The Best Light Fixture Ever!

[jonwrong]

My garage has a vaulted ceiling of 2.5 inches per foot (from the foot at the garage door to the back). It peaks near the center. If I flush mount, my worry is that light will be aimed away from the corners. With a 4 foot fixture, there is about 10 inches of slop over the fixture. Does anyone have any experience with or comments on this? Should I just chain hang them level?

 

[Benj269]

I had to make the same choice and I figured that anything above the lights is basically wasted space, so I wanted them as high as possible and put them at an angle. My slope isn't as dramatic as yours, only 8 inches over 4 feet. I'm glad I didn't do chains.

 

[jonwrong]

I had to make the same choice and I figured that anything above the lights is basically wasted space, so I wanted them as high as possible and put them at an angle. My slope isn't as dramatic as yours, only 8 inches over 4 feet. I'm glad I didn't do chains.

I think if you are happy with the light it still throws, that would satisfy me. Are there any shadowed or dim spots as a result? Do you mind posting a pic?

 

[dur4ce]

The recommended lighting solutions in this thread sound great - but I'm curious as to why there aren't more installed examples, given all the good feedback?

I'm interested in setting up my garage with these led bulbs in the recommended 2x48" bulb bare fixtures from the first post, wired using surface mount conduit, but I'm left with a few (naive?) questions:

1. Are there knockouts for conduits on the ends? Sides (towards one end or centered?)? Photos? The tech specs aren't too helpful...
2. Are these lights rated to serve as raceways? IE can I 'daisy chain' them by wire-nutting the wire coming in with a wire going out and a third wire to the light itself?
3. Can the fixtures be butted up one against the other like a pseudo t8 with no conduit between them?

Thanks for any help!

 

[Benj269]

For the MaxLite fixtures:

1) yes, a single 1/2" knockout on each of the sides/ends.
2) doesn't say specifically, but you might want to read this: http://www.jade1.com/jadecc/courses/UNIVERSAL/NEC05.php?imDif=133. To me it sounds like #3 would apply.
3) yes, the knockouts line up, but I don't know if a box connector is required or if you can just **** up the knockouts.

 

[MJockey]

I bought my fixtures and tubes from LED Lighting Wholesale. I was ready to buy the fixtures and bulbs listed here, but on the sales page for the fixture you can add bulbs for $18, bringing the total to $33.


Benj

Benj,

Did you get LEDXPERT T8 Tubes from LED Lighting Wholesales? What wattage were they? Did they have glass or plastic lenses? Thanks.

 

[Benj269]

Benj,

Did you get LEDXPERT T8 Tubes from LED Lighting Wholesales? What wattage were they? Did they have glass or plastic lenses? Thanks.

The tubes are this:

http://www.jamesindustry.com/ProductView.Asp?ID=20

Frosted plastic lenses. I chose the 5000k

 

[dur4ce]

Thank you for the info, Benj269!

 

[MJockey]

The tubes are this:

http://www.jamesindustry.com/ProductView.Asp?ID=20

Frosted plastic lenses. I chose the 5000k

Okay, I've already loss two of the thirty 22W James tubes I have. I was wondering if the 22W LEDXPERTs were any better.

 

[forAK]

Okay, I've already loss two of the thirty 22W James tubes I have. I was wondering if the 22W LEDXPERTs were any better.

Really - 2 went dead already? Just went out or did some sort of accident happen?

 

[Benj269]

Okay, I've already loss two of the thirty 22W James tubes I have. I was wondering if the 22W LEDXPERTs were any better.

Mine are 18w. I've only run them for a few hours and have had no problems.

 

[jonwrong]

Here is my dilemma. My shop and garage (under construction now) have vaulted ceilings, so I really need to figure out and have what I want installed up front as access will be difficult. Otherwise, I would do it myself.

With the vaulted ceilings, there are other issues like hanging vs. flush mount. Plus, my contractor is telling me it's about $30 per fixture to install them. With a layout similar to every other one that PlatonicSolid has recommended (lights running end to end down the sides of a lift and perpendicular to that at the ends), I need 20 2-bulb 4ft fixtures. That cost is $16 per fixture, $10 per LED bulb, and $30 per install for a total of $66 per fixture. That is $1,320 total. It would produce 84k lumens for 750 square feet.

I considered big *** lights that are 3 foot long and 14,000 lumens. I would need six for a total cost of $2,676 (six lights at $446 each). Install is free because the base bid already includes a few lights. I am concerned, however, with the concentration of so much light. I ordered one of these to check it out, and it is pretty amazing. It is a nice light for hanging mount (something I want to avoid with the cheaper lights above). Other concern I have is failure after 7 year warranty. The lights above can easily be replaced; if the big *** loses an LED, I will have to live with it, replace it, or send it for repair.

Finally, I found these: Lithona ZL1D 5000K 96 inch LED with 14,000 lumens. They are $300 each, so cheaper than big *** lights. They also provide light from 8 feet instead of 3. I would go with six of them, so the cost is $1,800. Link: http://www.lithonia.com/commercial/zl1d.html#.V9lFB_krIdV

Does anyone have any additional thoughts?

 

[MJockey]

Really - 2 went dead already? Just went out or did some sort of accident happen?

Just stop working. Work okay for a few days, turn on the lights the next and 1 lamp didn't come on. Switch bad lamp with a working one and the problem followed the lamp. Two week later another fixture has a lamp out. I guessing the 22W James tubes have issues. That may explain why you can no longer find any for sell in the US.

 

[wagspe208]

Just stop working. Work okay for a few days, turn on the lights the next and 1 lamp didn't come on. Switch bad lamp with a working one and the problem followed the lamp. Two week later another fixture has a lamp out. I guessing the 22W James tubes have issues. That may explain why you can no longer find any for sell in the US.

http://www.ledlightingwholesaleinc....ady-Linear-Utility-Strip-p/lss2xt8use4803.htm

These are the fixture and lights you bought?? And 2 bulbs have failed already?
Looks like you thought the fixtures were pretty decent?
Thanks
Wags

 

[nsula_country]

And people judge me for using T8's in a new install... I'm not sold that LED has matured to the point of replacing fluorescents.

Good luck and hope the rest last 50k hours! I'm subscribed to this thread to follow along and see how the LED's hold up.

CT

 

[smalltown]

MJockey very interested in your post on the James LED lamps I have been looking at the 18W1200. I hope this is just an isolated case.

 

[MJockey]

MJockey very interested in your post on the James LED lamps I have been looking at the 18W1200. I hope this is just an isolated case.

I haven't had any issues with the 18W lamps only the 22W lamps.

 

[MJockey]

http://www.ledlightingwholesaleinc....ady-Linear-Utility-Strip-p/lss2xt8use4803.htm

These are the fixture and lights you bought?? And 2 bulbs have failed already?
Looks like you thought the fixtures were pretty decent?
Thanks
Wags

I have some of the 2 lamp type, but mostly the 6 lamp ones.

http://www.ledlightingwholesaleinc.com/MaxLite-LED-Lamp-Ready-High-Bay-p/blht6xt8use4815.htm

The quality is decent for the price.

FYI, This image doesn't really represent the brightness of the room.

 

[smalltown]

I have three lantern fixtures outside my garage doors. Each lantern has 1 LED bulb rated at 1 1/2 watts. The come on every evening at dusk and stay on until dawn.
They have been operating since last December. One light became intermittent, and I replaced it with a spare. I noticed that the new lamp was noticeably brighter the other two. Now I am wondering is this the case with all the LED lights? I read that a lot of these LED lamps are rated for 50,000 hours. Does that mean they will light up for 50,000, but slowly fade??

Just wondering as I am so close to ordering some the MaxLite LED ready fixtures.
Have any of you especially those that bought the James LED's seeing fade/dimming of the output light ?

 

[LX-Markham]

And people judge me for using T8's in a new install... I'm not sold that LED has matured to the point of replacing fluorescents.

Same here. I outfitted my garage with 16 T8 tubes. I did the math, and it would take me over 10 years to break even on converting to LEDs.

 

[cybrdyke]

And people judge me for using T8's in a new install... I'm not sold that LED has matured to the point of replacing fluorescents.

CT

Without judging you (because I believe T8 still gives good bang for buck), here's some facts to consider...
5 years ago, the lighting industry guess-timated that by the year 2020, fully 80% of all new lighting installations would be LED sources. Here we are near the end of 2016, and 2020 is just over 3 years away. As of today, we are far ahead of the predicted curve to 80%. At this point, well over 60% of new lighting installations are LED. In places where there are energy crunches or very high utility rates, the figures are much, much higher.
LED already HAS replaced fluorescent. It's no longer an issue of when....
and as for reliability, LED has proven itself over and over again. There are so many advantages of using LED that at this point, it's a no-brainer.

Having shared that, I need to remind myself that this is a Garage forum, not a professional lighting forum. Many folks that use this forum just want lights for their garage so that they can park their cars in there. It's not critical, or even important to have a quality lighting job. And, not everyone is rich enough to afford fancy lights. What this leads to, I'm learning, is that alot of folks will buy the cheapest stuff they can get. (not judging). Sometimes that might work out OK. Hopefully, they will understand that there is a huge difference between price and quality, especially in LED lighting. I hope they understand that when they have premature failures or poor performance, it's because they didn't purchase quality products.
Most times, it's not their fault, either. How are the masses supposed to know which products are good ones and which ones aren't? It's hard to know.
CD

 

[cnaumann]

This thread is a good resourse. I am going to have to pick lighting soon. I had really hoped that I could buy LED fixtures with warm color tempertures (3400K) with good CRI (90+) for a couple of cents of lumen. I have been hoping for this for a couple of years now, and I keep thinking that a breakthrough is just around the corner.

Tubes seem like a silly way to package LEDs with poor directional control and poor heatsinking, but I cannot argue with the price, efficiency or output. So, tubes it is...

 

[MJockey]

Hopefully, they will understand that there is a huge difference between price and quality, especially in LED lighting. I hope they understand that when they have premature failures or poor performance, it's because they didn't purchase quality products.
Most times, it's not their fault, either. How are the masses supposed to know which products are good ones and which ones aren't? It's hard to know.
CD

Is there a particular brand you recommend? It seems like every time you look there is a new manufacture or new model led bulb. Hard to get a feel for what is quality.

 

[cybrdyke]

Is there a particular brand you recommend? It seems like every time you look there is a new manufacture or new model led bulb. Hard to get a feel for what is quality.

The name brands in lighting these days are
Philips, Sylvania, Cree, Acuity (Lithonia), Cooper, Hubbell, and to some extent, GE. Philips, Sylvania and Cree make their own diodes and drivers, so they can control quality better.
2nd tier manufacturers are Satco, TCP, Maxlite, TechBrite and a few dozen others.
When you start going further down the ladder, you'll start finding that they use blemished diodes, cheaper drivers, lesser materials, poor designs and less honesty about performance. This is the area where you see hundreds of "new" manufacturers pop up. And you also see hundreds of them die off every day. These are the folks that sell on ebay. I'd never be able to recommend any of them.
If you MUST buy material online, you can get name brand stuff from Amazon.
Good luck,
CD

 

[jav]

Thanks Platonic... but????

I'm getting ready to order light fixtures and re-read the first post but I could use a little help understanding the last update on 8/24?

The update lists the best option for 30+ and, under 30- fixtures .....BUT the way I read it, the under 30 fixture @ $36.50/ fixture (121 lumens per $1) "seems" like a better deal than the 30+ fixture @ $37.59/fixture (115 lumen /$1).

Platonic has always been so thorough and detail oriented that I'm thinking I'm missing something. Can someone help me out? What am I not seeing?

Also- I presume these are better (quality/longevity/serviceable) options (with the frosted lenses) then the Cosco/BJ's/ Sams- 2 pak LED shop lights for around $34/fixture ?

 

[MJockey]

Re: Thanks Platonic... but????

I'm getting ready to order light fixtures and re-read the first post but I could use a little help understanding the last update on 8/24?

The update lists the best option for 30+ and, under 30- fixtures .....BUT the way I read it, the under 30 fixture @ $36.50/ fixture (121 lumens per $1) "seems" like a better deal than the 30+ fixture @ $37.59/fixture (115 lumen /$1).

Platonic has always been so thorough and detail oriented that I'm thinking I'm missing something. Can someone help me out? What am I not seeing?

Also- I presume these are better (quality/longevity/serviceable) options (with the frosted lenses) then the Cosco/BJ's/ Sams- 2 pak LED shop lights for around $34/fixture ?

The current price from Bees is $11.48 ea unless you buy 150+. That brings the unit price (with the cheaper fixture) to $37.96 ea.

 

[PushingLuckOG]

So I currently have 20 four bulb troffers in the garage and per the recommendation of the thread I was planning on using these.

http://www.ledlightingwholesaleinc....-T8-Replacement-Tube-p/zy-t8-18w1200-bixx.htm

Ill end up with 10 more bulbs than I need but Im sure Ill put more lights above machinery.

I also saw these as a possibility as well, that would cost $35.70 more for 90. Or $58 less if I just bought the 80 I need. Im paying for shipping eitherway. Any thought one way or the other. Seems these would be a bit brighter as well.

http://www.ledlightingwholesaleinc.com/LEDXPERT-T8-Tube-4-Foot-22-Watt-p/t8m4-22w.htm

Its also worth noting the fixtues are already wired in a bypass configuration with hot on one side and neutral on the other end of the fixture.

Thanks in advance!

 

[MJockey]

So I currently have 20 four bulb troffers in the garage and per the recommendation of the thread I was planning on using these.

http://www.ledlightingwholesaleinc....-T8-Replacement-Tube-p/zy-t8-18w1200-bixx.htm

Ill end up with 10 more bulbs than I need but Im sure Ill put more lights above machinery.

I also saw these as a possibility as well, that would cost $35.70 more for 90. Or $58 less if I just bought the 80 I need. Im paying for shipping eitherway. Any thought one way or the other. Seems these would be a bit brighter as well.

http://www.ledlightingwholesaleinc.com/ProductDetails.asp?ProductCode=T8M4-
22W&CartID=2

Its also worth noting the fixtues are already wired in a bypass configuration with hot on one side and neutral on the other end of the fixture.

Thanks in advance!

Your second link didn't work. You will need to make sure the tubes will work wired for double ended power. A lot will not.

 

[PushingLuckOG]

Link fixed, upon research on their site they are infact single end. To me isn't a deal killer as it's just a wire nut away from making them single end. Which if more popular might be a better idea any way.

 

[wsf0817]

Is it just me, or does the "UNDER 30" option now have a minimum order quantity of 30?

http://www.beeslighting.com/product-p/t818w1200bixxdf40f1.htm

*********************************************
*********************************************
For less than 30 LED bulbs (last update 8/24/2016):

Price for 10 2-lamp 4ft LED bypass fixtures:

18W James/Diva Lite LED $10.88 x 20 = $218 + Free Shipping
(Be sure to get frosted lens)

Diva Lite LED Ready Strip Hsg $14.97 x 10 = $150 + Free shipping

Total = $368 / 10 = $36.50 per complete fixture (all tax and shipping included),
4424 lumens, 36W, 123 Lumens per Watt, 121 Lumens per $1
*********************************************

I bought the FEIT costco LED lamps the other week on impulse but am unhappy with the mounting and wiring options, trying to find something better.

 

[SiGmA_X]

Can anyone in this thread give input on placing lighting around a lift in a 2 car garage? I'm thinking of having rows of 4 4ft lights spaced between the lift and near side wall (approx 4' from lift to wall, so 2' from wall) and equal spacing on the far side wall (2' from lift) and another row around 2' from far side wall. Then have a single or pair of lights perpendicular to the rows over a workbench in front of the lift. Thoughts?

 

[knucklehead]

just ordered 70 of the max lite fixtures & 140 5000k bulbs for my new shop for $33.00 each inc. shipping.

 

[veedo]

has anyone here tried the Hollywood lighting led tubes? I have some on order, should be here tomorrow. more expensive, but I sure like the dimming feature.

https://www.hollywoodlightsled.com/specs-led-tube

 

[nsula_country]

has anyone here tried the Hollywood lighting led tubes? I have some on order, should be here tomorrow. more expensive, but I sure like the dimming feature.

https://www.hollywoodlightsled.com/specs-led-tube

I got a security warning going to the link... I did not continue.

CT

 

[veedo]

Weird, something must have recently happened to their site. Here's their Facebook. The specs are on their website, so hopefully they fix it soon.

https://m.facebook.com/HollywoodLightsLED/

A review from last year, I think the specs changed since then.
http://www.designingwithleds.com/review-hollywood-lights-led-t8/

 

[pgray007]

Is it just me, or does the "UNDER 30" option now have a minimum order quantity of 30?

http://www.beeslighting.com/product-p/t818w1200bixxdf40f1.htm



I bought the FEIT costco LED lamps the other week on impulse but am unhappy with the mounting and wiring options, trying to find something better.

It sure seems that way. I was about to pull the trigger and the MOQ is now 30, and there doesn't seem to be any equivalent item from Bee's that doesn't have the MOQ.

 

[knucklehead]

just ordered 70 of the max lite fixtures & 140 5000k bulbs for my new shop for $33.00 each inc. shipping.

10/11/16 update:
LED Lighting Wholesale f-ed me.
I got the bulbs yesterday, but they didn't ship any of the 70 fixtures.
no packing slip, no emailed order acknowledgment, no indication of a back order.
I called them this morning & they say the fixtures will not ship until October 24th!
I'm not happy with them at all.
I would not buy from them again!

I looked at the Bee's Lighting fixture, but it is much larger (4-5/8"w x 3-3/8"h) compared to the max lite (3"w x 2"h) & I prefer the smaller fixture for it's better looks & compact size.

 

[revamped]

10/11/16 update:
LED Lighting Wholesale f-ed me.
I got the bulbs yesterday, but they didn't ship any of the 70 fixtures.
no packing slip, no emailed order acknowledgment, no indication of a back order.
I called them this morning & they say the fixtures will not ship until October 24th!
I'm not happy with them at all.
I would not buy from them again!

I looked at the Bee's Lighting fixture, but it is much larger (4-5/8"w x 3-3/8"h) compared to the max lite (3"w x 2"h) & I prefer the smaller fixture for it's better looks & compact size.

I did not have the same experience when ordering my James LED HB. But I also ordered two different LED Faux Can lights and the westgate light came right away within a few days of the James. The Maxlite took an additional two weeks to arrive. I suspect they are an LLC that drop ships everything from the Chinese suppliers. I am not sure you will experience shorter than 4-6 weeks for shipping on most suppliers when ordering bulk.

 

[dontlifttoshift]

Is anyone using the recommended Maxlite fixture and James 18w LED lights with a taller ceiling?

I think it was in here that Platonic briefly mentioned that these may not be ideal higher up but I can't find it in this thread. My ceiling height is 15.5'

 

[revamped]

Is anyone using the recommended Maxlite fixture and James 18w LED lights with a taller ceiling?

I think it was in here that Platonic briefly mentioned that these may not be ideal higher up but I can't find it in this thread. My ceiling height is 15.5'

I have 17ft+ ceilings and had the same problem with the layout and lighting choice threads so I started this for LED High Bay. I received feedback from one person telling me I shouldn't use High Bay's, but the modeling shows otherwise. I am not sure the LED's are really considered High Bay like the T5HO are. I wouldn't use the 18w bulbs due to the cost and number of fixtures you would have to run to get the same lumen output. I am using 6 2x2 luminaires.

http://www.garagejournal.com/forum/showthread.php?t=337137