Lighting

D

DaJokerz

Registered
Hell Fellow Azer's,

Long time reader, first time poster.

I am in the process of finishing my basement/gameroom, and I am starting to layout my lighting. My cieling height is 7 1/2 ft, and I wanted to gather some feedback on if I could just use recess/hi hats for lighting instead of putting in a billiard light. I have a 9ft table, and would use either 4 or 6 lights instead of the biliard light. Also thoughts on LEDS' vs standard.

Thoughts?

Thanks for feedback.
 
I would recommend array of 4 x 2 Pot's. Two rows of 4. Each row 4 feet apart and 2.5' feet side by side will provide good spread. Put on a dimmer for some adjustment.

Nick
 
My ceiling height is 8', I used six down lights, one on each corner and two over
the center of the table. Quite often the two over the center are sufficient.
When all six are used the lighting is great. I also use CF's on the corners and standard 75w floods on the centers. I would imagine LED's would also work.
 
One thing to consider with CFL floods is that they take about 60 seconds to reach full output. They are quite dim when you first turn them on.

Not a big deal since it's only 60 seconds but it "throws" me every time I turn them on.

I'm not sure if they are dimmable.
 
Mitch: If I choose to go with a standard light, it will be a Diamond light.

I am familiar with the warm up time of CFLs, and I would probably not use those.

I made a maple drop cieling, so I would like to keep it all open and one height. This is the only hesitation to adding a drop down light.

At one of the halls I go to, the light is about 20 feet in the air, and they use a single metal hallide, and it seems to suffice.

Thanks for the feedback. I think the LEDS would work, and would not run as hot as the standard floods.
 
DaJokerz said:
I am familiar with the warm up time of CFLs, and I would probably not use those.
Click to expand...

I wouldn't just dismiss them out of hand. I have a traditional three-lamp billiard fixture, and I really love the quality of light coming from the bulbs I went with - GE Reveal 26W CFL flood lamps (90W equivalent, or 1150 lumens each).

They provide warm light that is very relaxing to the eyes and display plenty of contrast. This helps you see the surface of the balls and cloth better. Increased contrast is often much more important than increased visual acuity when it comes to seeing things clearly and making them stand out from the background.

Yes, there is that annoying delay every time I fire them up, but by the time I've cleaned the CB, made a few practice strokes and racked the balls, they are at full power. The quality of light is worth the short wait IMO.
 
Here is what I am thinking. The ceiling grid is a 2x2 grid system, and the table is directly under a grid line. So I can probably do two rows 3 feet apart on the 4.5 ft and I was thinking of doing 3 rows that are 4ft apart on the 9 ft run side. You think 4 rows of two is necessary? Something like this, X = Light:

X<4ft>X<4ft>X
3FT
X<4ft>X<4Ft>X

Do you think 2 Ft spread instead of 3Ft would be acceptable? 2 Ft would make the lights in the center of the tiles. Where as 3 Feet would be pushed to an edge.

I think 8 might be to much light. Also, what do you guys think for the color temperature of the light? 2.7K is the normal soft light look, and 5K is the Blueish white type of light.

Thanks for any feedback.
 
Diy

Has anyone come across plans for building a diamond-like light? I saw a youtube for a box light but not the quality I'm looking for.

If you've seen plans anywhere, please let me know.

Thanks
 
Here is a photo of the ones I made.

CB3.jpg


I did my research on the Brunswick web site and found out about color quality etc. Jay Helfert told me that the "standard" height is about 30 - 36 inches (I think). I think these things cost me about $100 bucks at home depot with the high quality "day" lights. I attached the florescent lights together and bolted to two stacked 2" X 4" X 8's attached to chains. Later I used 1/4" veneer to make the 2 X 4s look better. There are four, 4' foot bulbs in each fixture. That is a lot of of light focused on the table.

I wanted a "pool hall" look and so I wanted my lights low so the rest of the room would be dark (at night). The lights completely cover the table as they should and the surrounding area is reasonably dark. Created a great atmosphere.

You could sit at the bar or on the raised couch and be in the dark, like a night club, while you watched the player at the table. Had lots of good times in that room.

Of course that is black duct tape on the sides of the lights. Another of Jay's suggestions. Its a guy thing :rolleyes:

That is a reversible fan from Lowes or Home Depot above the lights in my converted three car garage. Later I installed air conditioning but preferred the fan most of the time.
 
Last edited:
BobTfromIL said:
My ceiling height is 8', I used six down lights, one on each corner and two over
the center of the table. Quite often the two over the center are sufficient.
When all six are used the lighting is great. I also use CF's on the corners and standard 75w floods on the centers. I would imagine LED's would also work.
Click to expand...

Thanks, what are the color temps and wattage of the CF's? I have tried 3 different LEDS and they dont cut it at all.

-Jason
 
I found some LEDS today that may work. They are 5K color temp and are equivilent to 100W light bulbs. I may go with 8 instead of six.

Will post some pics although the color kind of washes out.
 
DaJokerz said:
I found some LEDS today that may work. They are 5K color temp and are equivilent to 100W light bulbs. I may go with 8 instead of six.

Will post some pics although the color kind of washes out.
Click to expand...

Relaying on some old memories, CF should be from about 3000K to
4200K, the lower the number the "warmer" the color. 5000K would probably be quite white to blue/white. When I was working with the lighting for a major store chain we used color corrected lamps at IIRC 3500K, these of course were 4' not CF. The last types were T-8's. When I use mine inconjunction with the incandescent the results of the mix is quite acceptable. Hope this helps.

(Maybe some more current in lighting will also reply)
 
Contact Mark Gregory
perfectpocketz here on az
he has some really nice lights and he is the best table mechanic
in the country
 
BobTfromIL said:
Relaying on some old memories, CF should be from about 3000K to
4200K, the lower the number the "warmer" the color. 5000K would probably be quite white to blue/white. When I was working with the lighting for a major store chain we used color corrected lamps at IIRC 3500K, these of course were 4' not CF. The last types were T-8's. When I use mine inconjunction with the incandescent the results of the mix is quite acceptable. Hope this helps.

(Maybe some more current in lighting will also reply)
Click to expand...

Yes, you are correct the 5K is fairly "natural light" looking. I thought this was the closest to the "cool white" that I thought was used in flourescent lights.

Thanks for the feedback. I have gone through about 1/2 dozen different bulbs and wattages. Guess I still have to play around.

And thanks for the referral, I sent pockets as PM as suggested.

-Jason
 
I'm going to try to find some of those 5000K cf's. Using the 3500K almost requires a mix of incandescent to get a natural color. Also if they are 100 watt equvalent that would be more light than I currently have with the 15 watt cf's.
 
Definitely give the lighting a lot of thought. Mine is about 35" above the table. I need a helmet and band-aid kit for my light. it is too low. It is custom made and $$$. I'm tempted to replace it.
 

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BobTfromIL said:
I'm going to try to find some of those 5000K cf's. Using the 3500K almost requires a mix of incandescent to get a natural color. Also if they are 100 watt equvalent that would be more light than I currently have with the 15 watt cf's.
Click to expand...

The 5K's arent CF's. They are LEDS from Lowes. $40 each!

I started googling 4K LEDS, no one has them in stock. They are all special order. At least at Lowes/Depot I can try them out and if I dont like it just return them.

-Jason
 
Here is a light that I make.... it is very good & uses t12 lights, but I get double the output. The lover is a parabolic louver & when the lights are off, most of the lighting is on the table. Maybe a little ambient lighting will be added once the table is in the shop.

This one is not complete yet, it needs the final coating to match the table coloring.

My living Room is my temporary Pool Room & office until the shop is complete in the spring.
 

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table lighting

I have a 7.5' ceiling and went with 6 pot lights. two over the table and four a couple of feet outside of the corners. I started with cf 100w equivalent and now am switching over to led, I like the led but they are 20 bucks a pop at costco I was hoping by now they would of come down in price. I like the set up very little shadows and plenty of light over the corners that some pool lamps do not reach.
 
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