Light Install NotesThe lights themselves were already setup as two circuits with three way switches on both the side door and main roll up door. I’m keeping that, so my plan was to redoing lights from the first junction box off the panel outward with 8 lights a piece.
The two circuits let me light either the mechanic side or workshop side individually. The staggering of light fixtures 2/1/2/1/2 per side helps be sure I have uniform coverage.
However, I also got a bit tricky on the center beams. Since they are close together I switched light positions for the final beams (IE last set of lights on the north circuit are on the southern of the center beams so I’d have a bit of light on the opposite side even if I’m only working fab stuff that evening.)
To make it work even better, I built up some wedges to aim the fixtures more strongly at the opposite side of the shop. Since I already had a few of the correct fixtures functional, I could set the angle to just catch the roofline on the far wall without wasting light on the roof.
End result was rad, but I built this not knowing that it would really work how I hoped.
The light fixtures I’m running are made to install to these baby octagonal j-boxes. They probably have a name, but I sure I don’t know it. So… 16 of the octagons. Plus 6 square (dual gang) pass throughs… Those mount first.
Little Giant style ladders are awesome for mounting flexibility but they do get awkward and heavy when you’ve moved it for the 100th time that day.
Flex conduit came next (because it already had some and it’s easier to service than the hard stuff). Every sideways flex run had to be measured in place because I wanted them fairly taut. Cut with the portaband (sometimes while standing on a ladder). Debur, also on a ladder. Each side to side run (along the roof beams) gets 2 p-clips to hold in place, most of which I hammer formed since they were for 1” EMT and a bit loose on ¾” flex.
Run wires through all the conduit in space leaving 8” or so hanging on each size. I’m using 12 AWG for all the main runs and 14 gauge for the branches that terminate at a fixture.
By the way, some folks seem to have heartburn over Romex inside of conduit. I’m not one of them and in doing some research on permissibility, I found some good chatter here if anyone is interested.
https://diy.stackexchange.com/questions/31149/can-romex-nm-b-be-run-through-conduit. That was good enough for me…
Oh, I’m doing all of this with the existing lights in stepping stages of removal because half of this is happening late at night. At least the lights have dedicated breakers so I could use shop lights from the floor to subsidize.
Yeah, then we’re finally ready for the wire nut extravaganza.
Stupid stuff, but I don’t think I posted last time… Wire nut work, particularly with solid wire is far far easier if you have a set of linesman pliers. My electrician in SoCal turned me on to them and to be honest--before doing this much work myself--I didn’t really appreciate these as much as I do now. Wide flat jaws with a mesh grip pattern let you grip 3-4 wires at a time to twist things up.
I found it easiest to strip an inch or so.
Then twist the wires together as need be (yay for the right tools)
Then cut the bundle off to a more reasonable 3/8 or ½” then go to town with the wire nut.
When you’re doing stranded wire mixed with solid, pre forming the solid against another piece of solid helps the new solid/stranded combo twist more smoothly.
Yes, I’m a dork, but dammit I don’t want to do this again. The blisters thing wasn’t an exaggeration.
Girls decided my bundles of wire made for a great obstacle course. They were talking laps around the building heading through the workshop each time.
