Cheap LED Shop Lighting

Posted by Ryan Posted onJun 29, 2021 at 1:34 PM and filed under Reviews & Features
Updated onUpdated on Jun 29, 2021 at 1:36 PM

I don’t have power to the APO yet and will probably do something only temporary this summer. That being said, I’m already thinking about simple lighting solutions and a pal suggested I give these 60-watt LED lights a go. Typically, these are $50 a pair… Cheap enough, right? But right now, they are almost half off of that!

Details here.

Anyone ever gives these a go? Are they as good as my buddy claims? I don’t mind a nice white light… But I can’t stand cheaper blue LEDs and at 6500K, these are getting close to the danger zone.

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L

LegacyIndustrial

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redragoon

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They seem to put out a lot of light. Some reviews show that entire panels may go out if they have a problem.

I still prefer the smaller fluorescent tube lights. 2 fixtures and a box of bulbs seems to be lasting about 10 years.
 
L

LeonardY

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I bought a set for $29 on Amazon a while ago. They are almost to bright. I ended up putting some diffusion film in front of them to knock them down a bit. I also bounce them off the walls for more even coverage. I'm thinking of mounting them to aim up at the ceiling. I might be able to flip the panels but I haven't tried yet.
 
B

Bopbop

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I put 4 of these in the attached garage at my house. I really like them. Planning on putting some in my pump house office area. They are worth the money.
 
B

bbmach

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I use this one - 6000K. Have had it since Oct 2018 and it's been solid. Nice white adjustable light... I utilize the motion detector part.

Garage Lights Led Deformable Garage Light Ceiling LED 60W 6000Lumen Flexled Garage Light Tribrite Led Adjustable Light with 3 Panel Led Shop Lights for Garage Ceiling Basement Workshop - - Amazon.com

Garage Lights Led Deformable Garage Light Ceiling LED 60W 6000Lumen Flexled Garage Light Tribrite Led Adjustable Light with 3 Panel Led Shop Lights for Garage Ceiling Basement Workshop - - Amazon.com
www.amazon.com

*Edit - there is currently a $18.00 off coupon...
 
B

bbbarracuda

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I've used a similar model of that style light. It works great, and I like being able to move the panels to aim the light as needed. The ones I have are 6000K I like that color light really well.
 
T

txvwnut

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I have one similar to that one in the garage and one panel has already gone out and it’s only a couple years old. It does put out a white light and is bright but I found that I get a good amount of glare if I had the panels faced upwards to spread the light around the garage. If you leave the panels down or flat the light pretty much gets focused in a tight circle.
 
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CJM8515

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similar ones came installed in the garage of the home i bought. no complaints very bright
 
H

HenryAZ

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A possible alternative to that type of light fixture is a simple 4 way bulb socket fixture, and then you can put whatever temperature and lumen count bulbs in it you want. Granted LED bulbs are not as focused as those panels. I have strips up, but in one area that needed some more fill in I used this fixture in the socket where the original single incandescent bulb used to be. I directed each bulb to a specific area that needed fill, using 100 watt equivalent LEDs of the same temperature as my strips.
 
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johno

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Several of us have bought these and been pleased with them. You can't beat the price.

Hykolity 10 Pack LED Shop Light 4FT, T5 Integrated Single Fixture, 22W, 2200lm, 6500K Super Bright White, Linkable Shop Light, Utility Shop Lights, Corded Electric with Built-in ON/Off Switch - - Amazon.com

Hykolity 10 Pack LED Shop Light 4FT, T5 Integrated Single Fixture, 22W, 2200lm, 6500K Super Bright White, Linkable Shop Light, Utility Shop Lights, Corded Electric with Built-in ON/Off Switch - - Amazon.com
www.amazon.com
 
J

Josh the IH guy

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I have a few of those lights. I have 1 in the barn, and 1 in my potting shed. They are very bright. They are a white light, not blue. I keep them on 24/7, and have for about a year so far. No issues at all. I will be buying more for sure.
 
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NUTTSGT

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Ryan's link also shows a set (similar) in 5000K for $22 pair. That's the color I put in my garage and would be fine with that too in the house garage.
 
M

MrPink

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I went with these:

They are bright for the price, and I am already looking to buy 4 more.

Linkable LED Shop Light for Garage, 4400lm, 4FT 42W Utility Light Fixture for Workshop, 5000K Daylight LED Workbench Light with Plug [250W Equivalent] Hanging or Surface Mount, Black - 4 Pack ETL - - Amazon.com

Linkable LED Shop Light for Garage, 4400lm, 4FT 42W Utility Light Fixture for Workshop, 5000K Daylight LED Workbench Light with Plug [250W Equivalent] Hanging or Surface Mount, Black - 4 Pack ETL - - Amazon.com
www.amazon.com
 
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nashbalto

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Ryan said:
Continue reading...
Click to expand...
I used direct wire LED T8 bulbs in four standard fluorescent, 2 bulb fixtures 48" at 5000K just below daylight color at 2800 lumens each.

I removed the ballast, starter, and rewired all of the fixtures to power 120v directly at the power end of the bulb

It was bright at first, but I love the ability to see so clearly in my garage.

Cheers,

Nashbalto
 

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nashbalto

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One more brochure for the wiring diagrams:

Cheers!
Nashbalto
 

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nashbalto

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Ryan,
I have rewired about 10 fluorescent fixtues to date ( all direct 120v bulbs). If you study the wiring diagram closely and take your time with the 1st one, you will wonder why you hesitated.

It is no more difficult than changing out an outlet to a grounded in an old house.

Pretty satisfying to never have to change these bulbs for another 50,000 hours, more light, amd alot less energy usage.

In my kitchen i have two 8 spot light arrays. Had to purchase a special order dimmer with an aluminum heat sink to control the 600 watts per array 8x75W halogens.

Even with the heat sink those dimmers got warm. Swapped out dimmable LEDs at 8w per flood light. Same flood angle and color.

Light is warm and bright when needed, 1200 watts to 128 watts.

Even my dad (rest his soul) could't complain abiut leaving the lights on!!!

Spend the time to properly mount fixtures and conduit. You will never regret good lighting upgrades.

If interested, i can walk through how to calculate the lumens on your considerable bench space. It is not that

I have had fantastic results withe the "eye" flood fixtures. They work like the belly turret on a B-17. You can make your workbench come alive. Awesome winter project too.


Cheers!

Nashbalto
 
I

ibange

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I know we're not a fan of cheap Chinese stuff here but I bought a pack of these to outfit my spare shop. They have all worked really well, put out tons of light, and I have enough to do two garages plus some over bench lighting in rooms in my house. They're cheap enough I can put them in my painting tent and cover them in paint without feeling bad. I'll always have a box of them in the attic for when I need them from now on.

(Pack of 12) Barrina LED T5 Integrated Single Fixture, 4FT, 2200lm, 6500K (Super Bright White), 20W, Utility Shop Light, Ceiling and Under Cabinet Light, Corded Electric with Built-in ON/Off Switch - - Amazon.com

(Pack of 12) Barrina LED T5 Integrated Single Fixture, 4FT, 2200lm, 6500K (Super Bright White), 20W, Utility Shop Light, Ceiling and Under Cabinet Light, Corded Electric with Built-in ON/Off Switch - - Amazon.com
www.amazon.com
 
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Firebrick43

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I agree with nashbalto on a standard T* fixture with LED tubes direct wired. Many of these cheap LED lights MIGHT make it 10 years or 15 or might make it 5 years from my experience. Not only will LEDs conk out but the All in one units plastic bits get brittle and break as well.

Then when you go to replace them they have changed styles. With steel t8 fixtures the tombstones are replaceable, the bulbs are replaceable, and they are still relatively cheap
 
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Ryan

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Firebrick43 said:
I agree with nashbalto on a standard T* fixture with LED tubes direct wired. Many of these cheap LED lights MIGHT make it 10 years or 15 or might make it 5 years from my experience. Not only will LEDs conk out but the All in one units plastic bits get brittle and break as well.

Then when you go to replace them they have changed styles. With steel t8 fixtures the tombstones are replaceable, the bulbs are replaceable, and they are still relatively cheap
Click to expand...

solid argument.
 
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Knight511

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If I replace half of my Barrina lights every 5 years due to failure, it would take 20 years for me to spend the same as buying the T8 fixtures and bulbs initially. 40 years if I replace half every 10 years.... etc. In 20 years, lighting technology should look quite different than it does now (look at 20 years ago compared to today). Retrofitting fixtures already owned may make some sense, but I am less sure the thought process can be applied when building a new lighting solution.

Either way you go, setting up your wiring in a way that allows for future changes may be more important. In my case, 30x30 shop with 14' walls means I have a single 1" EMT line down the center of the roof trusses with 7 junction boxes (1 on each truss) to wire the lights into. So long as we are running 120/240v systems, I can quickly (and easily) change the entire lighting system.
 
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sodbuster

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FYI, if you purchase these LED lights and your garage door opener starts having issues with the remotes not working. For some odd reason, LED lights cause interference with the signal on certain garage door openers head units. I worked for Overhead Door and the LED lights were a HUGE pain trouble shooting opener issues.

Chris
 
U

Uofime

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sodbuster said:
FYI, if you purchase these LED lights and your garage door opener starts having issues with the remotes not working. For some odd reason, LED lights cause interference with the signal on certain garage door openers head units. I worked for Overhead Door and the LED lights were a HUGE pain trouble shooting opener issues.

Chris
Click to expand...
Yeah, that’ll be noise from the LED driver circuits. When you get a really good deal on stuff sometimes that’s because they left out things like capacitors and chokes that will suppress that and fake the certification saying it doesn’t emit interference.
 
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Falcon67

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Interesting - Looks like they possibly combine with other things...
 

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Bitv9WNEMVtHhzHudbBKg

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If you're installing LEDs, I really recommend installing DC LEDs and buying the driver separately. When LEDs with an integral driver fail, it's almost always a driver failure, but you have to throw away the LEDs and replace the whole lamp/fixture. The Taiwanese company, MeanWell, makes good drivers. The DC strip lights that come on reels have been commoditized and can be very inexpensive. I've also purchased a reel of full spectrum strip lights (from waveformlighting) whose light is a continually delightful experience. If I was lighting a larger area like a shop, I'd put sets of 3 or 4 12V strips in series and use a 36V or 48V driver. I did a study once, and DC LED's match 120VAC 4' fluorescents in lumens per ampere at about 32VDC, so at any higher voltages you won't need larger wire for the DC LEDs than you would for flourescent shop lights. If you do dimming, you do want to pay attention to whether the lights want constant current or constant voltage, and get the appropriate driver, but dimming seems kind of pointless in a shop.
 
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ROBZ71LM7

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I vote T fixture, direct wire and replaceable T8 LED tubes. Cheap and you don't have to worry about trashing the whole thing when a driver fails-you just change bulbs.
 
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BoxedWino

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Currently I just have one very bright temporary light hanging from a chain powered via an extension cord. It is considerably brighter that the 4 florescent 4ft bulbs I had previously till the heat destroyed the ballast.

DSC01670.jpeg
It is an LED I got from Amazon, They are referred to as UFO lights I would imagine because of their shape. Here is one of the other 3 ready to go up. Now all I need is floor space and a scissor lift. The front has glass to protect the less and the back is a hefty cast aluminum heat sink. The hook I am holding in the second picture is about 1/8" thick piece of aluminum to hang it with and it also has 4 threaded holes. I have been very happy with the brightness and rather impressed with the quality of the build.
DSC01671.jpegDSC01672.jpeg

Screen Shot 2021-08-10 at 1.23.25 PM.png

AmazonCommercial LED ECO UFO High Bay, 150 Watt, 30000 Hours, Dimmable 0-10V, 15000 Lumens, ETL Certified, Daylight, 1-Pack - - Amazon.com

AmazonCommercial LED ECO UFO High Bay, 150 Watt, 30000 Hours, Dimmable 0-10V, 15000 Lumens, ETL Certified, Daylight, 1-Pack - - Amazon.com
www.amazon.com

Amazon claims that they are dimmable but my extension cord didn't come with that option.
 
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