Lighting Issues

[crg147]

Hi Guys my club has just had their tables re covered and now the tables seem alot darker at the bulk ends. We use 150w bulbs as the above lights are the old style canopy with 3 sockets. The obvious solution would be to have new strip lights fitted (but funds are tight) so would it be better to insert brighter bulbs (can you get higher than 150w bulbs) and if you did would the shadows be to bad to play? The Northwest Interleague final is due to be played on our match table in 3 weeks and would love to have something sorted by then? All advice and help wanted please. Thanks Clive.

[Geoff Large]

so the club cannot afford around £116 per table to convert to modern strip lighting daylight tubes High frequency , and at 58 watts each thats just 116 watts per table , if you use three 150 watt bulbs then over a year they will use nearly 4 times as much electricity per table , if you take a 50/50 number of football team card around the club each week you would soon have enough to pay for the lighting , also if the tables have pay per play meters , surley a percentage of that could go towards new lighting , knowing that the saved revinue of the electricty bill would pay it back, look for a Denmans electrical wholesaler in youre area or simply order on line and look for Dextra high frequency 5 foots , two per table don't forget to ask for the tubes with them use Daylight tube's for that Crucible feeling , if ceiling is within around 5 foot above the table just screw to ceiling direct , if higher then you would have to use some angle iron to bolt the lights to then use the original chains from the coffin shades to hang the lights up at around 5 foot from the bed .
I know someone who has just bought some this week and they where just under £116 for the pair with the tubes inc vat .

work it out 3 x 150 watt bulbs is 450 watts , when the new lighting uses 116 watts per table times this by 4 = 464 watts to light 4 tables when 450 watts on the old bulbs lights just 1 table once the comittee of the club or owner finds the savings , the club will soon rip those coffin shades down .

[crg147]

Thanks for the reply Geoff, did your friend buy his second hand or new? And if so where from? All the team lads have wanted decent lights for a while now and the tables which are so good deserve them. The ceilings are high enough ok and the current lights hang from chains which would be fine for New lighting.

[pottr]

Read the snooker table lights built in thread...

[Geoff Large]

they where Brand new , here is the wholesaler Branch locater , just look for youre nearest Branch they are dotted all around the Uk , http://www.denmans.co.uk/branches.html

they used to be below £100 the pair about 12 months ago , but they have slowley been increased partly due to VAT increase .
you can buy cable suspenders if you do not want to use the chains , I prefer them on the ceiling they look smarter , but if the roof exceeds 5 foot then you are best hanging them , but if only a few inches over 5 foot it is still ok to screw onto the ceiling directey .

Dextra has a web site too where you can view some of the lighting they produce , some of the lighting is more design featured rather than the basic square oblong with beveled side edge. so you have a choice something basic that produces light at a low cost , or something that produces the same lighting but is a bit more designed to have a pleaseing shape , I think you would have to special order any design type in , as the basic dextra units are the ones normaly in stock at Denmans . which for clubs is all that is required , in a private house you may want to pay a little extra for the designed shaped ones
.
http://www.dextralighting.co.uk/products/surface/

[philip in china]

So just two 5 foot tubes. It seems too simple to be true. Is that one double unit or two singles? If 2 singles are they end to end along the length of the table?

[Geoff Large]

they are twin 5ft tubed units Phil make sure they are HIGH FREQUENCY with built in transformer starter as the older type with baynet screw in starters flicker and the tubes strobe and are no good on youre eyes for playing snooker , position end to end you require two units per 12ft table ,position the join at the blue spot for equal spaceing , it is best to plumb the black and Brown spot , strike a line on the ceiling , plumb the blue this is the middle of that line , then fix directely to the ceiling or hang from chains or wire , you may want to use angle iron to boilt both units to if hanging by chain , then just drill the angle iron to fix the chains to .

Geoff

[philip in china]

I think it will be a bit of trial and error as being a barn conversion the roof isvery high. I had thought of a suspended ceiling but will leave it as it is I think with the oak beams. It is too good to lose that effect.

If only the table arrives tomorrow as scheduled I shall be happy.

[pottr]

Make sure you test the lights.

Installed mine yesterday, the control unit in one of my units is faulty, new part here tomorrow.
Hope it works, my sparky pal is off to Greece on Thursday!

[philip in china]

Builder has been and plans are being made...... The ceiling will actually be lower than I had thought. I shall be able to screw direct into the ceiling which should be best anyway. The lights will be slightly more than 1.5 metres above the cloth but only a very little.

[Mick Dundee]

Lighting Issues

I use Denmans for some stuff
They're not the cheapest for tubes as they charge more for daylight than standard where some others don't
Also it's worth looking at using t5 tubes and fittings not much dearer to buy and they only use 35w per 5 ft tube as opposed to 58w

[pottr]

It is the morning after my first night of play on my home table.

I went for the lights suggested on this thread and they are superb.

[philip in china]

It is the morning after my first night of play on my home table.

I went for the lights suggested on this thread and they are superb.

But did you win?

[pottr]

Of course

High break of 61 for the first night. I'm sure I'll knock in some bigger scores once the novelty wears off and me and my pals stop chatting.

[philip in china]

Annoyingly I shall be here for only 3 more days so shan't see the work really begin on my room. Then shan't be back before xmas at the earliest- more likely Chinese New Year 2013 by which time everything should be finished.

I hope the novelty wears off but never the excitement.