LED shop lights

[DavidApp]

Has anyone done a shop/garage with these 4' LED shop lights?
I have just got one and it is very bright and a white light. Will look for one with a diffuser as it is almost too bright if you look straight at it.

David

 

[Gliderman8]

David,
I bought two 4' LED shop lights..... I hung one a couple of weeks ago. There are pluses and minuses; On the plus side as you noted, it is very bright. The one thing I don't like is that it doesn't spread the light evenly. The light is concentrated straight down. I'll get the other one hung to see if that helps light the area more evenly.

 

[David_Doan]

I have 10 of the LED shop lights from Costco in my 3 car garage. Just like getting a faster car or faster computer, you will always want more. Mine came with a template that showed the spread/brightness vs height. My garage ceiling is 9 feet and painted white. I can work out there at night with no issues. I'll probably add 2 more eventually.

The walls - that are not covered with tools and parts -are also white and the floor is gray epoxy. Light colored reflective surfaces help the light distribution a lot.

 

[DavidApp]

I noticed the same thing with a LED work light. The light does not seem to spread as much as the old quartz lamps. Also they are blinding if you look at them. Will be looking for a diffuser. Apart from that they do put out a lot of light.

David

 

[JPSmit]

I bought a couple and returned them - because the ones I bought (unknown to me) were plug in not hard wired - is this normal?

 

[DavidApp]

All my shop lights are plug in type. All came from a big box store bought over a number of years. I have T12s, T8s and now a LED.

 

[TR3driver]

I have several fixtures that were originally 4' T12, converted to LED. I like them in spite of the disadvantages. They do throw much sharper shadows, because each LED is almost a point source instead of that big fat bulb; but the overall spread seems about the same. (Probably depends on the specific bulb you buy, not all LEDs are equal.) Lots more light, which is a Good Thing for my old tired eyes.
The kitchen fixture (which I converted a few weeks back) has a diffuser, but it cuts back a lot on light output. In the garage/shop, I'm leaving them bare.

Worth noting, perhaps, that some LED conversion bulbs are supposed to work with a T8/12 ballast, while some others are not. But even the ones that are rated for it may not work if your old ballast was bad. And leaving the ballast in the circuit will waste energy, so IMO it's best to remove it anyway.

 

[NutmegCT]

Just a thought. If the lights are extremely bright but very concentrated, you can point them toward a white painted ceiling/roof, and the light spreads much more naturally.

I've done that *many* times with various types of light sources. Really very helpful. You're using reflected light, not direct light. Then use a direct light if you need it for specific jobs/areas.

T.

 

[PC]

I bought a couple and returned them - because the ones I bought (unknown to me) were plug in not hard wired - is this normal?

I would say it's common. At least in big box stores.

They tend to carry what sells most to the general public and I would guess that most consumers don't know a knockout from a knockwurst and aren't going to be hard wiring many fixtures.

Costco had some really cool looking weather-tight fixtures but not only were they plug-in, you couldn't even plug them into a switched outlet. They were expecting you to only use the internal motion sensors to turn them on and off. There was no by-pass to use them with a switch.

Just what I need, to be working under my car and have the garage lights turn off because the sensor can't see me.

And, being Costco, they were less than half the price of similar hard-wired fixtures from an electrical supplier. So they were laughing at me every time I walked down the aisle.


But, as the fixtures laughed, the replacement tubes beckoned. The box said you could just plug them into an existing T8 fixture.

One of the fluorescent fixtures in my garage was flaking out. It looked like the ballast was providing run voltage but not starting voltage. the tubes were flickering dimly. I figured that since the LEDs don't need a starting voltage, they might just work with the wonky ballast.

And sure enough, they worked great, plug and play, no fuss no muss. And they're brighter than the fluorescents, too.

 

[TR3driver]

I bought a couple and returned them - because the ones I bought (unknown to me) were plug in not hard wired - is this normal?

I must be missing something. How hard is it to remove a cord and put a Romex or conduit clamp in its place? Seems easier to me than having to return and buy different fixtures?

 

[TomMull]

I must be missing something. How hard is it to remove a cord and put a Romex or conduit clamp in its place? Seems easier to me than having to return and buy different fixtures?

You'd have to look inside. Might have to splice into the existing cord if there are no terminals on it. Not the end of the world but a small p i t a at least.
I got twelve UTILITECH product #0595685 and I'm very pleased. I do have white walls and ceiling but the light is excellent. No start up time, no flickers and little electricity. Mine are in two rows of 6 and you wire in the first light in the row and the rest plug into it in a string. The little plug in connectors come with the lights.
Tom