LED florescent replacments ??

[scale]

Has anyone used the HyperIkon LED replacement bulbs for florescent fixtures? It looks like they sell the 4ft bulbs to go in the fixtures you already have or you can buy the full thing fixture and all for not too much more money.

I am thinking of doing this because the lights i have are the $10 garbage floresents that dont work well in the cold weather and they are not very bright at all.

In the end i am wondering if anyone has any experience with these. I have low garage ceilings and probably could get the 3 car garage done with 4 fixtures i am thinking.

 

[chaosracing]

I used another brand (forget, but got it at Home Depot) for one of my flourescent lights. It works good. I had to remove the ballast because they do not need it, plus mine had gone bad (some you can leave the ballast in place) They just cost alot.
In my new garage, I just installed 5 LED 4 foot lights down the center. My garage is 26'x38'x16' and these alone light it up really great. I am adding two more rows of 4 along the walls for shadow elimination, but honestly I really only need the 5. They turn on right away. I bought a pack of 6 first, then 2 4 packs for the other runs. In my opinion, it is more cost effective in the long run to get new lights rather than replace the bulbs.
Here are the ones I bought https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B07D94M16B/?tag=atomicindus08-20

 

[scale]

interesting. Thanks. I am not sure the exact measurements of my garage but it is a 2+ car for sure. 2 wide and extra deep. I can sqeeze in 3 cars or 2 cars and toys. My ceilings are only about 7 feet tall so im not sure what lumens to get. My gut tells me to go with the full bright white 5000k lumen models. I am not sure what those short ceilings are going to do to affect how much light i need. I am thinking if starting with 4 and adding from there.

 

[830singleshot]

We have converted several hundred 4' florescent fixtures with led tubes from a eBay vendor. These are bulbs that do not use a ballast. It has been a real blessing for me as it now makes the bulb as the single point of failure . Also, if the fixture is too bright, just use a single bulb. In 2 years, we have had 1 bulb go out. Buying the bulbs in 25 packs cost about $5.00/ bulb delivered.

 

[scale]

I just had a look at my old florescent fixtures. They are garbage. All bent....falling apart. Not worth salvaging to retro fit bulbs in.

My real dilemma now is do i go with HyperIkon or Sunco. Both have 4 packs of 4 foot led shop lights for $99 bucks. I think the suncos have a bit better warranty but i have to imagine both are the same thing really...using the same technology. Like i said, i only have 7 foot ceilings so i am guessing i can get away with the 40w (260w equivalent) rather than going up to the 300 watt equivalent.

 

[chaosracing]

I have had my Sunco lights installed for a month so far and really like them. They seem to have good reviews. I was considering the HyperIkon before, but then I saw some bad reviews on them and decided not to go with them. But like you said, its probably all the same. One thing I did though was to run screws through the backing instead of using the hanging hardware since I wanted flush mount. I made a jig to drill holes through the fixture and then screwed to my metal ceiling.

 

[greg13]

Very important to pay attention to the brightness rating. I bought some from Lowes a year ago that were 4000k. A week ago I added another light with 5000k bulbs HUGE difference.

 

[Bert_]

Very important to pay attention to the brightness rating. I bought some from Lowes a year ago that were 4000k. A week ago I added another light with 5000k bulbs HUGE difference.

Light output is measured in lumens.
4000*K and 5000*K is color temperature. It has NOTHING to do with brightness, you could easily find a 4000*K light that is brighter than a 5000*K light. It's like saying a blue car is faster than a red car.

 

[scale]

I have had my Sunco lights installed for a month so far and really like them. They seem to have good reviews. I was considering the HyperIkon before, but then I saw some bad reviews on them and decided not to go with them. But like you said, its probably all the same. One thing I did though was to run screws through the backing instead of using the hanging hardware since I wanted flush mount. I made a jig to drill holes through the fixture and then screwed to my metal ceiling.

I will end up flush mounting as well. did you end up taking each light apart to run the screw up through the middle or did you just screw straight up between the bulbs and call it good? I have heard if you make a template (no matter which way you do it) that will help a great deal (as you mentioned).

They have another brand at Costco that i might check out. THat is at least local to me and they have a great return policy. I think they want $39 for 2 of them. I think the brand is hit or miss depending on the speicific item but that price is a tad cheaper than the suncos even.

Either way i am moving forward with something. I ripped out all my old florecents yesterday and trashed them. I am excited to have some good lighting in the garage after all these years. I have just been using the incandescents and one of those halogens on a tripod that move around to where i need. When i removed the old florenscents out yesterday i couldnt even tell the difference. They were more than worthless. Now to figure out where to get rid of all these old tubes.

 

[cybrdyke]

Hey Scale,
Good luck on your lighting project. Dozens of folks on this forum have purchased the costco/sams club LED strips and seem to be happy with them, as long as you dont get your hopes up too high. Just understand that they are the lowest of the low, quality-wise. 4 of them will probably light up your space a lot better than what you had. If it's just a garage for parking cars, you'll be fine. If you intend to do some work in there, you might want to double that, or at least add a few over a bench or work area.
Your fluorescent tubes are considered hazardous waste, so be careful how you dispose of them. Most areas allow them to be pitched in small quantities as regular household waste, but wouldn't allow a bunch of them to be put into a commercial dumpster.
CD

 

[scale]

I am thinking the local batteries plus store takes them and charges $1 or so per bulb for disposal. Ill probably got that route if it isnt too much of a hassle. Ive got about 10 to get rid of and the sooner the better. My luck one or more will break and ill have to clean that up if i dont get rid of them asap.

 

[greg13]

Light output is measured in lumens.
4000*K and 5000*K is color temperature. It has NOTHING to do with brightness, you could easily find a 4000*K light that is brighter than a 5000*K light. It's like saying a blue car is faster than a red car.

You are correct, My mistake. Too many years of watts/cool white we have to learn a whole new measurement system.

 

[scale]

i picked up 2 of the costco brand this morning and one of those giant pizza slices the size of my ***......but thats probably best saved for a different thread.

I got the 2 hung temporary now and they are much better than my old for sure. The width of the garage measures about 26 feet wide and probably 30 deep or so. I have to figure which way i want to mount them for best light but i figure 6 should do the trick total......maybe 8. I need to play with the configuration to see which throws the the light best.

I already have 9 outets in the ceiling spaced properly so that will help. I am going to run them down the outsides first and if that doesnt throw enough light, ill throw more down the center. I am guessing 6 down the outside longways will be enough. Either way, it is WAY better than what i have now which is nothing or my large halogen.

I do have some spot/track lights as well that i replaced wiht LED bulbs about a year ago and they really help as well.

 

[chaosracing]

Sorry for late response, lost internet due to stupid ISP letting wire lay across the street before a snow storm and have issues trying to get on the site with smartphone.

Anyway, yeah, I just drilled through the fixture with a hole slightly larger than the screw I was using. I then used pancake head sheet metal screws (1 1/2" IIRC). My template was just a piece of 1" foam scrap I had.

 

[scale]

i did order the sunco ones on amazon. They are the EXACT same as the fiet ones you can get at costco. The costco ones are cheaper at $20 per. THE sunco ones are $25 per. The costco ones are 4000k and the sunco ones are 5000k. I cant really tell the difference. at all.

I can tell you that the costco ones have better hardware to hang them. The sunco ones are a joke. IF direct mounting this is not an issue.

The costco ones come with a small ridge wire you can run through each end and through an eyelet bolt and your done.

The sunco ones use chunks of jack chain and s hooks etc that you have to assemble and bend. Its junk.....but workable.

You could get 5 costco ones for the cost of 4 of the other. Ideally i will need 6......and maybe 8 total so costco will be the ones i get going forward.

 

[bochnak]

Take a look at this sticky:

https://www.garagejournal.com/forum/showthread.php?t=278420

 

[scale]

I put up one of the suncos tonight....and i think i can tell the difference. I think 4k is the better choice for me. Those 5k suncos make it feel like i turned my garage into a walmart. The light feels way too fake. The 4ks seem brighter with the softer light if that makes sense. I am going to hang the rest of the suncos and see if i can stand it. IF it drives me nuts.....they are going back. They do have a 7 year warranty which is nice. I like that part but so far that is about it. Form-wise....they are the exact same light fixture in every other way.

 

[theoldwizard1]

IMHO, take the old fixtures down and replace the whole thing. Easier in the long run,

 

[Phantomd]

At home I have a bunch of the Costco $20 Feit fixtures, I also purchased some amazon "Hykolity" fixtures which were almost the same but 50000K vs the 40000K of the Costco lights. I love them. I have something like 9-12 of them in my 22x22 garage.

At work I just started replacing all of our old T8 fixtures (450 bulbs total) with the Hyperikon ballast bypass bulbs. Our power company gives us a $3 a bulb rebate for every one I buy. I have been very impressed with the light and quality. We use three different color temperatures and much prefer the 40000k in all the areas. However the offices are used to 30000k so I went with that in those areas. Rewiring the fixtures is super easy. I used Ideal "In-Sure" push in wire connectors and it made it super easy. One catch for that rebate is they must be DLC certified bulbs, which the Hyperikons are. I measured a 40% reduction in power usage, which works out to a 2.5-3 year ROI for this project. Super easy decision to make.

Our parking lot lights have also been converted to Hyperikon LED shoebox pole mounted lights. That install was a bit more involved since I needed a lift but it was a significant improvement.

 

[scale]

How long have you been running the coscto ones? Any issues with quality? I am probably going to return all my 5k SUNCOs and go all 4k Costcos. Better price, mounting and color in my opinion.

Like i said...even at the price you could purchase 1 or 2 extras in case one fails and costco doesnt sell them any longer in the future and still come out ahead of other brands.

 

[Phantomd]

I've been running the costcos for 2 years or so now.

 

[scale]

That is pretty impressive. Occasional use or full nonstop use daily? I mean at $20/per you really cant expect much. I will probably pick up 6 more today and take advantage of the sale. I can always return them if i decide to keep the suncos......which isnt looking very likely at this point. I want to finish hanging them all and make sure i really do hate them first

 

[JCQuick]

I used another brand (forget, but got it at Home Depot) for one of my flourescent lights. It works good. I had to remove the ballast because they do not need it, plus mine had gone bad (some you can leave the ballast in place) They just cost alot.
In my new garage, I just installed 5 LED 4 foot lights down the center. My garage is 26'x38'x16' and these alone light it up really great. I am adding two more rows of 4 along the walls for shadow elimination, but honestly I really only need the 5. They turn on right away. I bought a pack of 6 first, then 2 4 packs for the other runs. In my opinion, it is more cost effective in the long run to get new lights rather than replace the bulbs.
Here are the ones I bought https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B07D94M16B/?tag=atomicindus08-20

Thanks for the link

 

[GTFiero]

Costco Feit are the way to go. Have 9 of them on a 13' ceiling 24'x30' shop. Lights the place like a stadium. Also us 8 of them in a 12' ceiling 30'x36' storage area and 4 of them in the house garage (9 1/2' ceiling 26'x30'). Bought all on sale at $20 then got $8 each back with a electric utility rebate (energy optimization) program. Net cost $12 each. Couldn't find a better deal and they work great. No shadows, no glare, not blue, instant on in all temps, just nice working light.

 

[scale]

wow....yeah with a rebate that would get the price way down there. I dont think my provider has any kind of rebate program like that (xcel energy in the midwest) but i will certainly check into it. I plan to replace all my incandescent bulbs in the house with standard LED style as well.