Shop lights

[Matt_50]

Hey guys, I want your opinion before I buy.

Local place just upgraded their ceiling lights. The ceiling tiles, recessed fluorescent type. They upgraded to some LED bright type.

Anyways I plan to get a shop by August or so and they have these for 10 bucks a piece. Recent upgrade, all the old lights worked before. Old ones are 2x4, 4 bulb types.

[flashed]

Be sure how much power they require , I got some from my work for free many years ago that were 277 volts and I changed out the ballasts to 110/120 and am just now swapping them out to LED's . If you have a Rural King store near you , you are better off getting some 5500 Lumen LED's for just under $25 each and they are super bright .

[Matt_50]

Can LED bulbs go in place of regular florescent bulbs?

I'll check the volts on those lights when I head back in.

[truckster]

There are LED tubes that are designed to replace fluorescent tubes. However, I agree with Flashed that you'd probably be ahead just to go with LED fixtures. I upgraded mine to LEDs about two years ago, and the difference is amazing, especially when it's cold in the garage.

[MP&C]

If they were giving them away, that would be one thing. For $10 a light, and the risk that ballasts and bulbs are iffy, put that $10 per light toward some LED's. Get something between the 5K and 6K range for a good white light.

[mongocanfly]

I almost got caught up in the cheap 277v lights from work one time...glad I passed...I used super bright florescent lights in my shop...they are very bright and I like em...they've been up before LEDs came along...if I ever have a do over I'm going leds

[TKCR]

I do some Detailing on the side, in my garage. I had lots of the newer bulbs, the T12’s I believe? Well anyways, I had heard you can remove the ballast and add LED’s. But I liked how the LED’s could be hooked together. So I did a little research, I liked the ones at Rural King and at Sam’s Club. I ordered mine from Sam’s Club online. I ended up with 2 sets of these kits, but only had to pay for one. Somehow, they messed the 1st order up and only sent 1 light, instead of the kit. So they resent the order twice!! I even told them about it, and they said it was their mistake and keep them. So I put them all up.
https://www.samsclub.com/sams/honeyw...rod22191109.ip

[Rickysnickers]

Those lights look good! Can they be mounted directly to the ceiling, or do they require the hanging chain?

[rpmerf]

Those florescent tubes should be around 40 watts, 2,500 lumens each. Meaning each light is around 160 watts and 10,000 lumens. 62.5 lumens per watt.

With LED you get more like 60 watts, 5500 lumens for 91.7 lumens per watt. That is in something similar to a 2 bulb 2' x 4' shop light.

Personally, at $10 / each, if the ballast is setup for 110V and they have good bulbs, I would go for it. You can math it out -
how many lights you need
how many watts they use
how much you spend per kilowatt
how many hours you run the lights per day / week / month
the initial cost of each
cost of replacement parts
cost of LED upgrades

The initial cost of the LED lights is going to be at least 5 times as much. You can calculate how much you are spending to run the lights monthly to determine how long it would take for the lower wattage of LED lights to 'pay for themselves'. I wouldn't be surprised if you don't have a ton of lights, or don't use them all day, it would take a long time for the LEDs to have an advantage.

Be aware if you want to upgrade these to LED at some point, there are different types of LED bulbs. Ones that do use a ballast and ones that don't.

Edit: Retrofit bulbs. These are direct wire, might be a good replacement as the ballasts go out/. $15 each, and 3000 lumens @ 20W for 150 lumens per watt.
https://www.eledlights.com/led-light...-led-tube.html

[TKCR]

Originally Posted by Rickysnickers

Those lights look good! Can they be mounted directly to the ceiling, or do they require the hanging chain?

I don’t believe they are direct mount to the ceiling, you’ll have to look at the Sam’s Club link I posted, for specs. Since there are 10 lights in a kit, I ended up with 20 lights. Then I did get 2 of the big LED’s from Rural King, to go over my work table area.

[mongocanfly]

to me the cost of leds or superbright fluorescents doesn't mean as much to me as being able to see what im doing..my dads shop has the old style fluorescents in it and you need a flashlight to see whats going on

[TKCR]

Originally Posted by mongocanfly

to me the cost of leds or superbright fluorescents doesn't mean as much to me as being able to see what im doing..my dads shop has the old style fluorescents in it and you need a flashlight to see whats going on

I agree, I just wanted more light when I was Detailing and restoring my Benchseats. I’m happy with what I have now!!

[e015475]

Just a comment for consideration.

I have a 10' ceiling in my shop, and when I had surface mount fluorescent lights, I'd sometimes hit the bulb and send glass showering down on a project.

I imagine the LED fluorescent lights are a little more robust than the old glass ones. but something hanging down is still vulnerable to being hit.

I put in flush mount LED cans with a wide angle light dispersion and have been happy with them. I think they were about $10-15 each a couple years ago.

I'd think that by the time you stuffed that old $10 fixture with LED bulbs, you could have bought a decent new LED fixture.

BTW, lumens aren't everything. A light and reflective floor covering also help a lot too

[JoeKan]

I would bite the bullet and get LEDs. You can't beat them and they'll last long enough to pay themselves off. They're probably cheaper than T8s or T5s, and they'll last a lot longer too.

[4u2nv]

Originally Posted by Matt_50

Hey guys, I want your opinion before I buy.

Local place just upgraded their ceiling lights. The ceiling tiles, recessed fluorescent type. They upgraded to some LED bright type.

Anyways I plan to get a shop by August or so and they have these for 10 bucks a piece. Recent upgrade, all the old lights worked before. Old ones are 2x4, 4 bulb types.

If your on a budget , which most of us are when building a garage , go with them , just make sure they are cold start , you can always up grade later when funds permit .

[nlped]

I used these style fixtures in my shop. I removed the ballasts completely and used LED bulbs in them. I got my light fixtures free and I sent about $200 on the bulbs. I LOVE THEM! Lots of light and with all of them on (16 fixtures), I’m using the same amount of power as 8-60w bulbs!

[sweetk30]

sams club lights here and loving them .


also the newer units are likable up to 10 per circuit and 3 way power low/med/high output by the pull cord .

no cold start problems in a non heated shop in the winter .
no hum of a ballast box
just a good bang for the buck .

going to sound crazy but my 1800 sq ft shop i like light and no real shadows . . . . i have 30 in the main shop and 6 in the paint bay . all doing good no problems on most now over 2 years .

[Matt_50]

My shop will be a little small. 18x30. How many lights should I plan for?

[sweetk30]

all depends what you like and lay them out .

my main shop is 28ft deep and 50ft wide .

i did center drop and walls are angled around 15-20* out to the center of the shop so i dont waste light on the walls .

the lift bay 18 ft wide x 28 ft deep has 3 rows of 4 for 12 total and 1 in the front center to shine down in the engine bay a bit .