LED shop lights

Kernopelli · Sep 16, 2020

I had been putting off replacing my old 4' florescent shop fixtures with 4' LED's. I had long assumed I would go with Harbor Freight, they carry the 5000 lumen Braun brand and with coupon can be purchased for $19. 99 each. I was at Rural King yesterday and saw they too carry LED fixtures. They had 5500 lumen for $29.98 and 5000 lumen for $14.98.5 Lumen LED Shop Light 4 Foot SB2 - SL-13MF-55 . That is by far they cheapest price Ive seen on LED's so I bought 3 of them, went home and swapped out some old florescent fixtures and was so pleased I went back and got 23 more. They come with the hardware to hang them, are aluminum bodied (w/plastic end caps) and have 5' cords. The only thing that is "cheap" is the pull cord extension is twine instead of chain ( didn't matter to me I wont be using the pull chain, my outlets are on a wall switchs). One thing to mention is they aren't linkable- they dont have an outlet to plug another fixture into but the $20 HF/ Braun's don't either.

dodge man · Sep 16, 2020

I have put up a couple and they are nice. I got mine off of Amazon.

radios1 · Sep 16, 2020

you have a total of 26 4' led fixtures now?. Yipes!. Big Shop!..

cjoffutt · Sep 16, 2020

Make sure to keep at least (1) box and the receipt. I put the RK ones in my basement and have to replace at least (1) every 3-5 months. And they do NOT get used a lot. Usually starts with a few dead LED on the strip, then the entire light just gives out. RK has been really good about just letting me walk on back grab another and go about my day, so props there at least. Just wish they were a bit more robust and long lasting.

KennyG · Sep 16, 2020

I've added a number of different LED lights over the years as I've replaced my fluorescent lights. I've found the Harbor Freight ones to be of questionable quality and the box store ones marginal in light output. The best I've found are the "V-shaped" ones from Amazon.

Barrina LED Shop Light, 4FT 4W 5LM 5K, Daylight White, V Shape, Clear Cover, Hight Output, Linkable Shop Lights, T8 LED Tube Lights, LED Shop Lights for Garage 4 Foot with Plug (Pack of 1) - - Amazon.com

John0829 · Sep 16, 2020

I purchased some of the led disposable 4' fixtures from Menards, they were cheap enough and I figured why not. Where I placed them in the tractor shed they have worked out better than expected. I then started to replace the fluorescent fixtures in the garage with the cheap led's as they failed, the fluorescent fixtures were used when I got them. Good so far and the light output is better than the fluorescents. I have not started to use them in the shop yet but intend to in time.

grsthegreat · Sep 16, 2020

Honestly its cheaper to buy the led 4 foot bulb and simply bypass the old ballast while retaining the old fixture. Thats what i did in my shop. And i bought name brand lamps, not chinese junk. I have retrofitted many industrial buildings going back over 5 years, and have not received a single complaint on failed light fixture. I went back to one building where i retrofitted over 600 lamps about 4 years ago, and a few months back i went to fix a problem they were having with a motor starter. All the led lights were still operational. All.

k0ua · Sep 16, 2020

grsthegreat said:
Honestly its cheaper to buy the led 4 foot bulb and simply bypass the old ballast while retaining the old fixture. Thats what i did in my shop. And i bought name brand lamps, not chinese junk. I have retrofitted many industrial buildings going back over 5 years, and have not received a single complaint on failed light fixture. I went back to one building where i retrofitted over 600 lamps about 4 years ago, and a few months back i went to fix a problem they were having with a motor starter. All the led lights were still operational. All.

That is what I did with the Hyperikon bulbs and bypassed the ballasts. Not a single LED has went out, and the ones in the garage are about 2 years old and are used a lot.
They are also RFI clean. About 10 minutes to install and bypass and throw away the ballast.

Hyperikon 4 Foot LED Tube, T8 T1 T12 4 Watt Replacement (18W), Single End Ballast Bypass, Clear Lens, UL, DLC, Crystal White, 4 Pack - - Amazon.com

grsthegreat · Sep 16, 2020

k0ua said:
That is what I did with the Hyperikon bulbs and bypassed the ballasts. Not a single LED has went out, and the ones in the garage are about 2 years old and are used a lot.
They are also RFI clean. About 10 minutes to install and bypass and throw away the ballast.

Hyperikon 4 Foot LED Tube, T8 T1 T12 4 Watt Replacement (18W), Single End Ballast Bypass, Clear Lens, UL, DLC, Crystal White, 4 Pack - - Amazon.com

I actually leave the ballast in the light. The older lights have some toxic junk in ballast, so best left there and not in landfill.

Kernopelli · Sep 16, 2020

radios1 said:
you have a total of 26 4' led fixtures now?. Yipes!. Big Shop!..

14 were for me, 12 were for my son's shop

cjoffutt said:
Make sure to keep at least (1) box and the receipt. I put the RK ones in my basement and have to replace at least (1) every 3-5 months. And they do NOT get used a lot. Usually starts with a few dead LED on the strip, then the entire light just gives out. RK has been really good about just letting me walk on back grab another and go about my day, so props there at least. Just wish they were a bit more robust and long lasting.

Way ahead of you on the box and receipt, appreciate the info!

newbury · Sep 16, 2020

Kernopelli said:
<snip>That is by far they cheapest price Ive seen on LED's so I bought 3 of them<snip>

You must have missed my threads on AmazonCommercial LED's
I've now bought a total of 64, prices as low as 8 for $52. Only 4000 lumens but all linkable (max of 4) and use a standard 2 prong plug to link. Many have been running since April. I've had 1 failure and that was a DOA.

k0ua · Sep 16, 2020

If you want a bright easy to install screw in LED "bulb" try one of these. It is one bright ........ It hurts to look up at it. 10,000 lumens and it draws 100 actual watts just like a 100 watt incandescent bulb. Man does it ever light up a room. And you can adjust where the light falls, and no light wasted going up towards the ceiling.

LED Garage Lights, 1W 1 Lumens, Daylight LED Light Bulbs, Deformable Garage Ceiling Lights, E26/E27 LED Shop Light Bulb for Workshop, Basement and Warehouse - - Amazon.com

radios1 · Sep 16, 2020

k0ua said:
If you want a bright easy to install screw in LED "bulb" try one of these. It is one bright ........ It hurts to look up at it. 10,000 lumens and it draws 100 actual watts just like a 100 watt incandescent bulb. Man does it ever light up a room. And you can adjust where the light falls, and no light wasted going up towards the ceiling.

LED Garage Lights, 1W 1 Lumens, Daylight LED Light Bulbs, Deformable Garage Ceiling Lights, E26/E27 LED Shop Light Bulb for Workshop, Basement and Warehouse - - Amazon.com

I hate Daylight LEDS. if this was natural white, also called Bright white, they'd be excellent. I just can't stand the bluish tint, or even an orangish tint..

grsthegreat · Sep 16, 2020

im not a fan of daylight (6500K) either. only place they work great in are paint booths. i try to stick with 5,000K in shops and 4,100K in house. best overall. i have 5,000K in my shop and i love it. great to work under.

Oldpath05 · Sep 16, 2020

I have two of these in 14' high garage ceiling, need 4 more they are pricey and bright.
https://www.homedepot.com/p/Commerc...-000-Lumens-5000K-Daylight-50232161/302456569

crazyal · Sep 16, 2020

Here in Vermont we pay a small fee which is included in our power bill. With it they offer rebate checks and some other perks. One of them was that we can buy the screw in (A19) LED bulbs for a fraction of the price. Back when it was well over $5 a bulb we could get them for like a buck. I bought a number of Cree brand bulbs and quite a few failed. I don't think it was the LED itself but the circuitry. It seams like they are more reliable now but I'm wondering if some of these lower price ones are based off of the earlier tech.

ultrarunner · Sep 17, 2020

I really like the CREE bulbs bought when first came out... did Mom's home and 3 went bad and replaced at no cost...

Actually all went bad between 2-3 years out... Good since then.

grsthegreat · Sep 17, 2020

Thats the big problem with led lights. They say the led lights last 50,000 hours. But the lights arnt the parts that fail. Its the drivers. No one states how long the drivers will last.

KennyG · Sep 17, 2020

My impression is that LED lights have gotten very reliable. I started getting them some years ago and had a few failures, but I don't think any have failed in the last couple of years. I have a lot of them at home and supervised putting in about 50 at my church.

Henro · Sep 18, 2020

My "Chinese junk" direct wire LED tubes have performed flawlessly over the last couple years. If you already have the fixtures, this is a very cost effective solution.

The "higher end" items are likely made in China too.

I paid about $4 each in boxes of 25 with free shipping off ebay. Absolutely no complaints.

Edit: they were shipped from a US location and arrived quite quickly.