[Firedup6975]

Originally Posted by RocktimusPryme

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=ypQK3vUodjE

There’s a small garage with it. But that guy sells the stuff in his eBay store so he has a reason to make it look better than it is.

Like I said I was just curious. There is also a huge price discrepancy with the stuff to maybe there is a big quality discrepancy too.

Our hope is to visit a few shops and see them actually in use.

[Stan65]

I have the Sam's club 4' lights (with the tape lights inside and throw away). I replaced six 8' T12 double bulb fixtures with 12 4' LED Fixtures.

I'll tell you what, I am VERY HAPPY! They are installed in 2 banks both on separate light switches. I replaced one side first to do a comparison.

Three 8' double bulb T12's = 3.6 Amps
Six 4' double row LED Fixtures 1.8 Amps

Folks that is HALF the cost to run.

Now for the illumination...

The T12's I have are rated at 2300 Lumens (which drops over time and is de-rated the colder it is.

The led Fixtures (Lights of America 4-foot LED Shop light) from Sams is rated at 4500 Lumens NEVER DE-RATES UNTIL TOTAL FAILURE

So as a comparison...

When new a 8' T12 Double fixture is 4600 Lumens
Two 4' LED Fixtures is 9000 Lumens

All I can say is I have been running them in my shop for a couple years now and I have had no failures or reduction of light output. As a bonus they light up 100% brightness with no buzz and flicker when cold like the old T12's.

I cant complain about twice the light for half the cost to run them either!!!!!

I don't have pics of the lights handy, but here is a picture on the shop.
Stan

[Firedup6975]

I don’t know about tape lights, I’d be worried they would eventually lose their stick from the heat, and fall on my cars.

[Region Warrior]

I switched to LED in house, garage, outdoor floods when the no hassle(just replace bulbs) lst came out.
The 4'rs in garage so bright only use half of them most the time except when watching tv.
Cant see the screen do to glare, so have one single florescent bulb away from tv for that.

[Stan65]

MaryAnn,

If the worried about tape lights is in response to my post, what looks like tape lights isn’t. It’s a thin circuit board painted white with many single LED’s attached giving the appearance of tape. They’re also trapped under a clear protective plastic lense.

When I said just throw away, I meant the “bulbs” aren’t serviceable. It’s a throw away fixture. LED’s last A LONG time.

There are a couple of flaws to the typical LED light. They are very directional, they do not flood the area very well so the higher you mount them the better, and the color is not natural although fluorescent isn’t much better.

[dataway]

The color/feel is why I still keep a couple of old school incandescents in the shop. The LEDs provide excellent light ... but it can be pretty "cold". Strange ... I go into the shop, turn on all the lights, the first thing I reach for is the incandescents ... then my mind kind of relaxes. Just that bit of warm color is all it takes ... specially in the winter when the shop is kind of chilly anyway. I know, silly ... but you gotta be comfortable in your shop.

I have exterior security floods mounted way up under the eaves on the second floor. Used to have to change them every four years or so .. which was a serious pain (until I got a 34' man lift) ... but anyway, changed them to LED floods .... they will outlive me, and I'll never have to get up there again.

[Stuart]

Originally Posted by dataway

The LEDs provide excellent light ... but it can be pretty "cold"..

You just have to buy the right kind of LED. They come in different color temperatures.

[Will]

CRI is also important. The higher the CRI the more of the natural light spectrum is being produced. Look for CRIs in the 90s to get the best light.

[dataway]

Originally Posted by Stuart

You just have to buy the right kind of LED. They come in different color temperatures.

I wish the LED shop lights had the same color options that are available in replacement type LED bulbs ... some of those you can't even tell they are not incandescent.

[TAKerry]

On a related note, the led light in my laundry room went out yesterday. Its about 4 years old. There are no serviceable parts and now I need an entirely new fixture. That was the first led I installed in my home and thought it was odd there was no 'bulb' when I installed it. It has not been overly used and by the given tables when you purchase one they say they will last for 10 yrs or more!

[David Jones]

Originally Posted by TAKerry

On a related note, the led light in my laundry room went out yesterday. Its about 4 years old. There are no serviceable parts and now I need an entirely new fixture. That was the first led I installed in my home and thought it was odd there was no 'bulb' when I installed it. It has not been overly used and by the given tables when you purchase one they say they will last for 10 yrs or more!

I suspect the LED itself is still capable of working. The transformer/driver is probably dead. Selling on the hour/time rating of the LED is a brilliant piece of marketing.

[David Jones]

Originally Posted by Stuart

You just have to buy the right kind of LED. They come in different color temperatures.

For the garage/shop I prefer something in the 4000k +- range. The ones I used are 4000k. In the house I like 2800+- and I personally don't care for those 5000k and up.

[Stuart]

Originally Posted by dataway

I wish the LED shop lights had the same color options that are available in replacement type LED bulbs ... some of those you can't even tell they are not incandescent.

There are many options available for LED strip light fixtures, but the cheap versions from the big box stores may or may not have those options available. This is a link to the catalog sheet for a Lithonia fixture I often specify for industrial building designs: http://www.acuitybrandslighting.com/...HEETS/ZL2N.PDF You have a choice of different CRIs as well as color temperature and the amount of lumens. There are other brands like Columbia that sell similar products.

[Firedup6975]

Thanks guys! A lot to think about.

[Drag Star Le Mans]

So much good info here, thanks. 1/3 of my shop lights work when its near freezing. Really sucks to try and work on stuff not being able to see. Time for a major upgrade.

[TAKerry]

Most flourescents wont work in really cold weather. One advantage of the led's.

[Stuart]

You can get low temperature ballasts for fluorescents, but at this point it's better to just go with the LED fixtures.

[grrrrregg!!!]

Originally Posted by Sirrotica

MA, I have these in my garage, bought at Costco. 2 pack for $40 ($20 per double 4 foot fixture) is hard to beat. I had fluorescent lights here when I moved in and have replaced them all with these Feit LED shop lights. Instant on in cold weather and no ballasts or tubes to go bad. I've had the oldest/first ones for 3 years now, completely trouble free.


Link: https://www.costco.com/Feit-4'-Linka...100462723.html

Ive had these for a year now. No complaints. I did a lot of searching, I just got more confused. Maybe confused is not the right word, maybe due diligence is better. I finally went to Costco and bought a couple. I liked them and now I have 20 or so in my shop.