led shop lights ( must have )

[300magnum]

ok let em start off with my old lighting in my shop ***** lol. so i decided to look for new lights. i found led 4ft bulbs on amazon that use no ballast at all. do i decided to order 4 4bulb kits. this will be 8 bulbs in total. so i pull old shop lights down. next i rewired them and removed the ballast out of the fixtures. then i closed them up and installed the bulbs. after installing them but up and plugging them in. now for the flick of the switch. oh my god. these lights are so bright. the 4 lights are brighter than 8 old ones with ease. today i finished up all my lights in my shop (35lights or 70 bulbs). my shop is so bright that it almost hurts your eyes. just so you know my shop is 35x55 with 14 food ceilings. i also talked to the co. about the lights and what a savings. with all 35 lights now switched to led it will only cost me to run 4 of the old set up. so i figure the first year or so will pay for the lights and the next 4 years will be cash in our pockets.

not sure if i am allowed to post a link for the lights just to help everyone out but i am going to. and just so you all know i do not work for them at all. i just like passing on good finds and money savings.
here is the lights
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B01LP7CB4Y/?tag=atomicindus08-20

 

[300magnum]

also these are the light fixtures i have. like i said just pull the ballast out and some small rewire work and you done. maybe 6 or 7 min tops. then your ready for the led bulbs

http://www.homedepot.com/p/Lithonia...uorescent-Shop-Light-1233-SHOPLIGHT/203081577

 

[dwsmith]

I just replaced one bank of T8s with this setup from Optilumen. They are pretty slick AND I won't actually have any "bulbs". Like your bulbs the new LEDs are more than twice as bright with two less "bulbs"! Can't wait to get all three banks of lights replaced.
A bit of work getting the old fixture stripped out and the new driver rewired but a nice retrofit.
The LEDs do make a difference though, don't they?

http://optilumen.com/product/led-troffer-retrofit-kit/

 

[woodzy]

I have 9, 4 bulb tubes left to rewire and I'll be done in my shop. I went with 18 watt 4000K LED's and the shop is 30 x 64. 196 tubes in all are getting replaced - have plenty of ballasts that I no longer need and 196 tubes that need to be recycled.

I agree, plenty of light. In the wood shop, each four bulb units are wired to two different switches - with one switch only the two inside bulbs light up but if I really want light, both switches and daylight has arrived.

 

[gnab2]

Do you have any pictures of your shop Woodzy? I have a 30x50 I am building and I am looking for ideas.

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[sierradmax]

30x30 with four rows of five 4' Maxlite LED fixtures. 12 on one switch leg & 8 on another. Here's a picture with all lights on.

 

[kneeman]

Get high CRI

 

[reader2580]

I just replaced one bank of T8s with this setup from Optilumen. They are pretty slick AND I won't actually have any "bulbs". Like your bulbs the new LEDs are more than twice as bright with two less "bulbs"! Can't wait to get all three banks of lights replaced.
A bit of work getting the old fixture stripped out and the new driver rewired but a nice retrofit.
The LEDs do make a difference though, don't they?

http://optilumen.com/product/led-troffer-retrofit-kit/

Troffer retrofits seem a lot more expensive than just putting LED tubes in an existing fixture. Do you see an advantage to the retrofits over tubes?

 

[bullnerd]

196 TUBES! That's gotta be some kinda record!

Sierra Dmax, where did you get your pallet rack? Doesn't look like the standard heavy duty ones. I want something similar.

 

[sierradmax]

196 TUBES! That's gotta be some kinda record!

Sierra Dmax, where did you get your pallet rack? Doesn't look like the standard heavy duty ones. I want something similar.

Found them on CL. I don't know the manufacturer. Picked the set up for $200. Not quite as heavy-duty as the 42" wide teardrop pallet racking but more than enough for what I'll put on it.

 

[Dick in Wisconsin]

Wow! 25 bulbs for $249. That's $10 a bulb. When I put the floursecent bulbs in my shop a little over a year ago ... I probably paid what ... $3 to $5 bulb?

Much brighter LED, little or no heat, lasts longer.

You guys who took out the ballasts, do you run AM radios in your shops? Did you notice if as you replaced the ballasts the interference on the radio from the ballasts/fluorescent lights went away?

An we should expect the cost of the LED lights to go nowhere but DOWN!

It looks like you hook 120volt AC up to the LEDs. There must be a transformer or resistor that steps the power down to something between 12volts DC and 30volts DC power in the tube itself. Is that assumption correct?

Sierra Dmax, where did you get your pallet rack? Doesn't look like the standard heavy duty ones. I want something similar.

I like it too. Looks tall. I have a 10' ceiling and need something tall too.

 

[goingtoarizona]

I just did that on Tuesday night. I had a ballast that's been going bad. I did it after work, fighting the darkness, the results were awesome. I used Hyperikons form Amazon and love 'em.

 

[crankshaftdan II]

I have a 30x50 without any existing tubes and would like to put up 8' length LED's for simplistic reason and less labor. The white light 5K series seems to give the best lighting for a white ceiling and walls??? Would like to find a supplier with a descent price point as I think I would like 18ea units for a three row set up and have only found $100+ units so far. This is far more lighting than probably required for the shop-however it seems to be the answer for older tired eyes as we age and need to accomplish work with additional portable lights! Anyone went this route or can give any names/costs/values?? Thanks..........Cranky

 

[Dick in Wisconsin]

Have you looked at twice as many 4' lights? Won't shipping on 8' lights be high?t

To hold the cost down, what about finding used 4' fixtures, and then convert them to LED like the guys above have?

 

[crankshaftdan II]

Sam's has a nice 4" dual strip/bright white version for about $35.00ea--problem is that it is NOT daisy chain where you can plug one into another and run them all off one or two sockets! Probably more labor than the aforementioned by other members doing all the refitting with the kits and additional electrical sockets??? I'm looking at the least overhead work as well as the lesser amount of additional electrical sockets and wiring costs. Probably only take 3 screws to hold up a 8' led into the rafters and half as much time and two guys should be able to do the job in 1/2 day max. if I can find 8' models? Seems like most mfgr. want to sell 4' versions with two/four or other type set-ups vs the longer units?? Menard's sells a 8' unit with a cover like vapor proof over the LED, however it looks like it difuses the light a lot--price is about $100.00 or so. I like the open LED version as I think you get the "Most Bang For The Buck" with that type of lighting?
I might be forced to go the retro fit way if nothing else shows up before summer!

 

[thickhead]

Almost sounds like the OP is hawking his own Amazon sales to us - sorry if I'm wrong.
Any photos of your shop or lights to share?

 

[TOOL MASTER]

got rid of my 4 footers last summer and made about 30 feet of this...1 light every 2 ft (stud c/c)

edit...they are on the ceiling..lol

 

[cybrdyke]

Almost sounds like the OP is hawking his own Amazon sales to us - sorry if I'm wrong.
Any photos of your shop or lights to share?

Damn, man...that's exactly what I was thinking. Troll alert!!

CD

 

[Bottlecapdigger]

got rid of my 4 footers last summer and made about 30 feet of this...1 light every 2 ft (stud c/c)

edit...they are on the ceiling..lol

what you got going there is what I'm thinking of doing. What is your spacing or grid pattern and how high is your ceiling? Also What size of LED bulbs are you using? I'm not sure how far apart I need to set my boxes. BCD

 

[LS6 Tommy]

Please don't take this the wrong way, but I can't see some of the math they talked about being correct. If my math is correct (and there's a very good chance it isn't) running 35 of them for a 40 hour week at $.07/kWh as the average for most of the US, that's $196.00/year. Running 4 of the T8 fixtures cost $56.00/year...

Either way, at roughly 40% of the wattage of a T8, you're still saving a lot of money on electricity...

Tommy

 

[TOOL MASTER]

2 ft spaced to ceiling rafters...60 watt led....I made up about 30ft worth to light where needed ...way better than the 4ft ers i had

 

[cybrdyke]

Please don't take this the wrong way, but I can't see the math they talked about being correct. Depending on your bulk price, they can't 100% pay themselves off in savings in a year. Those LEDs use 60W less than the T8 fixtures. If my math is correct (and there's a very good chance it isn't) running 35 of them is 61.6kWh/for a 40 hour week. Using $.07/kWh as the average for most of the US, that's $4.31/week, or $215.60/year. Running 4 of the T8 fixtures cost &56.00/year...

Tommy

You're pretty close.
He says he had 2 lamp fixtures but didn't say what they were. Assuming the worst case scenario, they are old T12 and use 96 watts each. Replacing them with these tubes @ 22 watts each, 44 watts total, is a 52 watt savings per fixture. Using 40 hours/week, that's 108 KwHr saved per year. At a rate of 7 cents, the savings per year for all of the fixtures is $265.00.
At $10 per tube, that's a 3 year payback.
If he runs his lamps 24/7/365, then it's around $1110 saved per year.
CD

 

[penright]

There must be a transformer or resistor that steps the power down to something between 12volts DC and 30volts DC power in the tube itself. Is that assumption correct?

With LED it's not the voltage as much as it is current. Of course if one LED is dropping all the voltage then ohms law is a lot of current.
Not sure what technology they use, but I did mess with LED christmas lights this year. They actually drive the string straight 120v with a small ballast resistor. Since the voltage is AC, they are flashing, but fast enough that your eyes can't pick it up.There are 25 lights per segment. When you have a 50 bulbs they have two segments. The bulbs are wired in series so each one drops a few volts. So I needed to shorten the string, the issue is if you cut off 1/2 of a segment then the current will be too high. So I backed into the amps, by the labels watts. Also, I know how many each one dropped, so I had to make up the difference with a resistor. I calculate it again with know current, needed voltage drop, using ohms law. Burn all Christmas without smoke.

Now, I am curious, looking at a 4 foot LED, it is a strip of LED's. I wonder if they use the same design? The downside of wired in series, if one goes out they all go out. I wonder if that the same with 4 foot LEDs?

 

[LS6 Tommy]

You're pretty close.
He says he had 2 lamp fixtures but didn't say what they were. Assuming the worst case scenario, they are old T12 and use 96 watts each. Replacing them with these tubes @ 22 watts each, 44 watts total, is a 52 watt savings per fixture. Using 40 hours/week, that's 108 KwHr saved per year. At a rate of 7 cents, the savings per year for all of the fixtures is $265.00.
At $10 per tube, that's a 3 year payback.
If he runs his lamps 24/7/365, then it's around $1110 saved per year.
CD

You can't do the math like that. The "F96T12" designation isn't the wattage the bulb uses, it's the nominal wattage for the bulb to operate. Most are actually rated at 60 or 75 watts output. What you really need to use for savings calculations is the fixture input wattage (the power the BALLASTS use), which is only 140w on a dual lamp fixture. The savings are still dramatic, no doubt.

Tommy

 

[Showkey]

Tommy.......think your about to get schooled

CD clean up in aisle 1.

 

[laser3kw]

Not sure what technology they use,

(one word - "Roswell")
as far as savings, I can relate my real experience. I switched all the cfl "bulbs" in my house to LED. First thing I notice is that they were brighter. So I downsized the equivalent wattage on the LED's. I did this about a year ago. I noticed an every month savings of about 30%.

 

[cybrdyke]

You can't do the math like that. The "F96T12" designation isn't the wattage the bulb uses, it's the nominal wattage for the bulb to operate. Most are actually rated at 60 or 75 watts output. What you really need to use for savings calculations is the fixture input wattage (the power the BALLASTS use), which is only 140w on a dual lamp fixture. The savings are still dramatic, no doubt.

Tommy

I wasn't figuring 8' tubes. I was figuring 4' tubes. F40T12. When you have 2 of them in a fixture, with an old ballast, input watts is 96.
CD

 

[bullnerd]

Found them on CL. I don't know the manufacturer. Picked the set up for $200. Not quite as heavy-duty as the 42" wide teardrop pallet racking but more than enough for what I'll put on it.

That's exactly what I want, 24" deep.

Thanks.

 

[cybrdyke]

Tommy.......think your about to get schooled

CD clean up in aisle 1.

haha...just saw this.
I wanted to be a cowboy, but I found out that there's no money in it. So, now I'm a lighting nerd.
CD

 

[woodzy]

Do you have any pictures of your shop Woodzy? I have a 30x50 I am building and I am looking for ideas.

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I can take some pictures but it is divided onto three different rooms.

The wood shop is 30 x 26 and has 24 - 4 bulb drop ceiling lights.

The metal shop is 18 x 30 and has 7 - 4 bulb drop ceiling lights and 1 2 x 2 drop ceiling U-Tube light - this room has a 10' x 10' garage door.

The last room (Was CMM inspection) is 20 x 30 and has 18 - 4 bulb drop ceiling lights.

Each of these LED tubes draw 18watts each and have I think 96 LED's in each tube. Just finished the wiring yesterday to remove the ballast and re-wire them and all of them worked without any issue.

 

[bullnerd]

I can take some pictures but it is divided onto three different rooms.

The wood shop is 30 x 26 and has 24 - 4 bulb drop ceiling lights.

The metal shop is 18 x 30 and has 7 - 4 bulb drop ceiling lights and 1 2 x 2 drop ceiling U-Tube light - this room has a 10' x 10' garage door.

The last room (Was CMM inspection) is 20 x 30 and has 18 - 4 bulb drop ceiling lights.

Each of these LED tubes draw 18watts each and have I think 96 LED's in each tube. Just finished the wiring yesterday to remove the ballast and re-wire them and all of them worked without any issue.

CMM room! Sounds nice!

 

[300magnum]

yes cybrdyke, they were old i think about 8 to 10 years old. the fixtures were 4 foot 2 bulb with the old magnetic ballast is what i was told. dont know anything about ballast. and the bulbs were 40 or 50 watt. not sure i gave them all away. all i know is it is so bright now and i am in my shop close to 60 hrs a week. i am able to do this because it is behind my house and i run a small repair shop on the side. i will try and get some pics of the new light and how well lit the shop is now.

 

[Fordman7795]

That's exactly what I want, 24" deep.

Thanks.

That is what I am looking for as well.


This appears to be the same style.
http://www.ebay.com/itm/pallet-rack...025232?hash=item4b0fa518d0:g:tEUAAMXQkN5RBt1r

 

[slowthump]

Wow!

You guys who took out the ballasts, do you run AM radios in your shops? Did you notice if as you replaced the ballasts the interference on the radio from the ballasts/fluorescent lights went away?

I replaced t8 lights with direct wire led 4 foot tubes(removed the ballasts). My radio is now completely free of the annoying buzz/static interference that drove me to work with a headlamp and the lights off! LED is definitely the way to go in my experience. Combine the benefits of long life, low power use, great light and cold weather start up they can't be beat in my opinion.

 

[elba]

I bought ( complete unit ) 4 Ft. LED , 42 Watts , 4500 Lumens at SAMS . Wow , bright - I love them !!!!!!!!