Track Lighting retrofit

[goldenstatesun]

HI everyone,

I've been assigned the task to retrofit two existing tracks for a basic stage wash in a commercial space. They originally had these fixtures on them which my contractor and I deduced are J-style track lights (halogen flood lights) with a line voltage transformer. This leads me to believe that the existing track has a low voltage transformer on it.

Now the kicker is that the group wants to save money and use the existing track as a stage wash. With a 35ft low voltage track, at a 45degree throwing angle and distance of about 16-18 ft, what options do I have to create an even stage wash for a 35ft stage? I thought about putting ~16 75W halogen low voltage fixtures (estimated based on a 20AMP circuit) but I fear that won't be nearly as bright as needed...:neutral:


My next option would be LED although I couldn't find much information on retrofitting LEDs onto an existing track.
Is there anyway to know if LED 3200k J-style fixtures will work on the existing track? If so, what would I need to swap out besides the switch.

Thank you for your time.

 

[Les]

I'm not very well-versed in track lighting (not sure what a J-Style fixture is), but the first thing I'd do is confirm the voltage that the track is carrying as that will hugely influence any product recommendations. The fixture in the picture appears to be line voltage (with attached transformer), so that threw me a bit.

In the 120v category, Altman's Micro Series are great fixtures, available as both floods and ellipsoidals. They can be ordered with a track adapter. They have a transformer attached to the yoke from the factory, but if you do in fact have only 12v at the track, Altman could perhaps do a custom order for you.

 

[gafftapegreenia]

Look at the lamp in your existing fixtures, they should have a lamp code, or a voltage on them. Stickers on the units may be helpful as well.

The challenge will also be to find out how many circuits the track has. If it only has one circuit, they might as well stick with those flood units.

 

[dj41354]

My next option would be LED although I couldn't find much information on retrofitting LEDs onto an existing track.

These are very nice on track: MIRO CUBE™ WNC - rosco.com All the variations of Miro Cubes ("WNC"=variable color temperature white, "4C"=color changing, and "UV"=black light) can be track mounted.. the white (shown in the link) is the only one with a picture showing it on track. They take AC line voltage in (no transformer necessary). Track adapters are avail for all standard track types.

 

[goldenstatesun]

These are very nice on track: MIRO CUBE™ WNC - rosco.com All the variations of Miro Cubes ("WNC"=variable color temperature white, "4C"=color changing, and "UV"=black light) can be track mounted.. the white (shown in the link) is the only one with a picture showing it on track. They take AC line voltage in (no transformer necessary). Track adapters are avail for all standard track types.

Ah yes, I saw these at LDI. Unfortunately they're not available yet.

 

[goldenstatesun]

In the 120v category, Altman's Micro Series are great fixtures, available as both floods and ellipsoidals. They can be ordered with a track adapter. They have a transformer attached to the yoke from the factory, but if you do in fact have only 12v at the track, Altman could perhaps do a custom order for you.

I'll look into Altman. I'm very happy with their product offering as of late.

Look at the lamp in your existing fixtures, they should have a lamp code, or a voltage on them. Stickers on the units may be helpful as well.

The challenge will also be to find out how many circuits the track has. If it only has one circuit, they might as well stick with those flood units.

Right, I will have to check the stickers on the fixture before making any other decisions. Thanks.

 

[zmb]

I'm not very well-versed in track lighting (not sure what a J-Style fixture is), but the first thing I'd do is confirm the voltage that the track is carrying as that will hugely influence any product recommendations. The fixture in the picture appears to be line voltage (with attached transformer), so that threw me a bit.

I have track light all over at home. I don't know what the type is, but there are 50w, 12v MR16 lamps which use the transformer and 50w, 120v PAR20 lamps. Track is always supplied at 120v, I think to keep from having to get 120v to 12v switches installed.

 

[RickR]

By far most track lighting is line voltage. Also the pictures show a block that might well be the transformer on the fixture as les says. This is very common and I've been doing architectural lighting since 1988, just about when MR16s became big.

If I'm right you can use almost any track light with the right connector. Take a really close look at the labels on the fixtures, all the most important information must be there. There are some nice flood units that use high wattage halogens and good reflectors, but the cheap ones are for PAR38 lamps and will usually do fine.

If you only have one circuit (switch/dimmer) in the track then all you can do is dim them together. Multi-circuit track has extra conductors on one side. You lift one of the tabs on the fixture so that it reaches the other circuit conductors. What makes the Altman & Rosco/Black Box track so cool is that it has DMX built into it. That is NOT typical. Of course they can also do track for power and standard DMX for control. It's up to you to know what you need.

Be careful with LEDs on the track. Most LED stage lights do NOT want to be dimmed from a wall-box or stage dimmer. They want DMX and raw power!