# Shop Lights



## ddickey (Dec 11, 2020)

I'm sure this subject has been beat to death but I'm going to take a chance on a question or two.
My shop is done except for wiring. The first thing I think I'll do is get some lights up. Was thinking I'd put up some cheap LED's from Home Depot or Menards then sometime in the future maybe redo with better lights
My question is if anyone went from cheap LED's to made in the USA ones and if it was worth the extra expense?


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## kb58 (Dec 11, 2020)

Not sure that you'll get an objective answer. You'll probably hear passionate replies of "I bought X and love them", which doesn't answer your question. Most people would buy one or the other and likely be happy with it. You're asking for someone who bought half of one and half of the other, which isn't likely.


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## Gaffer (Dec 11, 2020)

I bought these last December and placed them throughout my garage. They were cheap at a little over $100 perhaps closer to $200. The link says they aren't available in my area now.





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						Bbounder 10 Pack 4ft Led Shop Light, Led Utility Shop Light, 48 Inch Linkable Integrated Fixture for Garage, 42W(Equivalent 270W), 5000K, Surface + Suspension Mount, ETL Certified. - - Amazon.com
					

Bbounder 10 Pack 4ft Led Shop Light, Led Utility Shop Light, 48 Inch Linkable Integrated Fixture for Garage, 42W(Equivalent 270W), 5000K, Surface + Suspension Mount, ETL Certified. - - Amazon.com



					www.amazon.com
				




Anyway, they put out lots of light and I've been very happy with them. They are throwaways if a bulb goes out, but that hasn't happened. I can't imagine a more expensive led light improving on what I have. I wanted bright light and was not worried about cool colors and such for my shop.


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## Boswell (Dec 11, 2020)

I also have shop full of 4' LED lights and they are bright and have worked perfectly.  



ddickey said:


> My question is if anyone went from cheap LED's to made in the USA ones and if it was worth the extra expense?



Not sure there ARE any LED lamps made in the US


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## Flyinfool (Dec 11, 2020)

When it comes to lights, A lumen is a lumen and a color is a color, You will not see much if any difference between cheap and expensive. The only place you mat see a difference is in life of the lights, or light pattern of the lights.

Some of the makers of cheap LED fixtures use lower power (less expensive) LED emitters and then just over drive them (run at voltage higher than they are designed for) to get the brightness, doing this makes them run hotter and have a shorter life span. 
The other place they save some money is in the light pattern, by making a narrower spread of the light will drive the lumens higher at the expense of lighting a smaller area, Most stores have lights on display so you can see the light pattern.
And of course there are some makers of the real cheap stuff that just flat out lie about the specifications.
My old florescent fixtures in the shop are 40+ years old and still work fine Yes I have had to replace bulbs and old style 40W T12 bulbs are getting harder to find. I have a few LED shop lights and they are much brighter on the bench but have a smaller area of illumination so to light the same area I would need more LED fixtures. It is as bulbs go out that I am getting LED, I now have one Harbor freight and one Menards, they are both 5,000 lunem and I can not tell any difference in the light output, I never actually measured the amp draw. It wont be for another 40 years before we know how well LED holds up over time.

Look close at the power usage of the lights, there are some LED shop lights that draw more power than the florescent or even incandescent that you are replacing and some throw off a lot of heat. In today's world LED does not necessarily translate to power savings or cool operation.


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## JPMacG (Dec 11, 2020)

I purchased the cheapest fluorescent 4-foot shop light fixtures that I could find at Lowes or HD.  I removed the ballast and rewired them for direct wire 120 V AC LED tubes like these:








						toggled 48 in. 16-Watt Daylight Deluxe T8 Dimmable Linear LED Tube Light Bulb (2-Pack) D416-65321-2 - The Home Depot
					

Toggled LED tubes are designed to replace T8 and T12 fluorescent tubes. These UL Listed, FCC compliant LED products use only 16-Watt of energy and are rated for 50,000 hours with a lifetime residential



					www.homedepot.com
				




I'm very happy with the toggled product.   If you already have fluorescent fixtures then converting them to LED is even more attractive.


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## AGCB97 (Dec 11, 2020)

If you don't already have fixtures, just get the tubes that fasten directly to the ceiling (they are called integrated). You can also hang these easily. Get the 6000 kelvin ones as they are the brightest (especially if your over 40). If you already have fixtures in place, then get the tubes that fit directly in them and just rewire the fixtures (take out or disconnect the ballast).
Aaron


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## ddickey (Dec 11, 2020)

I do not have fixtures so will probably get the integrated. I thought 6000k were bad for your eyes?
Everything I've seen around here so far are 4000k.


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## hman (Dec 11, 2020)

Gaffer said:


> I bought these last December and placed them throughout my garage. They were cheap at a little over $100 perhaps closer to $200. The link says they aren't available in my area now.


These "newer version" lamps are available.  Same manufacturer, 10 pack for $140:


			https://www.amazon.com/Bbounder-Equivalent-Suspension-Florescent-Replacement/dp/B07LGVGRT3/ref=psdc_5772194011_t2_B07BGTVY4T
		


PS - you can get 4 foot LED "tubes" that directly replace the fluorescent ones, at least in the T8 size.  My shop came with 8 foot ceiling fixtures.  Bought LED replacement "tubes."  On the 8 foot version, you have to remove and wire around the ballast.  Easy to do ... and VERY good light. 
I prefer either 5000K or 6000K lights, rather than 4000K and lower.  The latter are too yellow for my taste.


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## brino (Dec 11, 2020)

Flyinfool said:


> It wont be for another 40 years before we know how well LED holds up over time.



I believe I can already say that even cheap LED bulbs and fixtures are better than both T8 and compact fluorescent.
...and thats for both longevity and initial cost.

-brino


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## Aaron_W (Dec 11, 2020)

ddickey said:


> I do not have fixtures so will probably get the integrated. I thought 6000k were bad for your eyes?
> Everything I've seen around here so far are 4000k.



 Some of the newer LED fixtures offer variable color. I just got an LED panel to replace an old Fluorescent fixture in the laundry room. My wife wanted this one because it has three light spectrums to choose from so she can try out the different ones then leave it on whatever she likes best. 

The bad thing about LEDs is they just go and go, so you want to get it right, or you will be replacing a perfectly good bulb. I've been replacing bulbs with LED as they go out since 2012 and I haven't had to replace even one of the LED bulbs yet.


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## Sleykin (Dec 11, 2020)

In the shop I already had fixtures with 4' 2 tube Florescent lights. I bypassed the ballast and installed LED T8 tubes. 24 tubes in a 20X36 shop. Amazing change and they have been in for about 4 years now with only one tube failing. I also installed a 4'X2' panel in the kitchen and it is way more light than the old 4 tube florescent fixture.


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## silence dogood (Dec 11, 2020)

I have four shop lights in my shop.  Two are t8s and the other two are LEDs.  All four work fine, the LEDs are a little brighter but sharper.  For a different room I replace the  incandescent bulb with a Philips wide surface LED that I got from Home Depot.  Uses 16 watts but the same as 75,  The darn thing fills the whole room (12x12) with a nice light.  Had to leave the glass globe off. Doesn't matter, looks nice without it.


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## metric_taper (Dec 11, 2020)

Harbor Freight has 5000 lumen fixtures, that can be had for $18 if you get a coupon online. Don't know if they have one right now. But I put up 6 of them in a 24x32 room with white painted walls and ceiling, and it's very bright.
I've had T12 (ballast) and T8 (solid state) fixtures in the shop, and they all fail over time. Especially if it's cold.


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## Aukai (Dec 12, 2020)

I used these on the car side of my garage, and give off good lighting. the clip can be screwed to the ceiling, or cable hung. They are potted lights though, and have been going for about a year no issues.
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B01NAEI1YF/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_search_asin_title?ie=UTF8&psc=1&fpw=alm


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## BGHansen (Dec 12, 2020)

Walmart sells 4 foot 3000 or 5000 lumen LED shop lights with a pull chain.  I have one above every machine in my shop, must have 8 or 10 of them. My general shop lighting in a 40 x 32 shop is 9 4' old fluorescent fixtures converted to LED lights. 

Bruce


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## devils4ever (Dec 12, 2020)

I started with 20 fluorescent lights in my basement shop 30 years ago. I started replacing them with Home Depot LED ones when they went out. Now, I'm replacing them with the Harbor Freight LED ones (SKU #64410). They are brighter than the HD ones and cheaper. I really like them. With coupon, they can be had for under $20.


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## AGCB97 (Dec 12, 2020)

You should be able to find 'single strip integrated 4' tubes' for under $7 ea in quantities of 10 -16. Double strip or bulbs side by side do little to increase light but do double the power usage.
Aaron


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## Flyinfool (Dec 12, 2020)

I have one 6000K fixture, and one several 5000K fixtures, I never bought a 4000K because that is to yellow for my taste, I have found the the 6000K is to blue for my taste. 5000K is for me the closest to the color of sunlight. So if I paint something in the house it looks the same when it gets outside. The blue in the 6000K makes the colors look weird. Everyones eyes are different. you have to experiment to find which color works best for your eyes. My best color may not be your best color.


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## pontiac428 (Dec 12, 2020)

I put 12 of these to cover 980 sq ft of shop floor.  I am impressed and amazed.  I might add another over my machine area to buck the shadows under my mill head, but otherwise the shop is bright and awesome.



			https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B07NMHDKYJ/
		


For kelvin temperature, I prefer 5000K.  6k is too harsh and leads to fatigue.  My opinion may not be shared, but I've spent a lot of time on illumination studies as part of my job and can get mind-bogglingly technical on the subject.  5k is a sweet spot.


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## walz10 (Dec 12, 2020)

I have several different kinds of 4’ led lights and like all of them. The ones I think are best are the Honeywell brand I got from Sam’s club. They are linkable and haven’t given me any problems yet and I’ve had them for about 2 years. I have 5 of those in a 1 car garage and it’s plenty bright in there. The other ones I have are the old style with the ballast removed and two led bulbs in the fixture. I got all of those from a friend so don’t know much about them. All in all led lights are great. The one thing I have noticed is that the shadows seem darker. I think that’s due to the light being whiter. No matter what you choose to install I’m sure you’ll be happy. I looked at prices online a few weeks ago for a friend and it seems like waiting for a sale is pointless considering the prices I found on Amazon. 


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk


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## KevinM (Dec 17, 2020)

I went with the triple whammy.  HF LED lamps, sewing machine lights and a light ring on the quill. I put 1 HF fixture on the wall to fill in shadows from my big head and the quill.  It's a whole new experience to be able to actually see what is going on when machining.  Thanks for all of the suggestions.


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## ddickey (Dec 17, 2020)

Second that. Thanks for the suggestions.
I ended up getting 3000 lumen 4000k integrated LED's 4' long. Pretty limited to what I could find around here. Put nine up total. Very nice light. I would say not to bright at all.


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## kd4gij (Dec 17, 2020)

I replaced a 4" daylight led shop light on my patio and it is much brighter.

Amazon.com: LED Garage Lights, 8000 lumens Super Bright LED Workshop Lights, 80W Garage Lights with E26 Base, deformable Garage Lights with 3 dimmable Panels, Warehouse, Workshop Ceiling Lights: Home Improvement


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