LED Shop light discussion

84turbotoy · Oct 13, 2019

OK so here's the story, i have about 15 t12 single pin fixtures and 1/3 of the ballast are burned out and I'm tired of constantly changing bulbs and ballast and bulbs are getting scarce, that being said have any of you guys done any conversion bulbs or led strips? Just trying to find the most cost effective alternative and some feedback if anyone has some.

98TJ · Oct 13, 2019

I've replaced about half of my 8' 96 watt ho 2-pin florescent bulbs with Hyperikon single pin led tubes. Had to replace tombstones and rewire. Took me about 30 minutes real time per fixture. Internet forum claimed time would be about 10 mintues per fixture. I also got tired of flickering bulbs, replacing bulbs and ballasts. New LED tubes don't use the ballast. I remove the good balasts and keep them for spares for the few florescent fixtures I have left.

If you get led tubes, make sure you get the frosted tubes. The little leds are so ****in bright that they kinda blind you if you look right at them in the clear tube bulbs. Frosted doesn't do that.

TBItoy · Oct 13, 2019

98TJ said:
I've replaced about half of my 8' 96 watt ho 2-pin florescent bulbs with Hyperikon single pin led tubes. Had to replace tombstones and rewire. Took me about 30 minutes real time per fixture. Internet forum claimed time would be about 10 mintues per fixture. I also got tired of flickering bulbs, replacing bulbs and ballasts.

If you get led tubes, make sure you get the frosted tubes. The little leds are so ****in bright that they kinda blind you if you look right at them in the clear tube bulbs. Frosted doesn't do that.

same here. I had 9 8' t12ho

been replacing with led as the ballast go out.

I got non frosted bulbs one time. Had to hit them with sandpaper to diffuse the light.

ive also been piggy backing on some of the $20 4' dual strip led fixtures to add light in certain areas. Like directly over the parts washer and right above where a car hood is usually open.

my garage ceiling is a hodgepodge of lights and looks terrible, but works well. Eventually I'm gonna pull it all down and sheet the ceiling, blow in insulation, and re hang lights.

Dan_Goodwin · Oct 14, 2019

98TJ said:
I've replaced about half of my 8' 96 watt ho 2-pin florescent bulbs with Hyperikon single pin led tubes. Had to replace tombstones and rewire. Took me about 30 minutes real time per fixture. Internet forum claimed time would be about 10 mintues per fixture. I also got tired of flickering bulbs, replacing bulbs and ballasts.

If you get led tubes, make sure you get the frosted tubes. The little leds are so ****in bright that they kinda blind you if you look right at them in the clear tube bulbs. Frosted doesn't do that.

I'll second the Hyperikon tubes. I got clear tubes off amazon and they're very bright. You do get used to it, but frosted wouldn't be a bad idea. I did not have to replace the tombstones - just bypassed the ballast.

I was in the same boat and had a garage full of T8s and T12s that were leftovers from jobs over the years and the ballasts were failing. The switch to the LED was a game changer.

The Luke · Oct 14, 2019

TBItoy said:
Eventually I'm gonna pull it all down and sheet the ceiling, blow in insulation, and re hang lights.

Lies. It'll never happen.

jeeppoor · Oct 14, 2019

We had the same garage full of T12s. I was also tired of the flickering bulbs, replacing bulbs and ballasts.
We were in Menards looking for some lights to put in the mother in-laws basement when came across some 4' led lights for around $30. We bought a couple and I put them up. They worked great. So we have been replacing all the 8' in the garage with these. They are 4' and put out as much light as the old 8'. Don't use as much power. Run cooler so it doesn't get as hot in the garage in the summer.
Win Win

ALshooter · Oct 15, 2019

The Best Light Fixture Ever!

********************************************* Best bang for the buck LED 4ft 2-lamp strip light as of 5/17/2019: (UL Listings verified for all bulbs) To make one 4ft strip light, you need 2 LED Bulbs and 1 LED Ready Fixture Housing: LED BULBS LEDMyplace WEN-T8-4FT-18WF(4000K) 48" 18W LED T8...

www.garagejournal.com

This thread is all about going LED in your shop/garage. You can get double ended t8 LED bulbs that use your current fixtures. They come in a few styles. Some can use a legacy ballast and some just need power directly to the tombstone. No ballast.

Jonesn · Oct 15, 2019

I did away with the old florescent fixtures altogether and went with these from Amazon. I just put a couple 4 gang outlets in the ceiling connected to the light switches. So far they have held up well (little over a year). I just zip tied mine to the steel joists, and linked 3-4 of them together. The only draw back so far is that they apparently create a lot of electrical noise, so my FM radio reception is terrible when they are on.

Since putting them in the working garage. I've put them in the garage we park in, overtop the grill on the back porch, and in the wifes craft room over the countertops.

84turbotoy · Oct 15, 2019

I'll have to check out the hyperkion ones, ive been looking at these and they look very tempting.

8 Foot Led Shop Light 90W 65W 45W 8FT Led Tube Light 8' FA8 T8 T12 Single Pin | eBay

Specification 1.Base: FA8 Base 2.Shell material: Al+PC 3:Heat sink material: aluminum, Aero alloy 4:Color temperature: 5000K,6000K-6500K 5:Color: Cold white/Neutral white 6:Luminous flux: 7800LM/10800LM 7:Output: AC 85-265V 8:Power: 65W/90W 9:Light source: SMD 2835 10:Life: more than 50,000...

www.ebay.com

showtime33 · Oct 16, 2019

Went led with the 5k daylighters of Amazon in my new shop, they're great. No flickering, cold don't effect them and are very bright.

showtime33 · Oct 16, 2019

Link to the ones I installed, very pleased with them. They link together, instead of using the chains I just ran a screw through the fixture into my wood joist. Didn't take long at all to put up.

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B076XVX1TW/?tag=hardlinecrawlers-20

98TJ · Oct 17, 2019

The other thing I like about the led shop lights is they are actually BRIGHTER the colder it gets. My old florescent light got dimmer as the temp dropped.

The-Boss · Oct 17, 2019

I am still pleased with my LED Sam's shop lights after a few years.

ridered3 · Oct 17, 2019

The-Boss said:
I am still pleased with my LED Sam's shop lights after a few years.

Me too, especially for the price point and how many they keep in stock. Althought I haven't killed one yet, so not had to replace any so far.

TacomaJD · Oct 22, 2019

How tall is yer ceiling Burt? I am thrilled with my high bay ufo lights. I have 2 150w and 2 100w. Bright as fawk. Got all 4 for a few dollars shy of $300 on ebay.