO's... for their open commercial refrigerators.  Hilariously different. I think those F30T12's may have been 25w Supersavers though because I *think* I might've seen striations with them. Despite being in a cold air environment, they weren't that dim from what I remember... and of course if they were truly Supersavers, they would've DEFINITELY been dim/striating. So maybe I'm just over thinking it... but they were definitely 3 footers, since they definitely seemed shorter than four footers, but longer than 2 footers. Very thin phosphors inside each lamp on the non etched ends, so I could see each filament on the non etched endings very easily. I have a feeling this will be the case with all the Sylvania F30T12's I purchase.
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Interests:
1. Motorcycles, Cars, Women, and Lighting (especially fluorescent)
2. Weightlifting/staying extremely athletic
3. Severe Thunderstorms of all kinds
4. Food and drinks. So gimme them bbq ribs
Lighting has ALWAYS been a passion of mine. I consider everyone on here to be a friend

	Re: Floating Shelf Idea « Reply #29 on: January 11, 2025, 12:16:51 AM » Author: suzukir122
... the more I think about it, the more a part of me thinks that short depth floating shelves might actually work. Maybe. I mean like, shelves that are about fixture length depth, or maybe a little longer. I feel like that style might still look good.
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Interests:
1. Motorcycles, Cars, Women, and Lighting (especially fluorescent)
2. Weightlifting/staying extremely athletic
3. Severe Thunderstorms of all kinds
4. Food and drinks. So gimme them bbq ribs
Lighting has ALWAYS been a passion of mine. I consider everyone on here to be a friend