LED Shop lights

[joseywales]

I grabbed two a while back, from BJ's I think. 5,000 lumens and they're nice. However, i just grabbed some others, different brand/model perhaps. I'm only using these new ones for general lighting, but notice they give off yellow streaks. I notice my older ones do not. These were $35 lights, on sale for $20.

Anyway, anyone know is it's just because they are cheaper? Also, any thoughts on good LED lights, that will daisy chain, that I can hang over workbenches and other task areas?

 

[jshillin]

I grabbed two a while back, from BJ's I think. 5,000 lumens and they're nice. However, i just grabbed some others, different brand/model perhaps. I'm only using these new ones for general lighting, but notice they give off yellow streaks. I notice my older ones do not. These were $35 lights, on sale for $20.

Anyway, anyone know is it's just because they are cheaper? Also, any thoughts on good LED lights, that will daisy chain, that I can hang over workbenches and other task areas?

Yep... I bought good ones, then thought I'd grab some cheaper ones too... I took the cheaper ones back right away. Look at the K on each light to get similar color. I have a dozen of them in my garage and 4 in my shed. They are around $29 at Sam's Club and you can daisy chain 10 of those.

 

[cderalow]

I normally grab the $20-35 lithonia strip lights from home depot and use those.

They're a contractor grade, and require a hard wiring, but can be looped together on the same circuit.

 

[Falcon67]

I have one fixture that has one Sam's 4000K, one 5000K from ? and two Utilitech 6500Ks in it. Only the two Utilitech are the same color. The 4000K is big orange to my eyes, why I didn't buy more of them. The 5000K is a bit off white. The 3500K Cree BR-30 bulbs in kitchen are brighter than the unknown 5000K.

IMHO and experience with LEDs, you best buy all the bulbs of a specific color temp from the same mfg. And the better brands like Cree will have more consistent color.

 

[joseywales]

So some observations:

When I first bought lights from BJ.s:

- I purchased Model 8150S-WA5, 5000K color. 84CRI 100 Lumens /watt. Well, actually I didn't purchase these. I actually purchased and paid for the less expensive lights, but this is what they gave me. I hung 4 of them and didn't notice the yellow. I then purchased 4 more, and when I picked them up at BJ's, I realized the mistake they had first made.

- so this time, they gave me the correct, less expensive, Model 814OSE2-WH5, 5000K color, 112 lumens/watt.


I hadn't hung the less expensive units, but did try them just now. I had them stacked, ready to return, mostly because they don't daisy chain, but I might be able to live with that. When life slows down, i'll hard wire everything, but for now I'm just putting out fires. ironically, the cheap lights do not seem to throw any yellow. I think the height matters, and my garage ceiling is low, 7'5" at best, and the yellow seems to be in the middle of the light.

BTW, I discovered the yellow because I'm putting out a bunch of Lionel trains and plasticville to sell. I said, "there's no way my Plasticville yellowed, because everything was kept in a climate controlled area." Then I noticed my hand and arms was jaundice, so either call the doctor or check the lights. I went with the latter

 

[BitDrive]

I bought some Hyperlite 150watt 4000k off Amazon, a little pricey at $130 each, but they are incredibly bright per lamp and can be put on a dimmer. I agree you def want to keep them the same brand and model for consistency, but the LED technology changes so quickly the ones from 4 years ago look totally different than the ones today.

 

[atch]

See post #1062 in this thread.

Cheap and REALLY BRIGHT white light.

 

[dwasifar]

See post #1062 in this thread.

Cheap and REALLY BRIGHT white light.

I did pretty much the same thing throughout my basement and workshop, except I used three-bulb fixtures and Y-adapters to get six bulbs per fixture at even greater cost savings.

 

[Platonic Solid]

joseywales - The part numbers you posted are Lights of America fixtures which, as a company, have a long history of poor quality and false advertising. Both have clear lenses which causes uneven light distribution = stripes of light at different intesities. In the future always opt for frosted lenses. My guess regarding the yellow streaks is the combination of the clear lens and low quality paint used on their reflector. Or low quality or mismatched LEDs - or all of the above.

I don't know of any linkable shop light that I would consider high quality. One worth considering is the Maxlite LED Shop Light (Link) $22.50

 

[PassnThru]

I'm currently replacing my florescent bulbs with LED in my detached garage. I have some Lithonia fixtures I bought 16 years ago that hold four 4' T8 bulbs. The fixture is about 8 feet long - the bulbs are arranged 2 each end to end. It basically emulates a fixture with two side by side 8 foot bulbs. It was built as one piece although it does have two covers - it only had one ballast in it.
I bought ballast bypass bulbs that were wired at one end. The changeover has been pretty straight forward.
I'm actually glad that I have existing fixtures that I could buy conversion bulbs for. When those bulbs die, I can buy another bulb to replace it.
If you buy a light that was built as an LED light, then when it goes out what happens? Can you buy replacement LED strips for that light? I haven't seen anything like that available. I think long run you are going to have to replace the whole light. Is the light you bought going to be available 2 years from now? I'm honestly to the point where if I need new fixtures I would buy florescent fixtures and convert them to LED. I don't think the retrofit bulbs are ever going to go away. I do think I will be unable to buy a light in the future that matches the LED light I bought years ago. Even if I can, will the light output/color match the other ones?

 

[Cavebear]

I'm having a problem with my 4' 40w t12 2 fluorescent tube kitchen ceiling fixture, and this is the best thread Ive found to ask about it. I'm new so if not, please direct me to a better thread.

The problem is that the fixture, attached to the ceiling (below the hot attic), doesn't like to light in hot weather. New bulbs solve the problem, but I'm tired of replacing what seem to be working bulbs every Summer.

And they always seem a bit dim for my kitchen work. I would like to both replace the fixture and increase the light. The existing fixture provides 5400 lumens. I am guessing I would like 7000 lumens and would like it LED bulbs.

I've looked at fixtures from various places and can't seem to decide on one. I was expecting to find one with 6 or 8 LED bulbs I could choose for total lumens but all I find are LED tubes. And they seem to need specific kinds of ballasts.

I don't want to struggle with ballasts. Or expensive 4'LED tubes. I have a boxful of regular screw-in LEDs so I would like to use those.

Is there a standard ceiling fixture that uses screw-in LEDs adding up to about 7-8000 lumens? Am I over-worried about matching 4' LED tube bulbs to a new or existing fixture, and is there heat problem for screw-in LED bulbs that makes that not a good option?

Thanks in advance.