Smart Electrician LED shop light

[ghlkal]

(apologies if this is a dup - I searched and didn't find anything)

I picked up 4 of these to hang in my pole barn. I'm really impressed. I purchased these on sale last month at Menards (http://www.menards.com/main/lightin...438333183-c-7546.htm?tid=-3159943995852999463) for under $30.

I can tell you that the light output from one of these rivals my 4 tube T8 fixture.

Specs - 50W; 4200 lumin; 4K color

I'll be interested in seeing how well they hold up since this is really a barn environment.

Anyone else have any experience with these?

 

[Showkey]

I am confused.........plain Jane T8 is 32w 2600 lumens.

Your saying the 4 tube T8 ( 10400 lumen) fixture is the same "light output" as your new LED rated at 4200 lumens ??? Perhaps you could measure the light output of each fixture ???

As far as the those LED they are 84 lumens per watt. There are LED fixture that are close to 100 lumens per watt.
Your std T8 is 81 lumens per watt.

Old ( aged) T8 bulbs do lose light output .....

 

[ghlkal]

While my lux meter app is not accurate, it does seem to be precise (reproducible results). My meter shows the 4 bulb T8 fixture (with diffuser) to produce a little less light than one single Smart Electrician fixture.

My 4 tube fixture with FEIT LED tubes (and diffuser) produces twice as much light as a single Smart Electrician fixture. [but, that is 4 LED tubes]

When I'm able, I use by photo gray reference card and camera to verify this, but I'm fairly confident that one of these new LED fixtures is about the same light output as a 4 tube T8 fixture.

 

[Shiftless]

One big difference between led tubes and fluorescents is that LEDs are directional. The diodes inside the tube point downward. The fluorescent tubes emit light all around, 360 degrees, so to get all the lumens down to the ground, you have to rely on reflectors. So total lumen output is NOT directly comparable. Testing the actual illumination on a surface is the way to tell which will give you the most light where it counts...on your workbench or whatever project you are working on.
I have 5 twin tube LED shoplights mounted 7 feet above floor level in a space just 10x20. PLENTY of light! WAY more than the two old 4 tube fluorescent fixtures I used to have.

 

[cybrdyke]

Light from different sources have different spectral ranges that they create. Lux meters, for the most part, struggle to accurately read LED light. The reason is because they were designed to read "white light" which is natural in incandescent and most fluorescent lamps. Cheaper lux meters were calibrated from the factory to the spectrum of incandescent light . LEDs, even those with similar color as incandescent, have very strong wavelengths in the blue spectrum. We cant "see" these because they are mitigated in some fashion in the lamp, but they are there and they represent a large portion of the light that we can see. If your light meter was not manufactured recently and calibrated to read LED lux, you are wasting your time comparing readings from one source to the other.
If you want to know which of two sources is brighter, the math is there for you to see.
The LED fixture referenced by the OP is 4200 lumens, all delivered. A 2 lamp T8 strip fixture delivers 3100-3200 lumens. The LED fixture is unquestionably delivering more lumens. But the comparison on the box claiming that it is equivalent to a 4 lamp T8 fixture is bunk. That doesn't mean that they're not good enough fixtures, though. They're low-end, residential use and people seem to like them just fine.
CD

 

[ishiboo]

Just for reference, the Sams Club version is also 4200 lumens but 20% less power consumption. Would be interesting to see them compared to eachother. Come to think of it, somewhere I have the Craftsman lumen meter... where in the hell it is, I have no clue.

 

[jmiller_2308]

I put these in the spare garage a couple of months ago. I had to replace the fluorescent lights I had there and was looking for LEDs so that I wouldn't have to deal with cold start issues.

When I compared using a standard 4' fixture with LED bulbs it cost more than these lights (I think I got them for $28) and so I gave them a chance. I'm very pleased with them and yes they are much brighter than the 2 bulb fluorescent fixtures I replaced that had regular T8 bulbs in them.

These may not be the most efficient LED fixtures but they were cheap and at 50W they require less energy than the 32+32+ballast energy needed for the previous fluorescent fixtures with T8 bulbs.

 

[ghlkal]

Thanks for all of the useful replies.

All I can tell you is that by my subjective "eye measure" these fixtures are nice and bright. If they hold up in the barn, I'll be happy

 

[ghlkal]

I know it's really hard to tell from an image, but this shot shows one of the Smart Electrician LED fixtures (on the left) versus my 4 tube LED fixture (with FEIT tubes).

From the side at about 45*, there's just as much light (if not more) from the single Smart Electrician LED fixture. Looking up from directly underneath, the LED fixture hurts my eyes.

 

[Showkey]

From the picture : Think the illumination on the back wall tells the story..........

Do you have a smart phone ? There a several free apps that give repeatable lux values.

Easy light meter or light o meter are two. They may not be scientific instruments they do give repeatable comparative values.

 

[bear42geo]

Re: Smart Electrician LED shop light 3200 LMS.

I purchased 4 of these fixtures a week ago and installed them in my garage. I love the compact units and brightness. These lights worked fine until the weather took a dip in temperature. The instructions read these lights will start at -4 degrees. I find them unable to start at 40 degrees, damaging the tube. I found the lights are divided into 3 sections to make one long tube. I lost 2 fixtures out of the 4 in this situation. The lights in the middle of one tube failed and the other one, failed on one of the ends.

I am almost afraid to turn on the other two fixtures with temps under 50 degrees. Maybe it is a fluke to have two fixtures fail when it got cold, or maybe, it was a bad fixture in the first place. I have yet to return them to Menards for replacement. I will contact Smart Electrician Co, to get suggestions as to why the fixtures failed.

Anyone else have this problem? I am open to comments.

 

[reader2580]

Smart Electrician is just a brand trademark owned by Menards. (Basically, a house brand.) You may not get much help from anyone other than Menards refunding your money. Menards just contracts with a Chinese manufacturer to stick their brand name on a cheap LED shop light.

 

[ishiboo]

Re: Smart Electrician LED shop light 3200 LMS.

I purchased 4 of these fixtures a week ago and installed them in my garage. I love the compact units and brightness. These lights worked fine until the weather took a dip in temperature. The instructions read these lights will start at -4 degrees. I find them unable to start at 40 degrees, damaging the tube. I found the lights are divided into 3 sections to make one long tube. I lost 2 fixtures out of the 4 in this situation. The lights in the middle of one tube failed and the other one, failed on one of the ends.

I am almost afraid to turn on the other two fixtures with temps under 50 degrees. Maybe it is a fluke to have two fixtures fail when it got cold, or maybe, it was a bad fixture in the first place. I have yet to return them to Menards for replacement. I will contact Smart Electrician Co, to get suggestions as to why the fixtures failed.

Anyone else have this problem? I am open to comments.

There is NOTHING in them that should have an issue operating in any reasonable temperature. Take them back to Menards for replacement.

 

[Dagny]

I purchase a lot of stuff from menards but try not to buy anything that says smart electrician or tool shop, you will be disappointed .

 

[3footpipe]

Re: Smart Electrician LED shop light 3200 LMS.

I had a smaller version of that light fail in the same manner. It was not due to any temperature problem with the light. It got bumped while it was on. I took it back to Menards. They exchanged it with no questions asked.

 

[impalatom]

I just installed 12 of these LEDs in my 24 x 36 garage this past week. So far I am pleased with the amount of light they put out. I hope they will be trouble free for many years as they are disposable fixtures. I think the documentation said light output is equivalent to three T8 bulbs. I am a bit concerned that the documentation also said the fixtures should only be operated via the pull chain switch. I have them wired into a circuit con trolled by 3 way wall switches so hope this does not cause premature failure.

 

[Newell33]

Hi Guys. I'm looking at the Menards 3481431 LED light for my shop as well. The photo appears to show the cord coming out of the top of the fixture. I'd prefer to surface mount the fixtures. Can anyone tell me if the cord does in fact come out of the top of the fixture, or does it come out of the side?

 

[Newell33]

I was able to swing by a Menards yesterday to answer my own question. The cord does come out of the top of the fixture, so surface mounting is not an option without getting creative.

 

[roc_on_the_rocks]

I was able to swing by a Menards yesterday to answer my own question. The cord does come out of the top of the fixture, so surface mounting is not an option without getting creative.

Thanks for posting your finding here.

 

[ghlkal]

follow up ...

I have had no issue in the cold with these; air temperature was -5* this morning and these fired right up in my pole barn.

I don't operate the lights by the chain. I leave them "on" and control them via wired outlets.

A few months ago, I had a fixture fail. The entire strip was out. I contacted Menards and they did replace it. I had my original receipt and the box indicates a 5 year warranty.

I know these are not heavy-duty, but they have served my purpose well so far.

 

[My Old Tools]

The Feit LED shop lights are $19 right now at Costco.

 

[Newell33]

I've been debating what to do with the lighting in my 28' x 40' shop over the last month or so, so I thought I'd share my experience. I had 12 2-lamp fixtures in 4 rows of 3, as well as a 13th fixture above my main workbench. Two of the original fixtures used T8 lamps, and the rest used T12 lamps. I had a mix of fixture designs, and a couple with one lamp not working, as well as a few with both lamps dim. All of the fixtures were plug in style, with outlets already existing in the ceiling.

Yesterday I decided to bite the bullet and replace all 13 of the fixtures with the Menards Smart Electrician 348-1431 fixture. My originals were surface mounted, so I used the screw mounting holes for the chain included with the fixtures, and then mounted them about an inch from the ceiling by shortening the chain links. I used adhesive tie strap / zip tie mounts on the ceiling, and then zip tied the wiring leading to the outlets to the mounts. The replacement of all of the fixtures took me about 6 hours working by myself after cleanup.

Using the same fixture locations and quantities, all I can say is that I'm extremely pleased with how the shop looks compared to what I had before. It's bright, uniform, and the color temperature is perfect for me. I know that this is a cheaper product, but I was willing to take a chance. Time will tell how long the fixtures last, but so far I'm impressed with the quality and quantity of light, and the overall fit and finish of the fixtures. I could have easily spent $50.00 to $100.00 or more per fixture for likely the same result. Like any product in any industry, though, you have to weigh the risks of purchasing an overseas product that may not be around in 1-2 years. I was willing to take that risk, and so far I couldn't be happier.

 

[D45]

I have 13 of these in my garage, on sale for around $21.79 each

The best thing, INSTANT ON

Secondly, QUIET

So glad I replaced my old tube fixtures with ballasts that barely fired

I drilled holes and directly mounted mine....they are all plugged into outlets in the ceiling that are controlled by a switch

 

[cybrdyke]

I've been debating what to do with the lighting in my 28' x 40' shop over the last month or so, so I thought I'd share my experience. I had 12 2-lamp fixtures in 4 rows of 3, as well as a 13th fixture above my main workbench. Two of the original fixtures used T8 lamps, and the rest used T12 lamps. I had a mix of fixture designs, and a couple with one lamp not working, as well as a few with both lamps dim. All of the fixtures were plug in style, with outlets already existing in the ceiling.

Yesterday I decided to bite the bullet and replace all 13 of the fixtures with the Menards Smart Electrician 348-1431 fixture. My originals were surface mounted, so I used the screw mounting holes for the chain included with the fixtures, and then mounted them about an inch from the ceiling by shortening the chain links. I used adhesive tie strap / zip tie mounts on the ceiling, and then zip tied the wiring leading to the outlets to the mounts. The replacement of all of the fixtures took me about 6 hours working by myself after cleanup.

Using the same fixture locations and quantities, all I can say is that I'm extremely pleased with how the shop looks compared to what I had before. It's bright, uniform, and the color temperature is perfect for me. I know that this is a cheaper product, but I was willing to take a chance. Time will tell how long the fixtures last, but so far I'm impressed with the quality and quantity of light, and the overall fit and finish of the fixtures. I could have easily spent $50.00 to $100.00 or more per fixture for likely the same result. Like any product in any industry, though, you have to weigh the risks of purchasing an overseas product that may not be around in 1-2 years. I was willing to take that risk, and so far I couldn't be happier.

Great story. I'm happy that you took the leap of faith.
CD

 

[JJ13]

I installed one of these above my workbench in my 2+ car garage. I liked it so much that I bought a few more to replace my 8' T12 fluorescent lamp. As soon as I plugged it in and held it up at the same height I realized buying them was a mistake. I returned all but the one above my workbench. As somebody else stated, the light output is far too directional with no illumination to the sides and almost no reflection into the rafters above. The garage felt bright when standing directly under the light but everywhere else like a cave...depressing.

Here in MN, I have gone through at least two 4', -20F fluorescent strip lights above my workbench. Since I haven't had good luck I decided to keep the LED there and hope it lasts.

My T12 8' ***** up 220w and to get similar light output across my garage I would need at least four of the LED strips. 220w of bright scattered light > 200w of highly directional LED light IMO. The only savings was possibly in initial price and longevity but I have very little faith that this Chinese LED strip will last).

 

[D45]

the HUGE downside to these, ZERO RADIO reception now in my garage!!!

 

[impalatom]

the HUGE downside to these, ZERO RADIO reception now in my garage!!!

Not a huge downside in my garage. I installed 12 of these Smart Electrician LED shop lights and my radio reception is PERFECT. Don't know why you would have reception problems. Especially since I live in the sticks.

Since they work so well, I bought 9 more to install in the 2 car garage attached to the house.

It is 10 degree F this morning and the lights were instant on at full brightness. This is in my unheated, uninsulated shop.

 

[Newell33]

I have no changes in radio reception at my shop with the 13 fixtures I installed. It was also mentioned that these fixtures have too narrow of a cutoff. The cutoff, and ultimately the uniformity of the light in my shop exceeds the uniformity of my T8 and T12 fixtures. The T8 and T12 fixtures have reflector assemblies that direct the light downward, and the LED fixtures seem to be very similar with the cutoff / beam angle. If you're replacing a fixture that emits light 360 degrees, or mostly around the top of the fixture along with the bottom, then I could see where these fixtures would cause some uniformity issues.

 

[jimzz2006]

These lights are on sale for 3 days for only $14.99 at menards.. Some of you have had these for a year now... Still like them?

 

[D45]

Yes, I still love them........just use Wifi connection for radio reception now, off of Pandora on my phone

I think I have somewhere near 18-20 total fixtures

 

[11555wally]

New to the forum but have been lurking for awhile. I installed 9 of these lights in June of this year (not sure the part number) and really liked them, however, could not hardly get any stations on my FM radio and the cordless phone doesn't work very good in the pole barn. Before I could get limitless stations on the radio. I bought a cheap outside antenna off Amazon and some coax and get great reception.

 

[The_Auto_Tech]

I've had them for about 2 years now. Bought mine on Black Friday as well for cheap. Cheap, great light, easy to setup, and instant on. None of that cold weather trying to ignite ****. Got 6 of them in my 15x27 garage and it's super bright in there. Would definitely buy again.

 

[Bert_]

I know it's really hard to tell from an image, but this shot shows one of the Smart Electrician LED fixtures (on the left) versus my 4 tube LED fixture (with FEIT tubes).

From the side at about 45*, there's just as much light (if not more) from the single Smart Electrician LED fixture. Looking up from directly underneath, the LED fixture hurts my eyes.

Looking up at the fixture will tell you nothing, well I guess you can tell how glare-y they are. Saying the light hurts your eyes just means there is alot of glare, and that's not a good thing for lights on a low ceiling...

If you want to make a useful comparison, look at the floor below the lights. Notice how bright the floor is, how big of an area is lit up and how even the light is.
That troffer has a lens that is designed to diffuse the light providing even, low glare lighting.

 

[IMCA38]

I ran multiple 4' two-tube T-8 hanging fixtures in my shop for years.
Was getting tired of continually needing to replace bulbs, and the poor performance in cold weather. (I have heat in my shop, but only turn it on when I'm working out there.)
Menards had the # 348-1400 3650L fixtures on sale for Black Friday 2016. I ended up buying about 6 of them and changed them out for some of my T-8's.
I liked the light they provided, they hang about 8 1/2' off the floor, so they provided good light and no glare issues.

I decided to buy more and continue phasing into the LEDs. However, Menards discontinued this model soon after and I went to the 348-1431 4200L model reference in earlier posts. I continued to buy them 2-3 at a time when they were on sale until I was very nearly finished switching.

A couple months ago one of the early ones died out on me. Then a second one about a month ago, and a third one yesterday. All of these were the original batch of #348-1400. I found the instruction sheet and it showed that they had a 5 year warranty. I took the three failed units back and was refunded w/ no questions. However, it was about $10/ fixture to replace with the #348-1431. Oh well, still get 11% back on that!

Will be interesting to see if anymore of the original batch fail in the near future.

 

[automobiliben]

I was at Menard's yesterday and noticed that what must be the newer version of these lights are on sale for $25. Everyone still happy? I need to light my 22x24 shop with vaulted ceilings...

Sent from my Pixel 2 XL using Tapatalk

 

[FTG-05]

I was at Menard's yesterday and noticed that what must be the newer version of these lights are on sale for $25. Everyone still happy? I need to light my 22x24 shop with vaulted ceilings...

Sent from my Pixel 2 XL using Tapatalk

104 lumens/watt, which is not too bad, but $40 each.

I prefer the Sams Club/Honeywell 4' LED shop lights at 4500 lumens for 42 watts (107 lumens/watt), linkable and about $32 each ($25 each when on sale). https://www.samsclub.com/sams/2pack-led-shop-light-sh445505b299/prod21228695.ip?xid=plp:product:1:2

I put another four of them up a couple days ago in my shop. My trusses are +14' up, so I used switchable outlets to turn them on vs. the pull chains.

Good luck!

 

[D45]

I am still very very happy with the lights........bright, quiet and they are holding up fine

Still have no AM/FM in the garage.............I used my cell phone hooked up to the stereo and use Pandora

15 feet away is my enclosed patio, and the AM/FM works perfect

 

[impalatom]

I just installed 12 of these LEDs in my 24 x 36 garage this past week. So far I am pleased with the amount of light they put out. I hope they will be trouble free for many years as they are disposable fixtures. I think the documentation said light output is equivalent to three T8 bulbs. I am a bit concerned that the documentation also said the fixtures should only be operated via the pull chain switch. I have them wired into a circuit con trolled by 3 way wall switches so hope this does not cause premature failure.

An update .... After about 18 months in service all 12 lights are still working perfectly ... Instant on in my unheated detached garage during cold months. No warranty claims, so far. Radio reception is excellent. I like them so well I installed eight more in my 24 x 28 garage attached to the house. This garage is drywalled and painted white. Very bright in there at night with these lights. If they last, I will be very happy.

 

[Thirdyfivepickup]

104 lumens/watt, which is not too bad, but $40 each.

I prefer the Sams Club/Honeywell 4' LED shop lights at 4500 lumens for 42 watts (107 lumens/watt), linkable and about $32 each ($25 each when on sale). https://www.samsclub.com/sams/2pack-led-shop-light-sh445505b299/prod21228695.ip?xid=plp:product:1:2

I put another four of them up a couple days ago in my shop. My trusses are +14' up, so I used switchable outlets to turn them on vs. the pull chains.

Good luck!

Thanks! I was looking for these but was having trouble finding the number!

 

[FTG-05]

Thanks! I was looking for these but was having trouble finding the number!

****! They raised the price to $74 for two ($37 each)!